Greatly admired, and much loved Baby Boomers Guide presenter, Lex Marinos OAM passed away aged 75 in Sydney surrounded by his family.

Over an illustrious and wide-ranging career, Lex worked in all areas of the entertainment industry as an actor, director, writer, broadcaster and teacher. His radio career took off in the 1970s at the ground-breaking music station Double J where he was a presenter.

Announcing Lex’s passing, his family said that Lex had died at home “at a moment of his choosing, surrounded by family and the sounds of Bob Dylan accompanying our vigil. There was so much love in the room.”

Lex received his Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the performing arts.  He was the former deputy chair of the Australia Council as well as a member of the creative and production team for the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Lex was best known for his television performances in the 1980s sitcom, Kingswood Country and ABC’s production of The Slap. His career embraced dozens of films, series and TV episodes. On stage Lex appeared with the Nimrod, APG, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Company B, Big hART, and at many arts festivals, as well as commercial productions such as The King and I.  In Kingswood Country Lex played the role of Bruno, the Italian son-in-law of the main actor, Ted Bulpitt, whose Holden Kingswood car was the highlight of his suburban life.

Lex was actually born into a Greek family of café owners in Wagga Wagga. His father was a Greek migrant and his mother Greek-Australian.

A humanitarian and champion of the little guy, Lex was a keen promoter of multiculturalism, particularly in community broadcasting.

Lex’s voice remains with us through three seasons of Baby Boomers Guide to Life for which he and co-presenter Patricia Amphlett were recognised with multiple awards. Their broadcast spanned some 32 community radio station reaching every state and territory capital and many regional stations.

Lex’s 2014 book Blood and Circuses: an irresponsible memoir was published by Allen & Unwin.

In 2013, Lex reflected on his multi-cultural roots in the SBS TV series, Who Do You Think You Are?

Born 1 Feb 1949, Wagga Wagga, died Sydney 13 September 2024