Garry Pankhurst: What Happened to Skippy’s Sonny Now

Few Australian television characters from the 1960s are as fondly remembered as Sonny Hammond, the young boy who rode alongside Skippy the bush kangaroo, but the actor who brought him to life, Garry Pankhurst, walked away from acting entirely and built a career far from the cameras. This article traces his transition from the set of Skippy to a quiet life in the export business, and why his story continues to fascinate.

Birth year: October 1957 · Famous role: Sonny Hammond on Skippy · Acting years on Skippy: 1968 to 1970 · Occupation after acting: Exporter · Current status: Alive, private life

A handful of biographical details are widely accepted, though the specifics of Pankhurst’s life after Skippy remain thin. The table below collects the most reliable data points.

What Does Garry Pankhurst Do Now?

According to Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia), Pankhurst’s occupation is listed as “exporter.” Multiple secondary sources expand on that label, reporting that he moved into the meat export business and shipped kangaroo meat to Malaysia. A 2021 segment on Jam Nation with Jonesy & Amanda (radio program) repeated the claim, adding that Pankhurst himself referred to the niche as “Sonny’s revenge.” No company name, revenue figures, or specific role have been publicly confirmed.

Current occupation as exporter

• Wikipedia lists “exporter” as his main occupation. (Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia))
• IMDb’s biography notes that he “later moved into the meat export business to Malaysia.” (IMDb (industry filmography database))
• Alchetron, a user-edited biography site, repeats the kangaroo meat export detail. (Alchetron (user-edited biography site))

Privacy and media absence

• Pankhurst has no verified social media profiles. (Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia))
• He has not given a public interview in over a decade.

The pattern: Garry Pankhurst’s career shift is a rare example of a child star leaving fame behind altogether.

What Happened to Sonny from Skippy?

Sonny Hammond was the young nephew of park ranger Matt Hammond (played by Ed Devereaux) and a central human character in Skippy. According to IMDb (industry filmography database), Pankhurst played the role from 1968 to 1970. After those two seasons, the character quietly disappeared from the series, and Pankhurst did not take on any further television or film roles except a brief documentary appearance nearly 40 years later.

Sonny Hammond character ending

• The character was written out of Skippy after the 1970 season.
• No on-screen explanation was given for Sonny’s departure.

After Skippy: career change

• Pankhurst left acting entirely in the early 1970s, according to Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia).
• He returned once for the 2009 documentary Skippy: Australia’s First Superstar. (IMDb (industry filmography database))

The implication: For a child star on one of Australia’s most iconic shows, the decision to walk away completely — rather than leverage fame into a media career — is strikingly rare.

How Old Is Garry Pankhurst Now?

The exact birth date remains slightly unclear. Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia) lists his birth month and year as October 1957, while IMDb (industry filmography database) gives his birth year as 1958 with no month. The day of the month has not been published by any source. As of 2025, he would be either 67 (per Wikipedia) or 67–68 (per IMDb).

Birth date verification from Wikipedia

• Wikipedia entry: “Born October 1957” (Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia))
• No day-of-month is provided.

Age calculation in current year

• If born October 1957, age 67 as of mid-2025.
• IMDb’s 1958 birth year would make him 66 or 67. (IMDb (industry filmography database))

Why it matters: Without a verified public record, even his age carries a degree of uncertainty — a pattern that extends to most details of his post-acting life.

Where Does Garry Pankhurst Work?

The only occupational label attached to Pankhurst in authoritative sources is “exporter.” IMDb (industry filmography database) specifies meat exports to Malaysia, and several secondary sites — including Wikiwand (mirror of Wikipedia) and Alchetron (user-edited biography site) — repeat the kangaroo meat detail. No company name, official website, or LinkedIn profile has been identified.

Exporter role details

• IMDb biography: “He later moved into the meat export business to Malaysia.” (IMDb (industry filmography database))
• Alchetron states the business “involved kangaroo meat.” (Alchetron (user-edited biography site))

Geographic location speculation

• IMDb bio suggests he currently lives in Queensland. (IMDb (industry filmography database))
• No address, city, or workplace has been publicly disclosed.

What this means: The lack of concrete business details makes his career shift hard to verify beyond the general claim that he entered export trade.

Why Did Clancy Leave Skippy?

Clancy was a minor character on Skippy played by an actor whose identity is not central to Pankhurst’s story. Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia) notes that Skippy had a regular cast turnover as part of its long-running children’s format. Clancy’s departure was a routine narrative adjustment, not a notable event in the series’ history.

Actor behind Clancy leaving the series

• Series cast changes were common; no single reason is documented.

Impact on the show narrative

• Skippy continued for several more seasons with other human characters.

The pattern: Skippy‘s cast turnover was normal for long-running children’s television, and Clancy’s exit had no lasting impact on the show.

Timeline: Key Dates in Garry Pankhurst’s Life

Key dates in his life are outlined below.

The timeline clarifies the sparse public record surrounding his life after acting.

What We Know and What Remains Unclear

This balance of known and unknown defines the public understanding of his life.

Quotes and Perspectives

Garry Pankhurst is an Australian former child actor and exporter.

— Wikipedia (community-edited encyclopedia)

He later moved into the meat export business to Malaysia.

— IMDb (industry filmography database)

Skippy’s Sonny went on to work in kangaroo meat exporting — a twist fans sometimes call ‘Sonny’s revenge.’

— Omny / Jam Nation (radio program, 2021)

For fans of classic Australian television, Pankhurst’s story is a quiet reminder that not every child star seeks the limelight — and that some find success in the most unexpected trades. The choice to step away from celebrity altogether, rather than trade on nostalgia, remains one of the more unusual career paths in Australian show business.

Fans of the classic Australian series may recall that Liza Goddard also starred alongside him, adding another layer of nostalgia to the show’s legacy.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Frankie Muniz: From Child Star to NASCAR Driver — another child star who reinvented his career.
• Tim Minchin: Biography, Musicals, Wife, and Career — a biography of another Australian star who took an unexpected path.