Frances Hargreaves (6 January 1955 – 3 March 2017) was an Australian actress, who became famous in the 1970s through her long-running role of Marilyn McDonald in soap opera ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiperfe ...

''.

Biography

Hargreaves was born in South Africa, of British descent and prior to ''Number 96'' she had studied in London, and began acting on the stage in the UK. After marrying Australian actor and singer David Gilchrist, they settled in Australia in 1973. Their daughter Amelia was born in 1989. In January 1974, Hargreaves scored the role of rebellious Marilyn McDonald at the last-minute when the original actress,

Judy McBurney Judith McBurney (19 May 1948 – 1 December 2018) was an Australian actress and model. She is best known for serial ''The Young Doctors'' in 1,300 episodes as Tania Livingstone and also appeared in cult series'' Prisoner'' as Sandra" Pixie" Mas ...

, had to withdraw due to peritonitis after only six episodes. Hargreaves had to re-shoot all of McBurney's scenes. Marilyn was the adopted daughter of Edie and Reg (

Mike Dorsey Mike Dorsey (1930 – 24 October 2014) was an English-born Australian theatre and television actor and publicity officer and tour manager. Dorsey appeared in the TV series ''The Unloved'', but was best known his television soap opera roles ...

and

Wendy Blacklock Wendy Blacklock AM (born 20 January 1932) is an Australian-born retired theatre actress and theatrical entrepreneur, radio and television actress, comedienne, producer, writer, singer, dancer and choreographer who has appeared in numerous perfo ...

), whom she always called "Mummy and Daddy". Marilyn was primarily a comedy character, but her most dramatic storyline was when she discovered the identity of the infamous ''Number 96'' pantyhose strangler. Hargreaves left the series in June 1975 when she fell pregnant. During a subsequent visit to her native South Africa with newborn son Samuel David, she acted in theatre productions of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' and '' Stop the World I Want to Get Off''. She subsequently returned to Australia and resumed her role in ''Number 96'' from April 1977 until its demise later that year. She later appeared in ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is prima ...

'' as Emma Dixon in 1979 and ''

Who Killed Baby Azaria? ''The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain'' is a 1983 Australian television docufilm about the Azaria Chamberlain case.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 45 Michael Thornhill later said that ...

'' (1984). In 2007 Hargreaves appeared in '' Where Are They Now?'' with fellow ''Number 96'' cast members for a reunion special. Frances Hargreaves died in Sydney on 3 March 2017, aged 62, after a long illness.

References

External links

* 1955 births 2017 deaths Australian soap opera actresses 20th-century Australian actresses South African actresses South African expatriates in the United Kingdom South African emigrants to Australia South African people of British descent 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people {{SouthAfrica-actor-stub