Joy Cavill
Joy Cavill (1923–1990) was an Australian writer and producer who worked in radio for a number of years before breaking into films as continuity person on King of the Coral Sea (1954).[1] This film started an association with Lee Robinson which went on for many years, and involved her working with him as a secretary, writer, associate producer and producer on a number of projects, notably Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, on which she was sole producer on the third season.[2] She was also close to Chips Rafferty, who nicknamed her "Mother".[3]
In 1964 she travelled to the Tokyo Olympics to film a special on Dawn Fraser. While there she suffered a heart attack. She spent several months recovering then moved to Canada, directing documentaries and TV commercials.[4] In the late 60s she returned to Australia and resumed her association with Robinson.
Without Robinson, she wrote and produced the feature film, Dawn! (1979), a biopic of the Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser, with whom Cavill had a romantic relationship.[5] She is considered one of the pioneer female producers of the Australian film industry.[6]
Among the filmmakers Cavill trained were Lyn McEncroe, Adrian Read, Sue Milliken and Jill Robb. As her obituary stated:
Secretary, continuity girl, associate producer, writer, producer, filmmaker and "Mother:" Joy Cavill was many things to many people. Her outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry and her fine leadership qualities will be missed.[3]
Selected Credits
- King of the Coral Sea (1954) – continuity
- Walk into Paradise (1956) – continuity
- Dust in the Sun (1958) – writer
- The Stowaway (1958) – associate producer
- The Restless and the Damned (1959) – associate producer
- No Man Is an Island (1962) – continuity
- The Dawn Fraser Story (1964, documentary) – producer, director
- In Song and Dance (1964) – producer
- The Intruders (1969) – producer
- Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (1968–70) – associate producer, writer
- Nickel Queen (1971) – producer
- Barrier Reef (1971–72) – producer, writer
- Boney (1972–73) – associate producer, writer
- Shannon's Mob (1975–76) – associate producer
- Dawn! (1979) – producer, writer – winner of 1978 Awgie for Best Original Feature Film script[7]
References
- ↑ "Film Continuity Girl Took Notes Underwater." The Sydney Morning Herald 8 Apr 1954: 9 Section: Women's Section accessed 16 December 2011
- ↑ Don Storey, 'Skippy', Classic Australian TV, 2008
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pat Gillespie, "Joy Cavill", Cinema Papers, May 1990 p79
- ↑ David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p111
- ↑ "Dawn sets the record straight.(Local)", The Australian (National, Australia) (News Limited), 2001-06-01: 003, retrieved 9 January 2012
- ↑ Jan Chapman, Some Significant Women In Australian Film – A Celebration And A Cautionary Tale', Senses of Cinema, 28 August 2002
- ↑ Awgie winners 1968–2006
External links
- Joy Cavill at IMDB
- Joy Cavill at National Film and Sound Archive