Neighbours star Alan Hopgood dies, aged 87

Speaking to the Herald Sun, a friend said that Hopgood was a “charming person” and praised his contribution to screen and theatre.

“He was in just about every Australian TV show, he’s had a role in all of them. His most famous work was in 1963 when he wrote the first play about football. That was a huge success in Melbourne and everybody wanted to go and see it because all of a sudden there was a play written about football.

“He was a wonderful man and the other great thing about him is everyone always used to say that he was such a charming person.”

The Melbourne-based actor played Wally Wallace in jailhouse drama Prisoner and Dr Reed in soap opera Bellbird from 1979 to 1986.

He then appeared as Jack Lassiter, the wealthy owner of The Lassiters Complex, on long-running soap opera Neighbours from 1986 to 2013.

In addition to his long acting career, he wrote the play And the Big Men Fly, which was later adapted into a film and TV series, as well as the screenplay for the movie Alvin Purple.

In 1969, he won an AWGIE Award for his script for television play The Cheerful Cuckold.

Hopgood was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the '90s, and published a book called Surviving Prostate Cancer – One Man’s Journey in 1996, which detailed his ongoing battle with the disease.

In 2014, Hopgood’s play The Carer, which is about Alzheimer’s disease, premiered in Melbourne.

He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for his work in the performing arts and for raising awareness of men’s health issues.

Professor Catherine Crock – the chair and founder of the Hush Foundation, which aims to transform the culture of healthcare through the arts – paid tribute to Hopgood on Twitter following the sad news of his passing.

"Our hearts are heavy today at news of the loss of a dear friend of ours. Vale Alan Hopgood AM," she wrote.

"His extraordinary contribution through the three plays he wrote and performed with us to over 200 healthcare audiences has been transformative."

She continued: "We will be forever grateful for his unwavering support of Hush [a charity that works to transform the culture of healthcare through the arts] and the wisdom he imparted.

"Our thoughts are with [his wife] Gay and the family in this time, knowing this remarkable and gifted man is very much loved, and knowing his collection of creative works, his legacy, live on. We’ll miss you very much, Hoppy."