Bruce Leonard (l) receiving the national pioneer of the year award from Mike Selwyn.
Friends and colleagues are mourning Bruce Leonard as a passionate and committed stalwart of the Australian cinema industry.
Leonard, who died at his Sydney home last Wednesday, aged 75, dedicated a large part of his life to the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers and the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (Mpibs) as national secretary/treasurer of both bodies.
“I had the privilege of knowing and working alongside Bruce for 40 years,“ says Murray Forrest, the chairman of Mpibs. “I witnessed his thoughtfulness, decency and caring for people. He was one of the finest gentlemen I have known in my 50 years in the film industry.”
Former Paramount Pictures MD Mike Selwyn said: “The film industry in Australia has been very fortunate in having a number of people who, after a long career, were willing to devote themselves to helping others in the industry.
Friends and colleagues are mourning Bruce Leonard as a passionate and committed stalwart of the Australian cinema industry.
Leonard, who died at his Sydney home last Wednesday, aged 75, dedicated a large part of his life to the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers and the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (Mpibs) as national secretary/treasurer of both bodies.
“I had the privilege of knowing and working alongside Bruce for 40 years,“ says Murray Forrest, the chairman of Mpibs. “I witnessed his thoughtfulness, decency and caring for people. He was one of the finest gentlemen I have known in my 50 years in the film industry.”
Former Paramount Pictures MD Mike Selwyn said: “The film industry in Australia has been very fortunate in having a number of people who, after a long career, were willing to devote themselves to helping others in the industry.
- 3/18/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The parents who participated in the 2015 beatings of their teenaged sons at a New York church, killing one and seriously injuring the other, were sentenced to prison on Monday after previously pleading guilty to assault, People confirms.
Bruce Leonard, 66, was sentenced to 10 years, according to court records. He faced a potential 15-year sentence after accepting a plea bargain last year. He agreed to testify against others accused in the beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, a small hamlet located just six miles outside of Utica, New York.
Deborah Leonard, 60, was sentenced to five years. She, too,...
Bruce Leonard, 66, was sentenced to 10 years, according to court records. He faced a potential 15-year sentence after accepting a plea bargain last year. He agreed to testify against others accused in the beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, a small hamlet located just six miles outside of Utica, New York.
Deborah Leonard, 60, was sentenced to five years. She, too,...
- 2/7/2017
- by Chris Harris
- PEOPLE.com
The matriarch of a small religious sect that former members insist is a cult will spend the next two years in jail for her role in the prolonged, deadly beatings of two teenage brothers who tried to leave the group, People confirms.
Traci Irwin, 50, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty in Oneida County Court in New York to two counts of felony unlawful imprisonment.
Irwin was charged, along with eight other members of the Word of Life Church, with the fatal beating of Lucas Leonard. The 19-year-old was savagely whipped and battered intermittently over a 12-hour period inside the church,...
Traci Irwin, 50, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty in Oneida County Court in New York to two counts of felony unlawful imprisonment.
Irwin was charged, along with eight other members of the Word of Life Church, with the fatal beating of Lucas Leonard. The 19-year-old was savagely whipped and battered intermittently over a 12-hour period inside the church,...
- 12/7/2016
- by chrisharristimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
The 30-year-old pastor of a small religious group that former members insist is a cult has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault, thus avoiding murder charges in a 2015 attack on two of her church members, People confirms.
Her plea — along with the pleas of three other church members on Friday — comes little more than a year after two teenage brothers were savagely beaten over a dozen hours for what prosecutors said was their plan to defect from the upstate New York congregation.
Under the terms of a deal brokered by prosecutors, Tiffanie Irwin, the leader of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks,...
Her plea — along with the pleas of three other church members on Friday — comes little more than a year after two teenage brothers were savagely beaten over a dozen hours for what prosecutors said was their plan to defect from the upstate New York congregation.
Under the terms of a deal brokered by prosecutors, Tiffanie Irwin, the leader of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks,...
- 10/25/2016
- by chrisharristimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
Sarah Ferguson, who participated in a gang assault last fall that killed her 19-year-old half-brother and severely injured her then-17-year-old half-brother at an upstate New York church, was convicted of manslaughter and assault but was cleared of murder on Tuesday, People confirms. Court officials tell People Ferguson, 33, who pleaded not guilty prior to the bench trial, was also convicted of two counts of gang assault stemming from the Oct. 11, 2015, beatings of her half-brothers Christopher and Lucas Leonard. The violence took place inside the building of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, which some experts and...
- 7/5/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
This week, witnesses and experts have been testifying in the murder trial of Sarah Ferguson, the 33-year-old half-sister of Christopher and Lucas Leonard, the teen brothers who were allegedly beaten for more than a dozen hours inside a secretive upstate New York church in late 2015. Ferguson was arrested last fall along with several other members of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, after Lucas Leonard, 19, died from wounds he'd sustained in the alleged prolonged attack inside the secluded house of worship. His brother, Christopher, 18, was treated for lacerations and other injuries. Prosecutors have long maintained the alleged Oct.
