Background
Heylen was born in Renmark, South Australia as Harold Charles Sydney Heylen, the only son of a carpenter.
Heylen was born in Renmark, South Australia as Harold Charles Sydney Heylen, the only son of a carpenter.
He went into vaudeville after the war and in 1956 starred in the variety show "The Show of Stars" with Hal Lashwood and John Ewart. Heylen became well known during the 1960s on television as a regular performer on the channel 7 variety show Sunnyside Up in Melbourne for 10 years, appearing as "Sydney from Sydney". He teamed up with other comics, such as Honest John Gilbert, presenting comedy sketches in between the musical items.
He joined the army at 16 and served on the Kokoda Trail in the 39th infantry, later going on to join the army entertainment troupe.
Heylen remains best known for his role as Vernon "Cookie" Locke, a chef and barman in the Australian television series A Country Practice, a role he played from 1982 until 1992. He was cast as Cookie on A Country Practice after the series creator James Davern saw him in the television series Arcade.
Heylen was written out of the series in 1992 alongside another older cast member Gordon Piper (who played Cookie"s mate Bob Hatfield) as the producers wanted to concentrate on a younger cast and an updated formula. James Davern would later regret dropping Cookie and Bob, as they were two of the show"s central characters who provided many of the comedy scenes between the more dramatic storylines.
Previously he acted in the soap opera The Box playing a fast-talking television sportscaster.
Heylen played a minor role in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior as Curmudgeon. In the 1980s he released a number of albums containing songs such as "Who"s Sorry Now?" (to which the Doctorate-Generation quipped "anyone who bought the album") He died in Queensland on December 4, 1996, from a stroke. Syd Heylen was a patron and performer for the Variety Club Australia, where he was awarded as The First National Treasure.