Deborah Kennedy is an Australian character actress recognised for several television and film roles, especially for her appearance in the famous Australian Yellow Pages advertisement with the line "Not happy, Jan!".
Kennedy began her acting career on the stage, with the Marian Street Theatre, Killara, appearing in The Trojan Woman and Macbeth . She followed this with work with several other theatrical organisations including SUDS, Repertory 200, the New Theatre, and the Pegeant Theatre. For the Nimrod theatre starting in 1975 she had several roles in plays, acting in Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III . Other theatre work includes Travelling North, House of the Deaf Man, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Desert Flambe.
Starting in the 1970s she also acted in various television roles, with appearances in Certain Women , Silent Number , Waygoose , Doctor Down Under , The Restless Years , Bellamy , and 1915 . Film roles of the period include Tim (1979) which starred Mel Gibson and Piper Laurie, Dawn! (1979), and Temperament Unsuited (1978). [1]
In the 1980s she played a brief guest role in soap opera Prisoner , and in 1991 was a regular cast member of serial Chances . She continued in that role several months until her character, nurse Connie Reynolds, was written out of the show as part of a cast revamp. In the 1990s continued television guest appearances included a recurring part in Police Rescue and roles in series Wildside and Good Guys Bad Guys . She continued to play supporting roles in feature films, including I Can't Get Started (1985), The Empty Beach (1985), Death in Brunswick (1991), The Sum of Us (1994), Idiot Box (1996), Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997), My Mother Frank (2000), Matter of Life (2001), and Swimming Upstream (2003). She also appeared in two children's programs, Johnson and Friends and Boffins .
Kennedy also delivered the famous (in Australia) catch-phrase "Not happy, Jan!" in the oft-quoted TV commercial for the Yellow Pages telephone directory. In the 2000s television guest roles have included appearances series MacLeod's Daughters and Welcher & Welcher . Starting 2006, Kennedy appeared in a recurring role in the soap opera Neighbours as Mishka Schneiderova, Lou Carpenter's Russian partner whom he met online. After completing a stint in the series Mishka made her on-air return in Australia in October 2006. Kennedy appeared in the comedy series The Jesters in 2009 and has had guest roles on television series Dance Academy , Rake , and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries . Since 2013 Kennedy has been a regular cast member in the Australian period drama A Place to Call Home playing the role of Inverness local gossip who means well, Doris Collins. Kennedy also had a brief role in the first series of the ABC's Janet King .
Kennedy was announced as part of the extended cast for ABC series Return to Paradise (2024 TV series). [2]
Year | Film | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | Temperament Unsuited | Christine | Film short |
1979 | Tim | Dawnie Melville | Feature film |
1979 | Dawn! | Role unknown | Feature film |
1985 | The Empty Beach | Newspaper Librarian | Feature film |
1988 | Kadaicha | Mrs. Millhouse | Feature film |
1988 | Grievous Bodily Harm | Madeleine Kovitch | Feature film |
1990 | Death in Brunswick | June | Feature film |
1994 | The Sum of Us | Joyce Johnson | Feature film |
1994 | The Roly Poly Man | Chantal | Feature film |
1996 | Idiot Box | Detective Leanne | Feature film |
1997 | Thank God He Met Lizzie | June | Feature film |
1998 | Let's Wait | Alex | Film short |
1999 | Federation | Louisa Lawson | Feature film |
2000 | My Mother Frank | Receptionist | Feature film |
2001 | A Matter of Life | Suicidal Sue | Film short |
2001 | Jet Set | Herself | Film short |
2002 | Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home | Short | Film short |
2003 | Swimming Upstream | Billie | Feature film |
2004 | Thunderstruck | Matron of Honour | Feature film |
2009 | Closed for Winter | Dorothy | Feature film |
2009 | Charlie & Boots | Miles Waitress | Feature film |
2015 | Women He's Undressed | Florence Kelly | Feature film documentary |
2018 | Ladies in Black | Myra's Mother | Feature film |
2019 | Larry Time | Beryl | Film short |
TBA | Jimpa | Filming |
Year | Film | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | McManus MPB | Model | TV movie |
1975 | Silent Number | TV series, 1 episode | |
