Judith McGrath | |
---|---|
![]() Judith McGrath as Colleen Powell in Prisoner | |
Born | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 21 April 1947
Died | 20 October 2017 70) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | (aged
Nationality | Australian |
Other names | Judy McGrath |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1967–2012 |
Notable work |
|
Judith McGrath (21 April 1947 – 20 October 2017) was an Australian actress. She was known for her roles as Colleen Powell in Prisoner , Matron Gribble in Round the Twist , Bernice Hudson in A Country Practice , and Yvonne 'Von' Ryan in All Saints .
McGrath was known for her television roles, including soap operas Prisoner (1979–84), as Deputy Governor/Officer Colleen "Poface" Powell, A Country Practice (1992–93) as hippy Bernice Hudson and for her Logie Award-nominated role in the medical drama All Saints as Nurse Yvonne "Von" Ryan (1998–2009) and her comedy roles in children's series Round the Twist as Matron Cecilia Gribble.
McGrath was known for playing characters with a dry, often sarcastic wit. [1]
Born in Brisbane, McGrath began her career at the Brisbane Arts Theatre, and was a member of Twelfth Night Theatre under artistic director Joan Whalley. She also played Grace in the 1969 film Age of Consent .
McGrath is probably best known to international audiences for her role in the cult Network Ten series Prisoner as fair-minded but sarcastic Deputy Governor Colleen" Poface" Powell. [2] Initially a minor character, appearing in 12 episodes in the first two series (1979–80), she became a permanent cast member in 1981 and went on to appear in a total of 263 episodes. She chose to leave the series, taping her final scenes in December 1983. Her farewell episode aired in May 1984 during the show's sixth season. [3]
After leaving Prisoner, McGrath appeared in guest roles in Neighbours in 1985 and The Flying Doctors in 1986 and 1988, before appearing in the first series of the children's television show Round The Twist in 1989, playing Matron Gribble. [4] She went on to be a regular cast member on A Country Practice as Bernice Hudson from 1992 until 1993.
McGrath played the long-running role of Yvonne "Von"' Ryan in television medical drama series All Saints on Network Seven from its debut in 1998, opposite co-star Georgie Parker. She was the only original cast member to stay with the series until it concluded in late 2009. [5]
McGrath died at a hospice in Brisbane at the age of 70 from lung cancer on 20 October 2017. [6] [7]
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | Age of Consent | Brisbane Girl - Grace (as Judy McGrath) | Feature film |
1986 | Backstage | Hotel Receptionist | Feature film |
2005 | Fink | Centrelink Woman | Feature film |
2010 | Scone Wars | Mavis Hepstead | Film short |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Bluey | Mrs. Thompson | Season 1, episode 22 (guest) |
1977, 1980 | Young Ramsay | Rosemary Billings | Season 1, episode 8 / Season 2, episode 5 (guest) |
1978–80 | Cop Shop | Mrs. Bond | Season 1, episode 23 (guest) |
Leila Foley | Season 2, episode 22 (guest) | ||
Jane Hardy | Season 2–3 (recurring, 4 episodes) | ||
Eve Fleming | Season 3, episodes 59 & 60 (guest) | ||
1978 | The Sullivans | Miss Harvey | Unknown season (recurring, 4 episodes) |
1979 | Skyways | Mrs. Mason | Unknown season (guest, 2 episodes) |
Dr. Mendelshon | Unknown season (guest, 2 episodes) | ||
Zoe Lawrence | Unknown season (guest, 1 episode) | ||
1979–84 | Prisoner | Colleen Powell | Seasons 1–3 (recurring, 31 episodes) Seasons 3–6 (main role, 232 episodes) [lower-alpha 1] |
1984 | Special Squad | June Holgate | Season 1, episode 26 (guest) |
1985 | Neighbours | Margaret Haywood | Season 1, episodes 67 & 68 (guest) |
1986, 1988 | The Flying Doctors | Cynthia Cumberland-Brown | Season 1, episode 18 (guest) |
Caroline Longley | Season 3, episode 22 (guest) | ||
1986 | Sword of Honour | Dietician | Miniseries (episode 4) |
1987 | Willing and Abel | (unknown role) | Season 1 (unknown episodes) |
1989 | Round the Twist | Matron Gribble | Season 1 (main role, 9 episodes) |
1992–93 | A Country Practice | Bernice Hudson | Seasons 12–13 (main role, 149 episodes) |
1995 | Police Rescue | Hazel | Season 4, episode 3 (guest) |
1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Margaret | Season 1, episode 3 (main role) |
1998–2009 | All Saints | Yvonne 'Von' Ryan | Seasons 1–12 (main role, 493 episodes) |
2011–12 | Winners & Losers | Maria Crawley | Seasons 1–2 (recurring, 3 episodes) |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Telethon 1982 | Herself – Guest | TV special |
1984 | 26th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself [lower-alpha 2] | TV special |
1992 | The Main Event | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |
1994 | Day to Day | Herself – Guest | TV series (1 episode) |
2001–02 | The Weakest Link | Herself | TV series (2 episodes) |
2007 | 49th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself | TV special |
2007 | Channel 7 Telethon | Herself | TV special |
2011 | Today Tonight | Herself [lower-alpha 3] | TV series, 1 episode |
2011 | Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |
2011 | A Current Affair | Herself [lower-alpha 4] | TV series (1 episode) |
Kath & Kim is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter. The cast also includes Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn and Magda Szubanski as, respectively, Kath's metrosexual boyfriend Kel Knight, Kim's henpecked husband Brett Craig, and her lonely "second-best friend" Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.
