Cathy Wayne
| Cathy Wayne | |
|---|---|
 Cathy Wayne publicity shot | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Catherine Anne Warnes |
| Born |
7 December 1949 Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died |
20 July 1969 (aged 19) Da Nang, Vietnam |
| Genres | pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | singer, dancer |
| Years active | 1965–1969 |
| Associated acts | Col Joye, Sweethearts on Parade |
Cathy Wayne was the stage name of Australian entertainer Catherine Anne Warnes (7 December 1949 – 20 July 1969) who was killed during the Vietnam War at a United States Marine base.[1][2][3][4] Wayne had just finished a song at a Non-commissioned officer's club near Da Nang in South Vietnam.[2][3] She was shot by a bullet fired from a .22 pistol, fitted with a silencer, which had been stolen at the base.[5] Wayne was the first Australian woman killed during the Vietnam War.[1][2]
Sergeant James Wayne Killen was originally convicted of the unpremeditated murder of Wayne; at his first court-martial it was alleged that he was aiming for his commanding officer, Major Roger E. Simmons.[1][2][3] Wayne had intended to use money earned from her performances in Vietnam to revive her recording career;[1][3] and to marry her fiancé, Clive Cavanagh, who was the drummer for her performance troupe, Sweethearts on Parade.[2] Killen served two years of his sentence in the US, before a second court-martial cleared him of the charge and he was released.[1][5]
Biography
Cathy Wayne was born as Catherine Anne Warnes on 7 December 1949 in Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia.[2] Wayne was the child of George Warnes and Nancy Starnes, née Buck.[1][2] She went to Athelstane Public School where she began singing and dancing classes.[1] Wayne later attended Arncliffe Girls' High School, and, before the age of 12, had performed in school concerts and local community stage shows.[1] She took up a dancing spot on Sydney television, TCN-9, programme Opportunity Knocks.[1] She also appeared on an Australian TV special, A Night with Leslie, starring US entertainer Leslie Uggams.[2][3] At the age of 16, after winning a talent contest, Wayne was offered a regular role on television variety show, Bandstand, alongside veteran Rock 'N' Roll performers Col Joye and Little Pattie.[1][2][3] Wayne signed with Joye's agency ATA and was managed by his sister Carole Jacobsen.[2][3]
Although under legal drinking age, Wayne performed in licensed clubs around Sydney, she also recorded advertising jingles and uncharted singles.[1][2] Concert tours along the east coast of Australia, headlined by Joye, led to her first tour of South Vietnam at the age of 17, in early 1967.[1][2] This tour was sanctioned by the Australian Forces Advisory Committee on Entertainment.[1] Wayne was presented as a modette version of fellow Bandstand regular Little Pattie.[3] Upon return to Australia, Wayne continued her appearances on Bandstand and touring with Joye.[1]
In mid-1969, Sweethearts on Parade, an Australian pop group and performing troupe, was established by Sydney promoter Les Maisler to tour Vietnam.[2][6] Sweethearts on Parade consisted of Wayne on lead vocals, Clive Cavanagh on drums, Jacqui Edwards as a Go-Go dancer, Rick Hoare on guitar, Jeff Howison as MC, singer and comedian, Jimmy Taylor on organ and bass guitar, and Natalia Woloch as a Go–Go dancer.[2][6] Wayne, as lead singer of Sweethearts on Parade, returned to South Vietnam on an unsanctioned tour.[3][4] Wayne's parents and Col Joye attempted to dissuade her from this second tour,[3] but Wayne insisted and intended to use money earned from her performances in Vietnam to restart her recording career.[1][3] Wayne wanted to marry her fiancé, Cavanagh, who was the drummer in Sweethearts on Parade.[2] The group arrived in Vietnam on 26 June 1969, Wayne stayed in Saigon between shows for Australian and US troops.[2]
The tour agent was Ingrid Hart,[1][4] who recalled that "[Wayne] wanted to be there with her boyfriend, they were going to get some money together and get married".[4] On 20 July 1969, Sweethearts on Parade were performing for about 75 US Marines at a Non-commissioned officer's club 7 km (4 mi) south-east of Da Nang in South Vietnam.[2][3] At about 9:15 p.m., Wayne had just finished a song and was still on stage to introduce her fellow performers when she was shot in the chest by a bullet fired from a .22 pistol, fitted with a silencer, which had been stolen at the base.[1][2][3][5] Wayne died almost instantly as the bullet severed her aorta.[2] In Entertaining Vietnam, a 2003 documentary directed and produced by Mara Wallis,[7] Taylor was interviewed on the events of Wayne's death, footage of a Sweethearts on Parade performance with Wayne singing was shown (see screenshot at left).[7] Taylor recalled that he was sitting about a metre (three feet) behind Wayne and that Cavanagh had stepped forward to cradle his fiancée when she slumped to the floor.[2][6][7]
At his first court-martial, US Marine Sergeant James Wayne Killen was charged with premeditated murder and was alleged to have been aiming for his commanding officer, Major Roger E. Simmons.[1][2] Killen was convicted of the unpremeditated murder of Wayne;[1][2] he was stripped of all service privileges, dishonourably discharged and sentenced to 20 years hard labour.[1][2][3] Killen denied all murder claims but admitted to drinking heavily on the night.[2][3] After the autopsy in Saigon, Wayne's body was returned to Sydney and cremated according to Anglican rites.[1][2] The Sydney Morning Herald's Shane Green cited Don Morrisson's book, written under his pen name J D Owen, Murder on Stage; Morrisson described how Killen served two years of his sentence before being given a re-trial in the US where he was cleared of the charge of unpremeditated murder and released.[5] As of April 2015 the actual shooter had not been identified.[5][8] Based on Morrisson's research, the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on Warne was amended in June 2015.[8]
References
- General
- Owen, J. D. (9 October 2014). Murder on Stage (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-50274-853-9.
- Specific
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rayner, Michelle (2002). "Warnes, Catherine Anne (1949–1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB). Melbourne, Vic.: Melbourne University Press. p. 496. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Digital copy of item with barcode 11531717 – File No.: 62/2/3/2 – Subject: Catherine A. Warnes". National Archives of Australia. pp. 1–125. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Cockington, James (2001). "The Saigon RSL". Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll. Sydney, N.S.W.: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-7333-0750-8.
- 1 2 3 4 McHugh, Siobhán (1993). Minefields and Miniskirts: Australian Women and the Vietnam War. Melbourne, Vic.: Doubleday. pp. 75–76, 104. ISBN 978-0-86824-490-7. Retrieved 21 February 2009. NOTE: On-line version has limited access.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Green, Shane (18 April 2015). "Who shot Cathy Wayne? The mystery of the first Australian woman killed in Vietnam". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 Taylor, Jimmy. "The Jimmy Taylor Story Part 2". Jimmy Taylor. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- 1 2 3 "Entertaining Vietnam – A film by Mara Wallis". Entertaining Vietnam. 2003. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- 1 2 Allbrook, Malcolm (June 2015). "ADB Corrigenda" (PDF). Biography Footnotes. Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB). Australian National University (14): 9. ISSN 1838-6377. Retrieved 9 December 2016.