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Noeline Brown | |
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| Born | Noeline Mabel Brown 3 October 1938 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Tony Sattler |
| Website | www |
Noeline Mabel Brown (sometimes credited as Noelene Brown) (born 3 October 1938) is an Australian actress and comedian. She has appeared in numerous films, television shows, [1] theatrical productions [2] and radio programs [3] dating back to 1959. [4]
Brown grew up in Stanmore, a working-class suburb of Sydney, Australia. [3] She was raised alongside her two brothers, by a mother suffering from tuberculosis. [5] Her father, Leo, [6] rarely home, worked with the travelling post office and was a unionist, influencing her own politics. [3] As a young child, Brown was hospitalised for several months with Scarlet fever. [6]
Brown was school captain in her last year at Stanmore Homescience School, [6] but left school at age 15, [5] as she struggled to conform with the subservient behaviour expected of her. [3] Her first job at 15 [7] was as a library assistant [6] at the Marrickville Library where, through colleagues, she was introduced to a theatre group and began to learn her craft in revues and theatre restaurants. [7] [5]
By 19, Brown was appearing in small theatre productions, first performing in a Petersham Musical Society revue, before working for the New Theatre at the Waterside Workers’ Federation. She then auditioned for Sydenham’s Pocket Playhouse, where she was discovered in 1962, playing a showgirl in The Sleeping Prince . [5] She gained local notoriety in Sydney as a cast member of the Phillip Street Revues and the popular melodrama productions at The Music Hall, a Sydney theatre-restaurant, in the early 1960s. [6]
Brown frequently appeared alongside Barry Creyton, in productions including What's New? (1962), The Face at the Window (1963), Beauty and the Beast (1963), How The West Was Lost (1964) and Double Act (1987), the latter of which, Creyton wrote in order to collaborate once again with Brown. [8] The pair specialised in comedy improvisation, with some of their sketches being aired on radio station 2SM. From there, they were offered a contract with Festival Records, making two comedy albums. Their first album, "The Front and Backside of Barry Creyton and Noeline Brown" outsold The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley, in its first week of release, but was banned on every radio station in Australia. [8]
From 2004 to 2006, Brown was in an extended Australian touring production of Wallflowering with HIT Productions playing the part of Peg. [9] In 2007, she appeared in Bruce Venables' and Richard Fidler's play Flying Solo, [10] directed by Judy Nunn, starring alongside Barry Quin, Paula Duncan, Enda Markey and Jacinta John. [11] The same year, she played Florence Foster Jenkins in Glorious! . [12] In 2009, she co-starred once again with Barry Creyton in Peter Quilter's play Duets at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney. [13] [14]
From 2014 to 2015, Brown played the role of Maggie (originated by Ruth Cracknell) in a stage reimagining of the classic Australian television sitcom Mother and Son . [5] In 2022, Brown appeared in a production of Mono opposite Max Gillies and John Wood. [15]
Brown, however came to national prominence after joining the cast of the pioneering Australian satirical TV sketch comedy series The Mavis Bramston Show (1964–1968). [16] After a stint in the UK she secured a regular role in the hit TV sitcom My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? , starring alongside Gordon Chater, John Meillon and Judi Farr. [17]
Throughout the 1970s, Brown enjoyed great popularity in Australia as a co-star of the satirical television and radio series The Naked Vicar Show [16] and with regular appearances as a panelist on the quiz show Blankety Blanks . [6]
She was a regular panelist in the ABC game show Would You Believe? (1970–1974). In 1978 she won a Logie Award for the most popular NSW female personality. [18]
In 2006, she was a competitor in Dancing with the Stars . [19]
She has briefly appeared in both feature films and TV movies. Her earlier film career included roles in Walkabout (1971) and Emma's War (1985).[ citation needed ] She played the role of Leonara Biviano in the Australian film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance in 2007. [20]
Brown was portrayed by Jane Allsop in the 2007 television movie The King , [21] about the life of Graham Kennedy.
Brown was appointed Australia's first Ambassador for Ageing by the Rudd government. [22]
She won the 2007 Norman Kessell Award [23] [24] for best performance for her portrayal of Florence Foster Jenkins in Peter Quilter's play Glorious! [12]
In April 2020, Brown was honoured with a stamp in the Australia Post Legends of Comedy issue. [25]
Brown is a longtime member of the Australian Labor Party and appeared in the "It's Time" advertisements for the party before the 1972 election. [26] She has twice (1999 and 2003) run for New South Wales Parliament as an endorsed Labor Party candidate. [27]
In 2008, she was appointed as the Commonwealth’s first Ambassador for Ageing, then reappointed for a second three-year term in 2011. [28]
Brown was a member of the Arts and Culture Board and a Patron of the Southern Highlands Regional Gallery. She worked with alcoholics and drug addicts at the Langton Clinic. She also spent two years with the NSW Premier’s Council for Women. [28]
Brown wrote an autobiography in 2005, called Noeline – Longterm Memoir. In 2017 she published a second memoir, Living the 1960s, about her life in that decade when living in Marrickville in Sydney. [29]
Brown met writer Tony Sattler on a radio show called Chuck Chunder of the Space Patrol. They married in 1976, before working together on mid-1970s comedy sketch hit The Naked Vicar Show on which he was a writer and producer. [5] [30] The couple were close friends of Graham Kennedy – Brown was present when Kennedy died in 2005. [31] She and Sattler have lived in Bowral for many years, and Kennedy moved there to be closer to them. When Kennedy's health began to fail, Sattler and Brown reportedly contacted former Nine network boss Kerry Packer to appeal for financial support to care for the ailing star (Kennedy having earned many millions of dollars for Packer and the Nine network in his heyday). Packer declined to assist Kennedy financially but, after the story became public, an anonymous benefactor (later revealed as former Nine Network chief Sam Chisholm) came forward and donated a substantial sum (reportedly AU$150,000) for Kennedy's ongoing support and care. [32]
Brown and Sattler run their own production company, Wintergreen Productions, in Bowral. They also built the Mary Mackillop Museum in North Sydney and the Slim Dusty Museum in Kempsey. [28]
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Walkabout | German Scientist | Feature film |
| 1976 | Kazzam International | Short film | |
| 1985 | Emma's War | Mrs. Mortimer | Feature film |
| 2001 | Bowl Me Over | Eunice | Short film |
| 2007 | Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance | Leonara Biviano | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Jonah | Dorothea Styles | Episode: "The Coal Mutiny" | |
| 1963 | The Right Thing | Shirley | Teleplay | [33] |
| 1964–1966 | The Mavis Bramston Show | Mavis / various characters | [16] | |
| 1965 | The Recruiting Officer | Melinda | Teleplay | [34] |
| 1967 | The Barry Creyton Show | Various characters | ||
| 1967–1968 | My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? | Rosemary 'Possum' Urkens | 60 episodes | |
| 1968 | Rita and Wally | Rosemary 'Possum' Urkens | 8 episodes | |
| 1969 | Homicide | Lois Davison | Season 6, episode 44: "An Unwelcome Guest" | |
| 1969; 1973 | Division 4 | Betty Taylor / Julie Burns | 2 episodes | |
| 1970 | The Long Arm | Mrs. Burton | Episode 1: "The Lion Was First to Know" | |
| Phoenix 5 | 5 episodes | |||
| Mrs. Finnegan | Mrs. Finnegan | |||
| 1971 | The Group | Pamela | Season 1, episode 3: "This Week She's on a Diet." | |
| The Godfathers | Dina Jackson | Episode 20: "The Star" | ||
| 1971–1975 | Matlock Police | Kathleen Kirby / Judy Austin / Dolly / Dawn Elders | 4 episodes | |