Round the Twist is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port Naranda.
Tammin Sursok is a South African-born Australian-American actress, model and singer. She is best known for her roles on television as Dani Sutherland on Home and Away, Colleen Carlton on The Young and the Restless, and Jenna Marshall on Pretty Little Liars.
Valerie Kathleen Lehman is an Australian actress and director, best known locally and internationally for her role as the antagonist "Top Dog" and self-styled Queen Bea Smith in the Australian TV series Prisoner for the first five series from 1979 until 1983 for 356 episodes.
Belinda Jane Emmett was an Australian actress and singer. She was best known for her roles in the TV drama series Home and Away and All Saints as well as the sitcom Hey Dad..!. She was married to Australian television host, comedian and media personality Rove McManus.
Debra Lawrance is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role on Home and Away, as Pippa Ross, which she played from 1990 to 1998 and in a number of subsequent return appearances, the most recent being in 2009.
Rowena Wallace is an English-born Australian stage and screen actress, most especially in the genre of television soap opera. She is best known for her Gold Logie-winning role as conniving Patricia "Pat the Rat" Hamilton/Morrell/Palmer in Sons and Daughters, being the first soap star to win the Gold Logie. After leaving the series and being replaced in the role by Belinda Giblin, Wallace returned in the final season as Patricia's sister Pamela Hudson.
Carol Ann Burns was an Australian actress, theatre director and patron of the arts, with a career spanning 50 years. She worked extensively in theatre and television serials, as well as telemovies and mini-series in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia she was a founding member of the Queensland Theatre Company.
Bunney Brooke, born as Dorothy Cronin, was an Australian actress, creator, producer, director, designer, playwright and casting agent, best known for her being one of the early faces of Australian television. Known for her television, movie, theatre acting and comedy roles including the long-running role of Flo Patterson in the soap opera and movie release version of Number 96 in the 1970s, and in her later years to a new generation of viewers in her role as Helen "Nell" Rickards in children's series Round the Twist and her role as Violet "Vi" Patchett in E Street (1990).
Joan Sydney King was an English-born Australian actress, primarily known for her television roles in soap operas and serials but who also appeared in theatre.
Kym Wilson is an Australian actress and former television host.
Rachael Ann Carpani is an Australian actress best known as Jodi Fountain in McLeod's Daughters.
Celia Ireland is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Regina Butcher on the television series All Saints and her Logie award winning role as Liz Birdsworth on the prison drama series Wentworth.
Katie McGrath is an Irish actress. In television, she gained recognition for portraying Morgana Pendragon in the BBC One series Merlin (2008–2012), Lucy Westenra on the British-American series Dracula (2013–2014), Saskia in the TV series Secret Bridesmaids Business, and Sarah Bennett in the first season of the horror anthology series Slasher (2016), and for her role as Lena Luthor on the superhero series Supergirl (2016–2021). Her film roles include Lady Thelma Furness in the drama film W.E. and Jules Daly in the Christmas movie A Princess for Christmas (2011), Zara Young in the science fiction adventure film Jurassic World (2015), and Elsa in the epic fantasy film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017).
I Can Jump Puddles is a 1981 Australian television mini-series based on the 1955 autobiography of the same name by author Alan Marshall. Adapted for television by screenwriters Cliff Green and Roger Simpson, the series starred Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Adam Garnett, Tony Barry, Julie Hamilton, Ann Henderson, Lesley Baker, Olivia Brown, Debra Lawrance and Darren MacDonald.
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.
Mirrah Foulkes is an Australian director, screenwriter, and film and television actress. She was raised on the Sunshine Coast, in South East Queensland, Australia. She has appeared in films such as Animal Kingdom (2010), Sleeping Beauty (2011), and in the Australian anthology film The Turning (2013).
The third season of Australian drama television series Prisoner premiered on Network Ten on 4 February 1981. It consists of 81 episodes and concluded on 11 November 1981.