1976 | Certain Women | TV series | |
1979 | Doctor Down Under | Sister Fletcher | TV series, 1 episode |
1979 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself with Michael Pate | TV series, 1 episode |
1980 | The Restless Years | Dr. Helen Ashford | TV series |
1981 | Bellamy | TV series, 1 episode | |
1982 | 1915 | Sharon Kerley | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
1983 | Prisoner | Gerri Doogan | TV series, 2 episodes |
1985; 1987 | A Country Practice | Joan Barlow | TV series, 2 episodes |
1987 | A Country Practice | Maree Perkins | TV series, 1 episode |
1987 | Willing and Abel | TV series, 1 episode | |
1988 | Home and Away | Vet | TV series, 1 episode |
1988 | Mike Willesee's Australians | June Ferguson | TV film series, episode 9: "Betty Cuthbert" |
1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Miss Herron | TV series, 1 episode |
1988 | Fields of Fire II | Betty Wilson | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
1990–95 | Johnson and Friends | Victoria | TV series, 32 episodes |
1990 | How Wonderful! | Exercise Class Teacher | TV movie |
1991 | For the Love of Mike | Isabella Rudd | TV series, 1 episode |
1991 | Chances | Connie Reynolds | TV series, 68 episodes |
1991–92 | Police Rescue | Bronwyn Catteau | TV series, 4 episodes |
1994 | Boffins | Madame Curie | TV series, 13 episodes |
1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Romono | TV film series, episode 5: "A Fallen Woman" |
1998 | Good Guys Bad Guys | Bridget Costello | TV series, 1 episode |
1998 | Wildside | Patricia Wilson | TV series, 1 episode |
2002 | McLeod's Daughters | Cathy Cronin | TV series, 1 episode |
2003 | Welcher & Welcher | Judge | TV series, 1 episode |
2004 | Stiff | Trish | TV movie |
2004 | The Brush-Off | Trish | TV movie |
2005 | Small Claims: White Wedding | Trudy Duffy | TV film series, 1 episode |
2006 | Telethon | Herself | TV special |
2006 | Have a Go TV | Presenter | TV series, 13 episodes |
2006 | RAN: Remote Area Nurse | Departing RAN | TV series, 3 episodes |
2006 | Neighbours | Mishka Schneiderova | TV series, 23 episodes |
2007 | Bastard Boys | Gwen Coombs | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
2009 | Law and Disorder: Allan Kessing - The Reluctant Whistleblower | Narrator (voice) | Film documentary |
2009 | :30 Seconds | Joceyln Mann | TV series, 1 episode |
2009–11 | The Jesters | Di Sunnington | TV series, 16 episodes |
2009 | Sea Princesses | Whale Queen (voice) | TV series, 52 episodes |
2010 | A Very Short War | Gwen Carpenter | TV film documentary |
2010; 2012 | Rake | Meg Makepeace QC | TV series, 2 episodes |
2010–12 | Dance Academy | Miss Histead | TV series, 3 episodes |
2011 | Outback Kids | Narrator | TV series, 3 episodes |
2011–12 | Laid | Jan Beane / Janis Kennedy | TV series, 5 episodes |
2011 | Immigration Nation: The Secret History Of Us | Narrator | TV series, 3 episodes |
2012 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Georgina Charlesworth | TV series, 1 episode |
2013–18 | A Place to Call Home | Doris Collins | TV series, 59 episodes |
2014 | Janet King | Dianne Vaslich | TV series, 4 episodes |
2015 | The Daily Edition | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
2015 | The Principal | Val | TV miniseries, 4 episodes |
2015 | No Activity | Count Clerk | TV series, 1 episode |
2016 | Deep Water | Dr. Pedersen | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
2017 | The Secret Daughter | Magistrate | TV series, 1 episode |
2017 | Sisters | Butch | TV series, 2 episodes |
2018 | There Goes Our Neighbourhood | Narrator | TV documentary |
2022 | The Strange Chores | Yellowbeard (voice) | TV series, 1 episode |
Fisk | Edith | TV series, 2 episodes | |
2023 | Totally Completely Fine | Beatrice | 2 episodes |
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart | Merle | 1 episode | |
2024 | Return to Paradise | Maggie | TV series |
Year | Film | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Origins Unknown | Agatha Dunwick | Podcast series |
2021 | Tara Tremendous | Fiona Biddlespach | Podcast series, 1 episode |
Year | Film | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | M.U.G.E.N. | Voice | Video game |
Bettina Catherine Welch was a New Zealand-born Australia-based actress, primarily in radio and theatre and of the latter in television roles. She was best known for her role in television soap opera Number 96 as Maggie Cameron, a scheming businesswoman and fashion editor.
