Patricia Kennedy (actress)

Patricia Carmel Stewart Kennedy OBE (17 March 1916 – 10 December 2012) was an Australian actress with a long career in theatre, radio, film and television. According to one writer she was "sometimes called the first lady of Melbourne radio and theatre."^[1]

Kennedy was born in Queenscliff, Victoria on 17 March (St Patrick's Day), 1916^[2] (however, other sources list her year of birth as 1917.)^[3] She was raised, and remained, a practising Catholic.^[4]

Kennedy moved to Hawthorn in 1925 to undertake her schooling at the Presentation Convent, Windsor, after which, she enrolled at Maie Hoban's School of Drama in East Melbourne.^[3]

She trained as a school teacher before winning the Colac Amateur Festival around 1938, which sparked a passion for acting. She started her stage career in 1943.^[5]

Kennedy was noted for her range, spanning from high drama to comedy. She was mainly based in Melbourne, and had a strong association with the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC), but she also performed in England with the Bristol Old Vic Company's 1969–1970 season.^[6]

She appeared in plays such as Jay Presson Allen's adaptation of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1968),^[7] Ibsen's Ghosts (1969: Mrs Alving), Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, The Man Who Shot the Albatross (1972),^[6] and Some of My Best Friends are Women (1976).^[8]

Her portrayal of Mary in the South Australian Theatre Company's Melbourne production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night was described as "the best female performance on the Melbourne stage in 1973", and that production is considered one of the landmark productions in Australian theatre, largely due to Patricia Kennedy's involvement.^[9]

Plays written for Kennedy included the single-hander The Rain by Daniel Keene.^[4] She appeared alongside Zoe Caldwell in the MTC's production of Euripides' Medea, the first production at the Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse Theatre in 1984.^[10]

From 1991 to 1992, Kennedy appeared in a one-woman stage adaptation of Elizabeth Jolley's novel The Newspaper of Claremont Street, staged by the Playbox Theatre Company at a number of venues in Victoria.^[11]

Kennedy was still active with the MTC well into her 80s.^[12]

Kennedy was one of the leading radio actors in Melbourne. Her radio career began when she was discovered by 3UZ drama director Walter Pym at a Sunday night play reading in Melbourne.^[13] After winning a Best Actress award for her role in the 3DB series Are You an Actor?, she started securing roles in ABC radio plays.^[13]

During World War 2, Kennedy was hired as an ABC announcer, alongside Dorothy Crawford and Mary Ward.^[13]

In 1946, Kennedy shared the title role in Crawford Productions' radio drama Melba with singer Glenda Raymond (who later became Hector Crawford's wife).^[14] She played Miss Crump on the long-running ABC radio program The Village Glee Club (1942–1971).^[15] She also played the title role in Jane Eyre for Lux Radio Theatre, Barbara Brandon in The Reverend Matthew^[13] and appeared in episodes of Caltex Theatre.^[16]

Kennedy's early television credits included Emergency, Consider Your Verdict and Homicide as well as a number of various tv plays.^[17] She went on to appear in Prisoner, Young Ramsay, The Sullivans, The Weekly's War, Five Mile Creek, Return to Eden, The Flying Doctors, G.P. and A Country Practice.^[17]

Kennedy played the regular role of Emily Muldoon in early 1980s series Holiday Island. She also appeared in 1984 television movie Kindred Spirits and 1986 miniseries Land of Hope.^[17]

Film appearances included The Getting of Wisdom (1977), My Brilliant Career (1979), Country Life (1994) and Road to Nhill (1997).^[17]

Kennedy was a drama consultant for the 1982 miniseries Sara Dane.^[17]

During the 1940s, Kennedy was a member of Actors' Equity of Australia, and was one of the witnesses to the 1949 Victorian Royal Commission Inquiring into the Origins, Aims, Objects and Funds of the Communist Party in Victoria and Other Related Matters where there was possible irregular voting that may have involved Equity and the Communist Party of Australia.^[18]

From 1972 to 1973, Kennedy worked as a consultant to the Australia Council for the Arts.^[6]

Kennedy was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours, for service to the performing arts.^[19]

In the 1990s, Kennedy was involved in founding the Four Winds Festival in Bermagui.^[20]

The 'Patricia Kennedy Award', a scholarship named in Kennedy's honour, is awarded to top-performing acting students at the University of Melbourne.^[21]

Kennedy remained single, very private and very independent. Even in her 80s, although she owned a house in Melbourne, she preferred to live alone in a hut without electricity, on the edge of a state forest near Bega in southern New South Wales. This was 5–6 hours drive by road from Melbourne, where she would travel for theatre commitments.

Kennedy died on 10 December 2012, aged 96.^[2] A private funeral was held on 19 December.^[22]