Joan Olive Bruce (born Joan Thompson) (29 February 192826 April 2014) was an English-Australian actress born in

Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area ...

to George and Olive Thompson, and taking the stage surname name of Bruce after her maternal grandmother.

Biography

Trained at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

, she appeared in repertory theatre in northern England from 1948, when after marrying first husband actor, director, stage manager and theatre entrepreneur Frank Baden-Powell in 1954, they immigrated the following year to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia and toured

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

with the Australian Elizabeth Trust company in plays ''Separate Tables'' and ''Sleeping Prince'', with her husband taking on the role of stage manager and Bruce acting. After returning to Perth to give birth to her daughters, she appeared in plays ''The Anniversary'', ''

Entertaining Mr. Sloane ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' is a three-act play written in 1963 by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964. Plo ...

'' and ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

''. Lauded for her performances, she was considered one of Perth's finest actors. In

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

she featured in the production of

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

's ''

The Ham Funeral ''The Ham Funeral'' is a play by Australian writer Patrick White. It was written in 1948 and is loosely based on a painting by William Dobell, ''The Dead Landlord''. Plot The play is set in a filthy rooming house in the depressing context of pos ...

'', and was awarded as actress of the year. Before taking the show to Sydney, she also was in the cast of ''

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (russian: Ночь на лысой горе, translit=Noch′ na lysoy gore, links=no), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian ...

'', another play by Patrick White, before moving with her daughters to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1968, and spending the next ten years working numerously including roles in ''The Entertainer'', ''Travelling North'', ''Heartbreak House'', ''The Life and Times of Nicholas Appelby'' and ''Something Afoot''. She married her second husband Kenneth William in 1978, and subsequently appeared on television in roles in ''

Chopper Squad ''Chopper Squad'' is an Australian television series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the 0-10 Network (as it was then known).Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 115 The series recounted the work o ...

'' and ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'', before retiring in 1988. She was best known however for her long-running roles in the Australian soap opera '' Certain Women'' with

Queenie Ashton Ethel Muriel Ashton (11 November 190321 October 1999), known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio ...

and

June Salter June Marie Salter AM (22 June 193215 September 2001) was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television, best known for her character roles. Biography June Salter was born in Bexley, New South Wales, the youngest of six ...

and for voicing the

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

and Dot's mother in the 1977 children's animation/live action film ''

Dot and the Kangaroo ''Dot and the Kangaroo'' is an 1899 Australian children's book written by Ethel C. Pedley about a little girl named Dot who gets lost in the Australian outback and is eventually befriended by a kangaroo and several other marsupials. The book wa ...

''. She died in 2014, aged 86.

Filmography

Films TV series

References

External links

* 1928 births 2014 deaths British television actresses British stage actresses British soap opera actresses British voice actresses Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 20th-century British actresses Actresses from Surrey 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century English actresses {{UK-film-actor-stub