Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedienne and author, her career encompassing all genres including radio, theatre, television and film. She appeared in many dramatic as well as comedy roles throughout a career spanning some 56 years. In theatre she was well known for her

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 natio ...

roles.

Early life

Cracknell was born in 1925 in Maitland,

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to Charles and Winifred Cracknell. When she was four years old, the family moved to Sydney. She was educated at North Sydney Girls High School and, after graduating, worked at the

Ku-ring-gai Council Ku-ring-gai Council is a local government area in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is named after the Guringai Aboriginal people who were thought to be the traditional owners of the are ...

as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

. At 17 she was taken to the theatre by a friend. She immediately wanted to become an actress and joined the Modern Theatre Players drama school.

Career

Radio and theatre

Cracknell's first acting jobs were in radio. By 1946, she was performing five episodes of radio plays a week. She also performed on stage with the Sydney-based companies the

Independent Theatre Independent Theatre, formerly known as The Independent Theatre Ltd., was an Australian dramatic society founded in 1930 by Dame Doris Fitton in Sydney, Australia. It is also the name given to the building it occupied from 1939 (then known as the ...

and the Mercury Theatre. In 1948, she joined the

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

Company and had roles in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'', ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' and '' The Tempest''. In 1952, at the age of 27, she left Australia to work in London for two years.

Screen

Cracknell appeared in many TV serial productions, and made for TV films. One of her first roles was '' Reflections in Dark Glasses'', a one-off drama broadcast in 1960 and the 1973 award-winning ABC-TV dramatisation of

Ethel Turner Ethel Turner (24 January 1870 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer. Life She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah J ...

's Australian children's classic '' Seven Little Australians''. She was a hostess of children television series

Play School Play School or Playschool may refer to: Television * ''Play School'' (British TV series), a BBC production aimed at preschool children * ''Play School'' (Australian TV series), an Australian Broadcasting Corporation production based on the Briti ...

in the mid to late 1960s. In the 1980s she guest starred in

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 ...

. Cracknell is best known for her role in the ABC television series '' Mother and Son''. Written by Geoffrey Atherden, who previously had written The Aunty Jack Show, he based the series on the writer's own family experience. ''Mother and Son'' first screened on 16 January 1984; it continued for six seasons for over a decade and is often repeated. Cracknell played an elderly woman, Maggie Beare, who was slowly becoming senile. She was cared for by her long-suffering younger son Arthur ( Garry McDonald), to whom she was often indifferent but on whom she was also dependent and whom she often cynically played off against her self-centred older son Robert ( Henri Szeps) and daughter-in-law Liz (played by Judy Morris). Cracknell appeared in film productions including opposite Chips Rafferty in the 1958 classic '' Smiley Gets a Gun'', '' The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' (1978), the 1983 '' The Night the Prowler'' in 1978 and ''The Dismissal'' as

Margaret Whitlam Margaret Elaine Whitlam, AO (née Dovey; 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was the wife of Gough Whitlam, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, and a representa ...

in 1983. Later in 1996, she starred opposite Toni Collette in '' Lilian's Story'' as Sydney eccentric

Beatrice Miles Beatrice Miles (17 September 19023 December 1973) was an Australian eccentric and bohemian rebel. Described as Sydney's "iconic eccentric", she was known for her contentious relationships with the city's taxi drivers and for her ability to quote ...

Theatre companies

Cracknell acted for most of the major Australian theatre companies, especially the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

. She performed many different roles; Elaine in Williamson's ''Emerald City'' (1987), Grandma Kurnitz in '' Lost in Yonkers'' (1992), Shafer's '' Lettice and Lovage'' Her best known role was in the stage production of ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' as Lady Bracknell. The production was so popular that it was an "ongoing" stage production from 1988 to 1992 and was televised by the ABC. She was also Patron of the

Australian Theatre for Young People Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a not-for-profit national youth theatre company located in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1964 by Eleanor Witcombe. History The first committee was formed in 1964 and ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life and memoirs

Cracknell married Eric Phillips on 25 June 1957 and they had three children, Anna, Jane and Jonathan. Unlike many women of the time, she did not retire, but continued to act. Pictures of her wedding and she and her son can be seen in the opening credits of Mother and Son. In 1997 Cracknell published her autobiography, ''A Biased Memoir'', which was a best seller in Australia. In 2000 she published her memoir, ''Journey from Venice'', which related how she and her husband, Eric Phillips, were visiting Venice when he had a paralysing stroke; she did not speak a word of Italian but she had to organise medical treatment for him and have him returned to Australia in the face of significant obstacles. He later died in a Sydney hospital. Cracknell died of a respiratory illness in a Sydney nursing home on 13 May 2002, aged 76, shortly after a visit from her children.''Sydney Morning Herald'' obituary, 14 May 2002
/ref> Paul McDermott's film ''The Scree'', which was released in 2004, featured Cracknell's narration.

Honours and awards

In 1980, Cracknell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In 1998, the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's I ...

named her one of " 100 National Living Treasures". Cracknell received honorary doctorates from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

. and the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' (LPA) since 2001. In 2001, Cracknell received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance. , - ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

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Logie Awards

In 2001, Cracknell was awarded the TV Week Logie Hall of Fame for her services to Australian television. Her appearance at the ceremony was the last before her death. She was the first (and for 15 years) only woman to be inducted. (wins only , - ,

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1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

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References

External links

*
Australians: Ruth Cracknell
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Ruth Cracknell bio
National Film and Sound Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cracknell, Ruth 1925 births 2002 deaths Australian film actresses Australian stage actresses Australian women memoirists Australian television actresses Australian people of English descent Australian children's television presenters Deaths from pneumonia in New South Wales Helpmann Award winners Logie Award winners Members of the Order of Australia People educated at North Sydney Girls High School People from Maitland, New South Wales 20th-century Australian women singers Australian women television presenters