Hutton Peter Gibson was an American writer on sedevacantism, a World War II veteran, the 1968 Jeopardy! grand champion and the father of 11 children, one of whom is the actor and director Mel Gibson.
Hutton Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the son of businessman John Hutton Gibson and Australian opera singer Eva Mylott. His maternal grandparents were Irish emigrants to Australia, while his father, who was from a wealthy tobacco-producing family from the American South, had Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. He was raised in Chicago.
After serving with the United States Marine Corps at the Battle of Guadalcanal, Gibson married Irish-born Anne Patricia Reilly on May 1, 1944, at the Catholic parish church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1968, Hutton Gibson appeared on the Art Fleming-hosted version of the game show Jeopardy! as "Red Gibson, a railroad brakeman from South Ozone Park, New York". Gibson won $4,680 and retired undefeated after five shows, in accordance with the rules of the show then in force. He was invited back to appear in the 1968 Tournament of Champions, where he became the year's grand champion, winning slightly over one thousand dollars more, as well as a two-person cruise to the West Indies. Art Fleming observed on the October 18, 1968, episode that the Jeopardy! staff had had difficulty informing Gibson about his invitation as Gibson had decamped with his family to County Tipperary, Ireland.
Hutton Gibson and his wife Anne and their 10 children moved to Australia in 1968. The move to his grandmother's country of birth, was for economic reasons, and his father's expectation that the Australian Defence Forces would reject his eldest son for the draft during the Vietnam War. Their 5th born son, Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, was born in Peekskill, New York and was 12yrs old when the family emigrated to Australia.
Hutton Gibson participated in many Australian quiz shows, including Big Nine with Athol Guy and Ford Superquiz with Bert Newton. In 1986, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Gibson had recently won $100,000 and an automobile in a TV quiz program.
They lived in Mt Kuring-gai, Sydney, then Woody Point in Queensland, Windsor and later Albury in NSW. When living in Queensland, the family home was at 34 Arthur St, Woody Point.
Their Australian born adopted son, Andrew attended Humpybong State School, Clontarf Beach and Redcliffe State High School. Andrew would follow his brother into the dramatic arts, briefly, appearing in a low-budget Star Wars fan short film The Dark Redemption. One of Gibson's younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor.
Hutton Gibson commonly drank at the Palace Hotel at Woody Point and Mel Gibson, while living in Sydney, visited his family many times when they were living in Woody Point, Redcliffe.
Mel Gibson:
Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old. During his high school years, Mel Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St Leo's Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales. He studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of Romeo and Juliet. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a production company, which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called "an alternative to the studio system". Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the World War I drama Gallipoli (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute, as well as a reputation as a serious, versatile actor.
In 1995, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in Braveheart, a historical epic, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, the Academy Award for Best Director, and the Academy Award for Best Picture. He later directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a biblical drama that was both financially successful and highly controversial. He received further critical notice for his directorial work of the action-adventure film Apocalypto (2006), which is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century.
After several legal issues and controversial statements leaked to the public, Gibson's public image plummeted significantly, affecting his careers in acting and directing. His career began seeing a resurgence with his performance in Edge of Darkness (2010) and Jodie Foster's The Beaver (2011). His directorial comeback after an absence of 10 years, Hacksaw Ridge (2016), won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another four including Best Picture and Best Director for Gibson, his second nomination in the category.
Hutton Gibson died at a medical center in Thousand Oaks, California, on May 11th, 2020, at the age of 101. Irish-born Anne Patricia (née Reilly), died in December 1990 aged 71 years.
The Gibson Family (Mel Gibson) is listed on the wall of the Redcliffe Wall of Fame:
A collection of portrait and information honouring the achievements of individuals who have influenced and shaped Redcliffe. The collection is in the Jetty Arcade at 139-141 Redcliffe Parade.
For a complete list of people who appear on the wall click on the following blog post: