Bill Collins when young, photo supplied by Foxtel. Was he born with those glasses?
Bill Collins was truly a unique figure in Australian culture, a man who loved the movies and was learned about them too, with a huge knowledge of its interconnections and a shrewd understanding of their capacity to move viewers.
In public he was also an extraordinary innocent, beaming and babbling, always making sense, his black glasses bouncing as he reached each and every person on their couches across Australia. In a way he taught people it was great to care about entertainment. He reminded us that a good passionate story is a kind of ceremony we should surrender to and celebrate.
