Henry Szeps OAM was born in Lausanne, Switzerland on 2 October 1943. He studied at the Ensemble Theatre under Hayes Gordon and was part of their company for a number of years.
Television productions in which Henry appeared included Homicide, Skippy, A Country Practice, Copshop and Kingswood Country and Caron’s Law to name just a few.
In 1968 he appeared in the controversial stage play, Boys in the Band.
He left for England in 1971 and appeared in a number of stage plays and movies, which included touring with Derek Jacobi and the British TV series Colditz and The Strauss Family.
On his return to Australia, Henry’s stage and television career continued with much success, including a collaboration with playwright David Williamson for some years. He also appeared in five one-man shows which were produced the Ensemble Theatre, three of which he wrote himself.
Perhaps his best known television work in Australia was as the long suffering Robert in Mother and Son with Garry McDonald and Ruth Cracknell which ran from 1984 until 1994.
He was given the Helpmann Award for the Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in Cabaret in 2003, playing Herr Schultz.
In 2021 he openly discussed the onset of dementia very openly and moved into a care facility in 2023. He died on 24 July 2025.
Henry was married to actress Mary Ann Severne and they had two sons.