‘You could not help but love the rogue’
Underworld figure Chopper Read’s family link to white Knight
IT’S a little known, some might consider unlikely connection that is not as bizarre as it seems.
Great Samaritan and proud descendant of “convict stock” Dr John F. Knight, aka philanthropist and former TV medico Dr James Wright, breaks out in a “gee-whiz” smile at news his late nephew’s life (and crimes) have been dramatised for a two-part telemovie.
“Chopper to be remade! Yet again,” he said as Channel 9 prepares to unveil its new Underbelly: Files miniseries on Mark “Chopper” Read tomorrow.
Author and convicted crim Read’s mother Val Read is the elder sister of Dr Wright’s beloved late wife Noreen (and their younger sister Audrey Harrington).
“Noreen loved being out with friends who did not know the connection,” Dr Wright said.
“After they had all discussed the ‘terrible man’ for half an hour, Noreen would quietly say ... ‘he is my nephew – nicest kid around’.
“Stunned silence. Conversation ceased at once. They started talking about the weather. Noreen loved it.”
If it takes a nice kid to know one, it’s no wonder Read was on his best behaviour in the company of Auntie Nor and Uncle Doc.
The Knights, who are cofounders of the Medi-Aid Centre Foundation that provides low-cost accommodation and help to almost 250 struggling seniors on the Gold Coast, have a knack for bringing out the best in people. Including Read.
“He was always lovely and polite to Noreen and me,” Dr Wright said.
“A nice, gentle, ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’ sort of person.
“He treated his mum, Nor and me so delicately and kindly. You could not help but love the rogue. I hope in the new film they show his ‘kind side’, but doubt it.”
Read eventually put his criminal past behind him, living a quiet life with his wife Margaret for more than 15 years before he died from liver cancer in October 2013.
Underbelly Files: Chopper will see Aaron Jeffrey portray Read as he tries to reconcile his two competing identities – Chopper, the colourful underworld figure, and Mark Brandon Read, the man who craved a quiet life far from the public arena.
Family and friends, including Dr Wright, hope people remember Read for the way he changed his life.
Dr Wright remains close to sister-in-law Val, who isn’t portrayed in the new Screentime series.
“We chat on the phone every two weeks, for an hour or so,” he said. “Despite his (Read’s) notorious life, his mum never saw the bad side of him. “To her he was always a loveable ‘kid’ that sort of grew up in the wrong direction.
“She prefers to remember him as she always knew him.”
Somebody’s nephew. Somebody’s husband. Somebody’s father. Someone’s son. THE Gold Coast has been a home away from home for Underbelly Files: Chopper star Aaron Jeffrey. Jeffrey starred in locally-filmed Channel 9 drama series The Strip, which screened in 2008. “I have family on the Gold Coast,” Jeffrey said. “My stepmum Lorraine lives up there — she’s a beautiful soul — and my and stepsister Gina and her kid live there too.” Jeffrey said he was stoked to have landed the Underbelly Files: Chopper role.
“It was the most incredible experience of my life,” he said.