---
name: "Syd Heylen"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/syd-heylen"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 May 1922"
died: "4 December 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:15:20.590003+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Syd Heylen

Actor. Born 25 May 1922 in Renmark, South Australia, Australia. Died 4 December 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 May 1922, Renmark, South Australia, Australia
- **Died:** 4 December 1996
- **Also known as:** Sid Heylen, Sydney Heylen

## Biography

Syd Heylen was an Australian character actor, comedian and variety performer, credited variously as Syd, Sid and Sydney Heylen. He appeared in radio, stage, television and film, often in a vaudeville style.

Heylen served in the Australian Army during the Second World War before entering entertainment. His film roles included Old Bob in *Stir* (1980) and Curmudgeon in *Mad Max 2* (1981). He was best known for playing Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, the RSL club manager, barman and chef, in the television series *A Country Practice* from 1982 to 1992.

After leaving the series, Heylen and his wife Patti retired to the Gold Coast in Queensland. He died on 4 December 1996.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, rottentomatoes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Mad Max 2* (1981), Fi1m 88, as Curmudgeon — [page](https://film.one/film/mad-max-2.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/syd-heylen