| 1972 | Spyforce | Mrs. Vermaar | Episode 22: "The Doctor" | |
| Number 96 | Trixie | 3 episodes | ||
| The Spoiler | Sandra | Episode 6: "Deadline Sunday" | ||
| 1973 | Boney | Mrs. Sawyer | Season 2, episode 6: "Boney and the Emu Man" | |
| Certain Women | ||||
| 1974 | Silent Number | Mrs. Dalton | Episode 25: "The Carrier" | |
| The Fourth Wish | Connie | Miniseries | ||
| The Last of the Australians | Jan | Season 1, Episode 2: "Double Disillusion" | [35] | |
| 1975 | Tully | Valerie | Teleplay | |
| 1976 | Alvin Purple | Iris Temple | Episode 10: "Footy Widow" | |
| King's Men | Mirabel | Episode 13: "Contract for King" | ||
| Day of Attrician | Teleplay | |||
| 1977–1978 | The Naked Vicar Show | Various characters | [16] | |
| 1979 | Tickled Pink | 1 episode | ||
| 1981 | Daily at Dawn | Phil Maguire | 13 episodes | |
| 1981; 1984 | Kingswood Country | Janet Green / Elizabeth Windsor | 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | Carson's Law | Isabelle McRae | 2 episodes | |
| The Girl from Moonooloo | TV film | |||
| 1987 | Rafferty's Rules | Toni Howard | Season 1, episode 5: "The Women" | |
| 1989 | In Sickness and in Health | Railene | 3 episodes | |
| 1992 | Late for School | 1 episode | ||
| 1997 | Fallen Angels | Sister Bernadette | Episode 5: "Snow on the Rock" | |
| Big Sky | Patricia | Episode 12: "Great Expectations" | ||
| The Adventures of Sam | Voice | Episode 2: "Moon Daughter" | ||
| Ketchup | Voice | |||
| 1999 | The Toothbrush Family | Countess de Comb (voice) | Episode: "Pegs" | |
| 2000 | Pizza | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966–1973; 1982–1983; 2000–2001 | Beauty and the Beast | Panelist | ||
| 1970–1974 | Would You Believe? | Guest panellist | ||
| 1975 | Celebrity Squares | Contestant | 3 episodes | |
| 1977–1978 | Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks | Panelist | 16 episodea | [6] |
| 1980 | Celebrity Tattletales | Herself | 2 episodes | |
| 1983 | Flashback | Panelist | ||
| 1984 | The Love Game | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1985 | Daryl Somers’ Blankety Blanks | Panelist | 2 episodes | |
| 1987 | Have a Go | Guest Judge | 3 episodes | |
| 1989 | Celebrity Family Feud | Contestant | 1 episode | |
| 1992 | English at Work | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | 40 Years of Australian Comedy | Herself | TV special | |
| 1999 | Funny By George: The George Wallace Story | Herself | TV documentary | |
| 2000 | From Vaudeville to Video – A Salute to Australian Comedy | Herself | TV special | |
| 2001 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Contestant | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | This Is Your Life | Herself | 1 episode | |
| Whose House Is It Anyway? | Herself | 1 episode | ||
| 2005 | The Price Is Right | Contestant | 1 episode | |
| 2005–2006 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | 11 episodes | [19] |
| 2006 | Deal or No Deal | Contestant | 1 episode | |
| TV Turns 50: The Events That Stopped A Nation | Herself | TV special | ||
| Where Are They Now | Guest (with Kingswood Country cast Ross Higgins, Judi Farr, Lex Marinos, Laurel McGowan, Peter Fisher & Kevin Golsby) | 1 episode | ||
| 2007 | Bert's Family Feud | Contestant | 1 episode | |
| Spicks and Specks | Guest | 1 episode | ||
| 2011; 2013 | Tractor Monkeys | Herself | 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | Stop Laughing...This Is Serious | Herself | 5 episodes | |
| 2022 | Pushing The Boundaries: The Mavis Bramston Show | Herself | Film documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Fission Chips: An Earthy Revue | Waterside Workers' Federation Hall, Sydney with New Theatre | ||
| 1961 | The Sleeping Prince | Showgirl | Pocket Playhouse, Sydney | [5] |
| Roundup on the Moon | ||||