- 6/30/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Bruce Leonard, the 66-year-old father of the teen brothers who were allegedly beaten for more than a dozen hours inside a secretive upstate New York church in late 2015, took the stand in Oneida County Court on Wednesday, providing a detailed account of the incident that took his 19-year-old son's life. Court officials tell People Leonard described how he and several other members of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, allegedly brutally pummeled and whipped his two teen sons during a church counseling session. The father, one of the prosecution's star witnesses, sobbed at times as he...
- 6/30/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Bruce Leonard, the father of two upstate New York teenagers who were beaten to death eight months ago inside a church they were trying to leave, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of assault, People confirms. In Oneida County Court, Leonard, 66, admitted to whipping his two sons with an electrical cord during an elongated gang assault that unfolded inside the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, the night of Oct. 11, 2015. The beatings - which authorities allege involved several other members of the church, including the boys' mother and half-sister - claimed the life of 19-year-old Lucas...
- 6/23/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Bruce Leonard, the father of two upstate New York teenagers who were beaten to death eight months ago inside a church they were trying to leave, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of assault, People confirms. In Oneida County Court, Leonard, 66, admitted to whipping his two sons with an electrical cord during an elongated gang assault that unfolded inside the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, the night of Oct. 11, 2015. The beatings - which authorities allege involved several other members of the church, including the boys' mother and half-sister - claimed the life of 19-year-old Lucas...
- 6/23/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
(l-r): Bruce Leonard and Murray Forrest (Photo credit: J.Ward).
The Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society was founded in 1931 and has provided financial and emotional support to colleagues in genuine need for 85 continuous years.
At last month's meeting of the Mpibs, chairman Murray Forrest presented Bruce Leonard with a life membership..
"Bruce Leonard has been personally involved with the society for 38 years and for the past 24 years has been Secretary/Treasurer, during which time his commitment to the vital work of the Mpibs has been extraordinary", Forrest said..
"In recognition of his selfless dedication he has deservedly been awarded life membership, in recognition of outstanding and dedicated service and commitment to the society."
"In the 85 years of the society's existence, this rare honour has been bestowed on only five people. There is no more deserving individual than Bruce Leonard to join this special group."
Leonard was first invited to...
The Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society was founded in 1931 and has provided financial and emotional support to colleagues in genuine need for 85 continuous years.
At last month's meeting of the Mpibs, chairman Murray Forrest presented Bruce Leonard with a life membership..
"Bruce Leonard has been personally involved with the society for 38 years and for the past 24 years has been Secretary/Treasurer, during which time his commitment to the vital work of the Mpibs has been extraordinary", Forrest said..
"In recognition of his selfless dedication he has deservedly been awarded life membership, in recognition of outstanding and dedicated service and commitment to the society."
"In the 85 years of the society's existence, this rare honour has been bestowed on only five people. There is no more deserving individual than Bruce Leonard to join this special group."
Leonard was first invited to...
- 6/22/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Seven months ago, a little known church in a small New York town made national headlines after 19-year-old Lucas Leonard died from wounds he'd sustained during a brutal beating that was allegedly carried out by nine of the church's congregants - including the teen's own parents and his half-sister. Lucas and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were allegedly clobbered, kicked, and whipped over 12 torturous hours, and now, criminal charges are currently pending against eight different defendants - among them, the church's 30-year-old pastor, Tiffanie Irwin. Christopher survived the Oct. 11 attack, which investigators claim followed a declaration from the Leonard brothers that...
- 5/18/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Seven months ago, a little known church in a small New York town made national headlines after 19-year-old Lucas Leonard died from wounds he'd sustained during a brutal beating that was allegedly carried out by nine of the church's congregants - including the teen's own parents and his half-sister. Lucas and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were allegedly clobbered, kicked, and whipped over 12 torturous hours, and now, criminal charges are currently pending against eight different defendants - among them, the church's 30-year-old pastor, Tiffanie Irwin. Christopher survived the Oct. 11 attack, which investigators claim followed a declaration from the Leonard brothers that...
- 5/18/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Last October, in the small upstate New York town of Chadwicks, teenage brothers Lucas and Christopher Leonard approached the leadership of the Word of Life Christian Church to disclose their plans to defect. Some 12 hours later, one of the brothers was dead. The other was hospitalized. According to prosecutors, Lucas and Christopher were allegedly intermittently pummeled, kicked, and whipped by nine of the church's congregants - including their own parents. Investigators say the prolonged beatings were allegedly carried out with fists and electrical cords. They were allegedly prompted by the church pastor's false claims the two teens had sexually assaulted...
- 5/18/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
Last October, in the small upstate New York town of Chadwicks, teenage brothers Lucas and Christopher Leonard approached the leadership of the Word of Life Christian Church to disclose their plans to defect. Some 12 hours later, one of the brothers was dead. The other was hospitalized. According to prosecutors, Lucas and Christopher were allegedly intermittently pummeled, kicked, and whipped by nine of the church's congregants - including their own parents. Investigators say the prolonged beatings were allegedly carried out with fists and electrical cords. They were allegedly prompted by the church pastor's false claims the two teens had sexually assaulted...
- 5/18/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
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