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.
Judith McGrath | |
|---|---|
 Judith McGrath as Colleen Powell in Prisoner | |
| Born | 21 April 1947 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 20 October 2017 (aged 70) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | Judy McGrath |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1967–2012 |
| Notable work |
|
Biography
editMcGrath 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]
Early life
editBorn 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.
Career
editMcGrath 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]
Death
editMcGrath died at a hospice in Brisbane at the age of 70 from lung cancer on 20 October 2017.[6][7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| 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 |
Television
edit| 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)[a] |
| 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) |
| 1987 | Camera Script | episode "Second Star On The Right" | |
| 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) |
Self-appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Telethon 1982 | Herself – Guest | TV special |
| 1984 | 26th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself[b] | 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[c] | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2011 | Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2011 | A Current Affair | Herself[d] | TV series (1 episode) |
Notes
edit- ^ Played a recurring role in Prisoner from Season 1, episode 48, until Season 3, episode 59. From Season 3, episode 60, she was upgraded to a main character.
- ^ Audience member with Prisoner cast.
- ^ With A Country Practice cast: Lorrae Desmond, Brian Wenzel, Helen Scott, John Tarrant, Josephine Mitchell, Wendy Strehlow, Michelle Pettigrove, Andrew Blackman & Emily Nichol.
- ^ With Prisoner cast: Carol Burns, Val Lehman, Jane Clifton, Elspeth Ballantyne, Patsy King & Margaret Laurence.
References
edit- ^ Lane, Richard. Prisoner: Cell Block H.
- ^ "It's Saints and winners". Manchester Evening News. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ "Prisoner Shake-Up". TV Week: 9. 24 December 1983.
- ^ Children's show with a twist[permanent dead link]
- ^ Idato, Michael (26 October 2009). "All Saints fades away". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (22 October 2017). "Vale: Judith McGrath". TV Tonight. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ Smith, Sophie (23 October 2017). "Australia mourns loss of Logie nominated All Saints soap star". Herald Sun. Retrieved 23 October 2017.