Dinah Hilary Shearing AM (12 February 1926 – 14 June 2021) was an Australian actress, active in all facets of the industry, in particular theatre.
Dinah Shearing (AM) | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dinah Hilary Shearing 12 February 1926 Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 14 June 2021 (aged 95) Erina, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Actress |
Early life and education
editDinah Hilary Shearing was born on 12 February 1926[citation needed] in Sydney, to English parents.[1]
She attained honours in exams to A.Mus.A at Sydney Conservatorium in 1945.[2]
Career
editShearing appeared on stage, radio, television and films in a career that spanned more than 60 years.[2]
Subverted from her initial intention of becoming a commercial artist or a singer, she began acting with May Hollinworth's Metropolitan Theatre in Sydney after graduation. Soon, her "distinctively mellifluous voice" led to her being recruited into radio during its so-called "Golden Era" where she became a national favourite on serials such as Dr Paul (in which she played the leading character for ten years), Tudor Princess and Tudor Queen (all three, 1950s Grace Gibson productions,[2]plus Dossier on Dumetrius. Other radio serials, programmes and appearances included the Colgate Hour, The Macquarie Radio Theatre, Lux Radio Theatre, and most notably, work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation,
From there, Shearing was drafted into the Elizabethan Theatre Trust and later, the Old Tote Theatre Company and gave performances that "transcended her young years",[3] touring nationally from her Sydney base. Most memorably, she gave what critics called "the definitive" performance of Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night.[4] She worked with the Sydney Theatre Company Melbourne Theatre Company, Independent Theatre and many others.
Her performances drew admiring reviews from Sydney critics, including Lindsay Brown, Harry Kippax, and Geoffrey Thomas.
Shearing also appeared in some of Australia's earliest TV dramas.[5] She worked with the Nine Network, Crawford Productions, ABC, the Seven Network, Disney International, and many others.
Recognition, honours, and awards
editShe became a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 1993.[6]
Recognition for her work included the following awards:
- 1952: Macquarie Award, female lead role, for her performance in One Way Street, awarded by the Macquarie Broadcasting Service and 2GB Radio[7]
- 1985: Penguin Award for Man of Letters
- 1985: Commendation in the Penguin Award, for All the Rivers Run (1985)
- 1993: Critics Award for Coriolanus
- 1993: Glugs Award for Lifetime of Excellence[8]
- 1999: Norman Kessell Award for A Delicate Balance, in the Glug Awards[8]
Personal life
editAt the peak of her career, and spurning an offer from the head of BBC drama in England to work there, Shearing married playwright and painter Rodney Milgate and retired from full-time acting. The couple had two sons.
Shearing was a speaker for Heart Research Institute from 1993 to 1999, and a volunteer reader for Royal Society for the Blind in the 1960s.
Later life and death
editIn later life Shearing resided at Erina, New South Wales, on the Central Coast, and was active in community arts programmes, volunteer work, and had also branched into directing not long before her death.[9]
Theatre
editFilmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Survivors | ||
| 1981–82 | The Sullivans | TV series | |
| 1983 | Learned Friends | ||
| 1983 | All the Rivers Run | Aunt Hester | TV miniseries |
| 1984 | Special Squad | TV series | |
| 1984 | Saturday Saturday | ||
| 1985 | Dancing Daze | TV miniseries | |
| 1984–85 | Five Mile Creek | TV series | |
| 1985–90 | A Country Practice | Monika Schnelle | TV series |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | TV series | |
| 1988, 1989 | E Street | TV series | |
| 1991–92 | Family and Friends | Antoinetta Rossi | TV series |
| 1991–92 | Eye of the Storm | ||
| 1993 | Police Rescue | TV series | |
| 1988, 1994 | G.P. | TV series | |
| 1998 | Wildside | TV series | |
| 1997, 1999 | All Saints | TV series | |
| 2000, 2002 | Farscape | TV series | |
| 2001 | Flat Chat | TV series, 1 episode |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | A Phoenix too Frequent | Dynamene | TV movie |
| 1958 | Sixty Point Bold | Maria Charvet | TV movie |
| 1960 | Macbeth | TV movie | |
| 1982 | Buddies | Merle | Feature film |
| 1983 | Man of Letters | Beth Serry | TV movie |
| 1984 | Emmett Stone | Feature film | |
| 1985 | A Spy in the Family | Feature film | |
| 1989 | A Family Matter | TV movie | |
| 1999 | Time and Tide | TV movie | |
| 2001 | The Long Wet | Feature film |
Directorial and other projects
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Lady Windermere's Fan | Costume Designer | Metropolitan Theatre Sydney |
| 1948 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Costume Designer | Metropolitan Theatre Sydney, Killara Soldiers Memorial Hall |
| 2003 | Archibald Prize: The Play | Co-director | The Actor's Forum |
| 2003 | Winners | Director | The Actor's Forum |
| 2003 | La Serenissima: The Fascination of Venice | Poetry recitals | S. H. Ervin Gallery |
| 2005 | Gosford Regional Gallery and International Women's Day | Two monologues | Gosford Regional Gallery |
| 2006 | Collected Stories | Director | |
| 2006–07 | The Actor's Forum | Director | The Actor's Forum |
| 2007 | Lettice and Lovage | Director | |
| 2003, 2008 | Gosford Regional Gallery | Poetry recitals | Gosford Regional Gallery |
| 2008 | The Fortunates | ||
| 2009 | Katandra Players | Katandra Players | |
| Stopover | |||
| 2010 | Wilde Woman | Director | |
| 2012 | Christchurch Camerata Orchestra | Reader | Christchurch Camerata Orchestra |
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References
edit- ^ "Obituary: Dinah Shearing". [dead link]
- ^ a b c Lane, Richard (1994). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama, 1923–1960. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522845568.
- ^ Heseltine, Harry (2004). A Leader of his Craft, Theatre Reviews by HG Kippax. Currency House. ISBN 0958121354.
- ^ Porter, Hal (1965). Stars of Australian Stage and screen. Rigby Ltd. p. 264.
- ^ "The PRIVATE EYE of TV". ABC Weekly. 20 July 1957. pp. 4–5.
- ^ "Miss Dinah Hilary SHEARING". Australian Honours Search Facility. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Macquarie Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 929. 16 February 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 27 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Awards". Glugs. April 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Shearing, Dinah (2013). Who's Who in Australia. Crown Content Australia. ISBN 978-1740951906.
- ^ "Obituary: Dinah Shearing". TelevisionAU. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "MILGATE nee SHEARING, Dinah Hilary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "AusStage".
See also "National Library of Australia Collection". Papers of Shearing, Dinah. (Ref: MS 5186)-National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.