| 1962 | Major Barbara | |||
| My Sister Eileen | ||||
| What's New? | Phillip Theatre, Sydney | |||
| 1963 | Hansel and Gretel | Pocket Playhouse, Sydney | ||
| Bell, Book and Candle | ||||
| The Face at the Window | Neutral Bay Music Hall, Sydney with George Miller | |||
| Beauty and the Beast | Beauty | |||
| 1964 | The Evil Men Do | |||
| How the West Was Lost | ||||
| 1967 | There Will Be an Interval of 15 Minutes | Lyricist | Phillip Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1972 | The Tape Recorder | AMP Theatrette, Sydney with Q Theatre | ||
| Help | ||||
| Rooted | Attic Theatre, Toowoomba | |||
| 1973 | Don's Party | Jenny | Australian tour with J. C. Williamson's & NIDA | |
| Move Over Mrs Markham | Mrs Markham | Launceston, Theatre Royal, Hobart with Tasmanian Theatre Company | ||
| Sticks and Bones | ||||
| 1974 | Cowardy Custard | Playhouse, Canberra, Marian St Theatre, Sydney | ||
| Three Men on a Horse | Sydney Opera House with Old Tote Theatre Company | |||
| 1974–1975 | Hotel Paradiso | UNSW, Old Tote Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Canberra | ||
| 1975 | Girls' Night Out | Jools Theatre Restaurant, Sydney | ||
| 1976 | The Naked Vicar Show | The Speakeasy, Sydney | ||
| 1983 | Applause | Margo Channing | SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC | |
| 1984 | The Shifting Heart | Phillip St Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1987–1988 | Double Act | Alexandra | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, Universal Theatre, Melbourne | |
| 1990 | A Night with Robinson Crusoe | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1993 | Barmaids | Val | Rialto Theatre, Brisbane, Sydney Opera House with Peter and Ellen Williams | [36] |
| 1995 | Emerald City | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1997 | Death Defying Acts | Laycock St Theatre, Gosford, Marian St Theatre, Sydney with Northside Theatre Company | ||
| 1998 | Double Act | Burnie, Launceston, Theatre Royal, Hobart | ||
| Valentine's Day | Marian St Theatre, Sydney with Northside Theatre Company | |||
| 2000 | Labor Day | |||
| 2001 | The Oldest Profession | Edna | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | |
| 2004–2006 | Wallflowering | Peg | Australian tour with HIT Productions | [9] |
| 2007 | Flying Solo | Riverside Theatres Parramatta | [10] | |
| Peter Quilter's Glorious! | Florence Foster Jenkins | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | [12] | |
| 2009 | Duets | Wendy / Janet / Shelly / Angela | [13] | |
| 2014–2015 | Mother and Son | Maggie Beare | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, QPAC, Brisbane | [5] |
| 2022 | Mono | Redland Concert Hall, Brisbane with Bunbury Productions | [15] |
Source: [2]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [37] | ||
| The Front Side of Barry Creyton and Noeline Brown (with Barry Creyton) |
| – |
| The Not So Wet and Dry Side of Barry Creyton and Noeline Brown (with Barry Creyton) |
| – |
| The Naked Vicar Show (with Kev Golsby) |
| – |
| Son of Naked Vicar (with Kev Golsby) |
| 55 |
| Live from The Madge Burrows Room! / The Naked Vicar Show (with Kev Golsby, Colin McEwan and Julie McGregor) |
| 84 |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Logie Awards | Most Popular NSW Female Personality | Won | |
| 2008 | Glugs Theatrical Awards | Norman Kessell Award for Best Performance | Florence Foster Jenkins in Glorious! | Won |
| 2017 | Equity Ensemble Awards | 2017 Equity Lifetime Achievement Award | N/A | Honoured |
| 2020 | 2020 Australia Day Honours | "For Services to the Performing Arts" award | N/A | Honoured |
| 2020 | Australia Post Legends of Comedy | "Legends of Comedy" Stamp | N/A | Honoured |
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