Patsy King (born 16 September 1930) is an Australian retired actress known for work in both theatre and television. She has been a children's television presenter, theatre director, playwright and worked in commercials, and in radio and voice over work, particularly in her early career in the United Kingdom. King started her career exclusively as a radio and classical stage actress, with roles in everything from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

starting from 1951 until 1990. with a brief return to the stage post-retirement in 2009. Her career in television and children's entertainment started in the early 1960s and extended until 1984.Bryant, Margot "The illustrated Encyclopedia of Australian Showbiz" She is known for her roles in TV series including '' Bellbird'' as Kate Andrews

''Prisoner: Cell Block H''

Internationally she is best known as an original cast member of ''

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. ...

'', internationally known as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'', as the first governor of the fictional Wentworth Detention Centre appearing for 351 episodes as well-coiffured Governor/Warden Erica Davidson, the role of Governor was originally offered to

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette Withers, CBE, AO (12 March 191715 July 2011), known professionally as Googie Withers, was an English entertainer who was a dancer and actress with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. ...

, whom had played the role in the unrelated but similiar based British prison series ''

Within These Walls ''Within These Walls'' is a British television drama programme made by London Weekend Television for ITV and shown between 1974 and 1978. It portrayed life in HMP Stone Park, a fictional women's prison. Unlike later women-in-prison TV series, ...

'', after the series ended, King toured th e United Kingdom in a stage Play based on the series King wore high heels and an up-style French roll hairstyle, when playing the role as series creator

Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ' ...

, wanted her to tower over the prison inmates. During her tenure on the show her character was kidnapped,escaped from a burning building, for sacked, reinstated, resigned bickered incessantly with the Department,suffered family trauma, including her niece in ending up the prison on drug charges numerous, numerous failed romance, left her husband in a restauraunt covered in cobwebs and was the victim of a shooting during the annual end of season cliffhanger

Biography

Early life

King was born in

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

on 16 September 1930. She aspired to become a dress designer and spent her early years in the United Kingdom. Returning to Australia and opting to work in the theatre, she trained as a classical stage actress, specialising in straight drama and Shakespearean actress with the Melbourne National Theatre. In 1959, she married English-born theatre impresario John Sumner, the founder and artistic director of the mentioned company. They divorced in 1967.Bennet, Craig (27 December 2021
Patsy King at 91: 'Prisoner Fans Still Stop Me'
''

New Idea ''New Idea'' is a long-running Australian weekly magazine aimed at women that is published by Are Media. History The magazine was first published in 1902 by Fitchett Bros. The founder was Thomas Shaw Fitchett. It was subtitled A Women's Home Jou ...

''. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

Career

Theatre

King started her career exclusively in theatre starting in the early 1950s, appearing in dramatic and

period pieces Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

and had numerous stage credits including ''

Victoria Regina Victoria Regina or ''variation'', may also refer to: * Victoria Regina (or Victoria R.), a latinate form of address for queens named Victoria, see Queen Victoria (disambiguation) * ''Victoria Regina'' (play), a 1934 stageplay by Laurence Housman ...

'', ''

The Miser ''The Miser'' (french: L'Avare; ; also known by the longer name ''L'Avare ou L'École du Mensonge,'' meaning The Miser, or the School for Lies) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9 ...

'', ''

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...

'', ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

'', '' Blithe Spirit''.

Absurd Person Singular ''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christma ...

'', ''

Half a Sixpence ''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1963 musical comedy based on the 1905 novel ''Kipps'' by H. G. Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and a book by Beverley Cross. It was written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele. Background The ...

'', '' A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur'',

Love for Love ''Love for Love'' is a Restoration comedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered on 30 April 1695 at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Staged by Thomas Betterton's company the original cast included Betterton as Valentine ...

'' and ''

Love Letters A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a l ...

'' King earned awards including the Erik Award and the Melbourne Critics Awards for Agnes in ''Four Poster'' before retiring the stage in 1984, however she turned her hand to writing and directing her own plays in the late 1980s.

Television

Acting roles

After appearing in a few made-for-TV movies in the early 1960s she appeared in a variety of television serials from the late-1960s, including a prominent role in the rural series '' Bellbird'' and guest roles in the Crawford Productions series ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'', '' The Box'', and in their

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

s ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'' and playing 14 different character parts in ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

''. She also acted in ''

Power Without Glory ''Power Without Glory'' is a 1950 historical novel written by Australian author Frank Hardy, following the life and ambitions of John West, a politician born into a working-class family who rises to prominence in Australian federal politics. ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Bluey'', ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. The show The show revolved ar ...

'', '' Out of Love'' and the comedy series ''Good Morning, Mr. Doubleday''.

Children's presenter and entertainer

She was an early presenter on the ABC TV show '' Play School'', and also appeared on ''

The Magic Circle Club ''The Magic Circle Club'' was an award-winning Australian children's television show, produced at ATV Channel 0 (now ATV-10) from 23 January 1965 to 1967. The program's style came from live pantomime and classic fairy tales. It often featured ...

'' and '' Adventure Island''.

Selected roles

Theatre

Source = ''

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Filmography

FILM TELEVISION

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Patsy 1930 births Living people Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Actresses from Melbourne Australian children's television presenters 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian women television presenters