Patricia Ethell McDonald (1 August 1921[1] – 10 March 1990) was an Australian radio actor and actor of stage and television and the daughter of one of Australia's most prominent electric radio engineers and public servants, Arthur Stephen McDonald and his wife, milliner Edith Roseina Ethell.[2] Her grandfather, bootmaker John McDonald, was born in Victoria, and married Eliza Mary Stevenson.[3] Although she was not the first female Gold Logie winner in Australia, which was entertainer and TV host Lorrae Desmond, she was the first female character actor to win for serial Number 96.
Pat McDonald | |
|---|---|
 Pat McDonald pictured right with Bunney Brooke, in Number 96 | |
| Born | Patricia Ethell McDonald 1 August 1921 Elwood, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 10 March 1990 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–1989 |
| Known for | Number 96, Sons and Daughters |
| Partner | Bunney Brooke |
| Awards | 4 Logie Awards (1 Gold 1974) |
Number 96 and Sons and Daughters
editMcDonald was best-known for two long-running soap opera roles. She played comical malaproping gossip Dorrie Evans in the popular serial Number 96 between 1972 and 1977 and then played Aunty Fiona Thompson in Sons and Daughters between 1981 and 1987. She was featured in both shows throughout their entire run, about five and a half years in each case. McDonald won four Logie awards, including the 1974 Gold Logie, for her work on Number 96.
Career
editMcDonald was born in 1921, and at the age of 18 acted in the 1939 Australian film Seven Little Australians based on the novel by English children's literary writer Ethel Turner she played the twenty-year-old stepmother Esther. She much later appeared in an episode of the 1970 police drama The Long Arm. The role in Number 96 followed; she reprised the role in the 1974 feature film version of the series. McDonald won several Logie Awards as Best Actress for playing Dorrie, and a Gold Logie for Australia's most popular female personality in 1974. After Number 96 she played a regular role in the short-lived Australian situation comedy series The Tea Ladies (1978).
One of McDonald's final TV appearances was at the Logie Awards on 17 March 1989, when she took part in a production number called "Golden Girls", which celebrated female Gold Logie winners of years past. She performed the song with Lorrae Desmond, Hazel Phillips, Denise Drysdale, Jeanne Little, and Rowena Wallace.
McDonald, apart from being a staple of film and television since the late 1930s, had also been a regular theatre performer from 1940 until 1989.[4] Later in 1989 McDonald appeared in an episode of the hit British TV series In Sickness and in Health in which she played Raeline's mother. The episode aired in the UK in October 1989.
Personal life
editMcDonald was married in 1941 to Captain Peter Hendry, a son of a reverend and doctor in the Australian Army.[5]
During the 1970s she was involved in a live-in lesbian relationship with Number 96 co-star Bunney Brooke. The two actors openly appeared in magazine articles about the suburban Sydney home (eastern end of Fox Valley Road, Wahroonga) they shared, and they freely discussed their international summer holidays together in press articles, although the true nature of the relationship was not explicitly stated.[6]
McDonald died after a lengthy illness of cancer of the pancreas at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney,[7] on 10 March 1990, aged 68. Her partner, actor and casting agent Bunney Brooke, died ten years later.
Awards
edit| Institution | Award | Work |
| Logie Awards | Gold Logie | Number 96 |
| Logie Awards | Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress x 3 | Number 96 |
Filmography
editMovies
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Gaston en Leo in Hong Kong | Zuster Olivia | |
| 1974 | Number 96 | Dorrie Evans | Feature film based on TV series |
| 1940 | Wings of Destiny (billed as Patricia McDonald) | Marion Jamieson | |
| 1939 | Seven Little Australians | Esther |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Episode | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! | As self | Feature film documentary (Archive Footage) | |
| 1989 | In Sickness and in Health | #4.7 | Railene's Mother | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1989 | The 29th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself with Rowena Wallace, Denise Drysdale, Lorrae Desmond, Hazel Phillips & Jeanne Little sing "Golden Girls". | TV special | |
| 1988 | TV A.M. | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode | |
| 1986 | Kids 21st Birthday Channel Ten Telethon | Guest - Herself with Number 96 cast: Johnny Lockwood, Bettina Welch, Elizabeth Kirkby, Vicki Raymond, Sheila Kennelly, Wendy Blacklock, Harry Michaels, Chard Hayward, Frances Hargreaves & Abigail taped appearance. | TV special | |
| 1984 | The 1984 Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself - Audience member | TV Special | |
| 1983 | The Body Corporate | Lady Tustrain | TV movie | |
| 1982 | The Mike Walsh Show | Herself with Joe Hasham, Ron Shand & Chard Hayward | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1982–1987 | Channel 7 Perth Telethon | Herself | TV special | |
| 1982–1987 | Sons and Daughters | Regular cast | Fiona Thompson | TV series |
| 1983 | The Body Corporate | Lady Tustrain | TV movie | |
| 1982–1987 | Sons and Daughters | Regular cast | Fiona Thompson | TV series |
| 1981 | A Country Practice | Alternatives (Parts 1 & 2) | Lily Bauer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1980 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1979; 1980 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1978 | Glenview High | The Siren | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978; 1979 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself with Maggie Kirkpatrick | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1978 | The Tea Ladies | Regular role | TV series | |
| 1978; 1978 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1977 | Number 96: The Final Episode | Herself with Ron Shand & Bunney Brooke | TV special | |
| 1977 | Telethon '77 | Guest - Herself | TV special | |
| 1976 | Number 96: And They Said It Wouldn’t Last | Herself with Bunney Brooke & Ron Shand | TV special | |
| 1973 | Sunday Magazine | Herself - Guest (Number 96 Celebration: 300th episode) with Abigail, Ron Shand, Gordon McDougall & Johnny Lockwood | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1972–1977 | Number 96 | Regular cast | Dorrie Evans | TV series |
| 1971 | Dynasty | The Coorabungle Deposit | Guest role: Selma | ABC TV Series, 1 episode |
| 1971 | Homicide | The Terrible Stranger | Guest role: Mrs. Davis | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | Division 4 | Running Sheet | Guest role: Betty Gregson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| Man From Lightning Ridge | Ruby Slater | TV series | ||
| 1970 | The Long Arm | Only a Wave Away | Guest role: Miss Bacon | TV series, 1 episode 18: "Only A Wave Away" |
References
edit- ^ "Births". The Argus. 3 August 1921. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Goot, Murray. "McDonald, Arthur Stephen (1891–1955)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Goot, Murray. "McDonald, Arthur Stephen (1891–1955)". adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- ^ "Pat McDonald".
- ^ "In The Theatres". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 May 1941. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Mercado, Andrew. Super Aussie Soaps, Pluto Press Australia, 2004. ISBN 1-86403-191-3 p 46
- ^ "Actress Pat, 'the ultimate professional', dies at 58 (sic)". Canberra Times. 11 March 1990. Retrieved 4 October 2013.