Louis and Oliver Leimbach of Lime Cordiale have released an affection statement announcing that their father, filmmaker Bill Leimbach has passed away.
In a statement Louis and Oliver posted:
Our dad, Bill, died peacefully at home during golden hour on Tuesday, August 5th, surrounded by family.
Not many people can say they had a dad like Bill. He was a filmmaker, a grandpa, a husband, a Yank-turned-Aussie, and a huge presence.
We wouldn’t be where we are without him. He pushed the band onto the stage and managed us in the early days, telling us we needed to gig every night if we wanted to get anywhere.
He grew up in San Diego — a surfer, a cheerleader (seriously), and once even stole Bob Dylan’s boots from the front of the stage at a college show. When he was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, he fled to South America. They caught him eventually — so he faked insanity and got institutionalised. When they let him out, he left the States for good.
He went to film school in London and had our sisters, Carli and Tania. But after his first trip to Australia — where he thought he’d died and gone to heaven — he moved the family across the world.
Later, he met our mum and our music teacher, Karen who helped shape us into the musicians we are today. From then on, she composed the music for most of Dad’s films.
As a filmmaker, he became an explorer and anthropologist. He lived with isolated cannibals in PNG, stayed with the Xingu Peoples in the Amazon with the film earning him an Oscar nom. He followed David Gulpilil to Hollywood, documented the first Balinese surfers, reenacted the First Fleet, made docos on WWI, Waltzing Matilda, racing camels, Aussie gambling, and the music of Polynesia and Southeast Asia. He even made the show Russell Coight took the piss out of.
He had too many stories to hear them all. He pushed us hard — but almost in the same breath, told us to take a fucking break. He knew how to turn a holiday into a tax deduction.
Dad never grew up. He was a cheeky bugger with an infectious giggle, always trying to shock you with something inappropriate.
You’d hardly ever see him without our merch on. Our biggest supporter.
He was our best mate, and it was always our goal to impress him.
We’ll miss you, Dad.
Bill Leimbach spent more than 25 years producing and directing for a diverse range of platforms: National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, BBC, ABC, SBS, and commercial networks. Managing Director of Lucky Country Productions, he continues to develop historical and cultural narrative projects.
His defining works include:
• Walkabout to Hollywood (1980): A moving documentary on Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, exploring the cultural bridge between his tribal roots and Western stardom. It captures Gulpilil’s dual life and emotional pull back towards Arnhem Land.
• Balinese Surfer (1978) and its sequel, Balinese Surfer 2: Wave of Change (2002): Rich depictions of Bali’s surfing culture and its environmental challenges over decades.
• The Great Camel Race (1988): A documentary chronicling a dramatic outback endurance event from Alice Springs to the Gold Coast.
• Under the Lino – The Life & Art of Bruce Goold: A celebrated profile of Australian artist Bruce Goold, scored by Leimbach’s sons’ band Lime Cordiale.
Leimbach produced the World War I drama, ‘Beneath Hill 60’ (2010) an ambitious portrayal of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company. The film garnered 12 Australian Film Award nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Script. Its origin stems from mining engineer and historian Ross Thomas, who advocated for the story of Captain Oliver Woodward and his tunnelling company, even securing permission from descendants for the film’s screenplay adaptation.
Leimbach also produced Departure Lounge – A Bollywood Affair, a short comedy that won Best Comedy at the AFI Social Shorts Awards in 2015.
Leimbach’s storytelling transcended traditional biographical formats. A profile in Pittwater Online News described him as a man who “spent his life outdoors, in the light, capturing real stories of real people,” noting his vitality and the authenticity that marks his work. He was also celebrated as a family man, father of the popular musical duo Lime Cordiale, and husband to musician Karen Leimbach,
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE
Noise11.com
Follow us at https://bsky.app/profile/noise11.bsky.social
Noise11 on Instagram
Comment on the news of the day, join Noise11 on Facebook
