Queenie Ashton

Edith "Queenie" Ashton AM (1903 – 21 October 1999) was an English-born Australian soprano and character actress who had a long career primarily on radio, although she was also a renowned theatre actress, who also added television and film performances to her impressive repertoire. She was particularly known for her role as "Granny Bishop" a character many years her senior in the long-running radio serial Blue Hills.

Contents

Biography

Edith Muriel Cover Ashton was born in London in 1903. Sources differ on her date of birth: 16 September, 11 November and 16 November all appear in sources. She was an accomplished ballet dancer, who started performing when she was fourteen. She appeared in musical comedy on the London stage (even appearing with Noël Coward), and performed for Dame Nellie Melba in 1927 while travelling to Australia through the Suez Canal.[1]

She played Budge's mother in "Budge's Gang", a segment of the ABC Children's Session (ca. 1941–45 and it was so popular it was made into a comic book). Most notably, she played the wife of Dr. Gordon[1] and the long-running role of Granny Bishop (a character many years her senior) in the radio serial Blue Hills, for the entire 27 years of the serial's run (1949-76 - indeed, hers were the very first and last spoken parts). She also played this role on Australia's first television serial Autumn Affair. Other television roles included Division 4, Certain Women (as "Dolly Lucas"), The Restless Years (as "Jessica Metcalf"), and Mother and Son. She was a semi-regular cast member of A Country Practice (as "Lillian Coote") and G.P. (as "Mrs Sculthorpe")[2] in latter years, and also appeared in many television commercials most notably for Sara Lee. She was still performing in stage and cabaret plays and films even in her nineties. She died in 1999, at the age of 95, with a career spanning over 80 years.

Private life

In 1931 she married Lionel Lawson (who died in 1950), violinist and later leader of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; they had a daughter, Janet Lawson, in 1933 and a son, Tony Lawson, in 1935.[3] They divorced[2] and around 1945 she married John Cover, managing director of Central Casting.[1]

Selected stage appearances

Movie appearances

Recognition

In 1950 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a supporting role" (in "Edward, My Son").[10]

In 1980, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to the performing arts.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Crocker, Patti Radio Days (with foreword by Queenie Ashton), Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0 7318 0098 2
  2. ^ a b Lane, Richard The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama" Melbourne University Press 1994 ISBN 0 522 84556 8
  3. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 1 October 1953
  4. ^ a b Sydney Morning Herald 28 January 1927
  5. ^ The Argus 26 January 1929
  6. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 17 June 1929
  7. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 2 February 1944
  8. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 22 April 1951
  9. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 30 June 1951
  10. ^ The Argus 12 February 1951
  11. ^ It's an Honour