Ian Smith is an Australian actor, television producer and screenwriter.
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series ever since.
Kathleen Noone is an American actress. She began her career as a singer in nightclubs and performed in musicals off-Broadway before making her television debut in the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns (1975–1976).
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom and Ireland in theatre and television. She began her career on the stage in the mid-1950s before moving onto the small screen in the early 1960s, appearing in various telefilms. Following parts in a range of series by Crawford Productions, Charleston became known for her work in the cult classic series Prisoner, where she played three different characters between 1979 and 1984. Her most prominent television roles were in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, where she played matriarch Madge Bishop, and the British soap Emmerdale, playing Lily Butterfield (2006–2009).
Cornelia Frances Zulver, OAM, credited professionally as Cornelia Frances, was an English-Australian actress. After starting her career in small cameos in films in her native England, she became best known for her acting career in Australia after emigrating there in the 1960s, particularly her iconic television soap opera roles with portrayals of nasty characters. she also worked on stage and in voice-over.
Christina Pickles is a British-American Emmy Award winning actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for her recurring role as Judy Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, for which she was nominated for the 1995 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Tina Bursill is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series Skyways (1979–1981) and Sonia Stevens on Prisoner (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series Doctor Doctor. Bursill won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1987 film Jilted.
Wendy Blacklock AM is an Australian-born retired theatre actress and theatrical entrepreneur, radio and television actress, comedienne, producer, writer, singer, dancer and choreographer who has appeared in numerous performance roles, both locally and in the United Kingdom, and has been referred to as "The Grand Dame of the Stage".
Alice Hirson is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas and as Lois Morgan, the mother of the title character on the ABC sitcom Ellen.
Philippa Baker, credited also as Phillippa Baker )note: not related to Australian actress Lesley Baker). is an Australian retired actress of radio, theatre and television in series and teleplays and telefilms
Anthony Hawkins, was an English-born, Australian-based television actor. He was best known for his roles as Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Smith in the police procedural Special Squad (1984) and Frank diAngelo on The Saddle Club. He also had a recurring role in Prisoner as Bob Morris from 1980 to 1982.
Vanessa Downing also known as Vanessa Ryan, is an Australian actress and singer, voice artist and lawyer
Allison Mills, also known as Alley Bean, is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She starred as Norma Arnold, in the coming-of-age ABC comedy series, The Wonder Years (1988–1993). In 2006 she began playing the role of Pamela Douglas, the sister of the late Forrester matriarch Stephanie Forrester, on the CBS soap operaThe Bold and the Beautiful. From 2022 to 2024, Mills also portrayed antagonistic Heather Webber on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
Thelma Marjorie Scott was an Australian character actress whose six-decade career in theatre, radio, film and Australian made her one of her country's most recognisable and beloved personalities. Having started her career in the early 1930s in theatre and film productions, she became one of the nation's biggest radio performers, during the 1940s featuring in productions such as Big Sister and Blue Hills. She returned to make TV films in the early late 1950s and then became a star on television after it was launched in Australia. She became best known for roles in soap operas including Number 96 as Claire Houghton and Mrs. Jennings in Richmond Hill.
Kimberly Hawthorne is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Broadway and daytime soap operas, before landing supporting roles on the prime time dramas. From 2000 to 2005, Hawthorne was regular cast member in the CBC Television police drama, Da Vinci's Inquest. From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Kerissa Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.
John Orcsik, credited also variously as Jon Orcsik, John Orschik, John Orscik and John Crosik, is an Australian television and film actor, screenwriter, director and producer of Hungarian descent, known for his television roles starting from the late 1960s, but also for the film version of the soap opera Number 96. He was married to actress Paula Duncan.
Pamela Rabe is a Canadian–Australian actress and theatre director. A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver, Rabe is best known for her appearances in the Australian films Sirens, Cosi and Paradise Road, and for starring as Joan Ferguson in the television drama series Wentworth.
Lynette Curran is an Australian actress known for many roles in Australian television series and films, including the soap opera Bellbird, and the films Country Town (1971) and Bliss (1985).
Bethany Lee is an Australian former film, television and theatre actress. She guest starred on numerous television series during the 1970s, including recurring roles on The Long Arm, Number 96 and Skyways, but is best known for her role as Andrea Hennessy in the cult soap opera Prisoner.