Joy Westmore (; 13 March 1932 – 5 November 2020) was an Australian actress on radio, stage and television, and in voice-over. She was best known to local and international television viewers for her long-running role in ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' as the friendly but highly ineffectual bespectacled officer

Joyce Barry Joyce Barry (March 1919 – 23 November 1999) was an Australian cyclist who held numerous records for long-distance cycling, most notably the women's seven-day record. Biography Barry was born in March 1919, the third daughter of Mr and Mrs Ja ...

, appearing from the first season in 1979 until the final episode in 1986 and smaller roles in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' in 1991 and 2003.

Career

Westmore had been an actress since 1950. She read commercials on radio and was particularly known for her performances opposite

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

's alter ego

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, th ...

. She also appeared in early television comedy sketches with

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

and

Ernie Sigley Ernest William Sigley (2 September 1938 – 15 August 2021) was an Australian television host, comedian, variety performer, radio presenter and singer. Known as a pioneer of radio and television in Australian, he was often styled as a "little A ...

. She made her small-screen debut in the TV movie ''

The Sentimental Bloke ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie Ly ...

'', and subsequently had roles in the soap ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...

'' and in '' Bellbird'', before taking on the longer-lasting role of Officer Joyce Barry in ''Prisoner''. She was in the recurring cast throughout the first five years of the show, but became regular in 1984 and continued until the series' finale in 1986. Entertainment reporter Peter Ford stated that "Joyce Barry was probably the world's worst prison officer, because she was too overly nice and trustworthy, although she provided a lot of comic relief in the series". After ''Prisoner'' she played Mrs Blanche White in an Australian version of the TV game show ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Wadding ...

'', and had two brief roles in ''

'', as Mrs Forster in 1991 and as

Dee Bliss Dione "Dee" Bliss is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Madeleine West. The actress received the role three days after securing an agent. West deferred her law degree studies to take the part. She ma ...

's grandmother, Nancy Bliss, in 2003. She also played various small roles in one-off and long-running dramas, including ''

Waiting at the Royal ''Waiting at the Royal'' is a 2000 Australian drama film directed by Glenda Hambly and starring Catherine McClements, Noni Hazlehurst, Josephine Byrnes and Jo Kennedy. It is about four women from very different backgrounds sharing a maternity ...

'', ''

Fergus McPhail Fergus McPhail is an Australian children's comedy series that was released on Network Ten in 2004. Plot summary Fergus McPhail stumbles from crisis to crisis, mostly of his own making. His irrationally optimistic alter-ego acts as his conscien ...

'' and ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...

''.

Personal life and death

Westmore was married to dentist Brian Westmore on 13 March 1960, the same day as her 28th birthday. They had four children together. Joy Westmore died from dementia in an aged care facility in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

, on 5 November 2020, aged 88.

Filmography

Awards

* Penguin Award – Joyce Barry in ''Prisoner''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westmore, Joy Australian film actresses 1932 births 2020 deaths Australian soap opera actresses 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses