Barbara Angell (born 6 March 1935), also known as a performer as Barb Angell, Barbara Angela Angell, Barbara Angel and as a screenwriter Angela Barr, was Australia's first female television comedy writer-entertainer. She has also worked internationally in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Angell has worked in all facets of the industry including cabaret, revue, musical comedy, vaudeville and radio and television, she starred in and wrote for the satirical TV series ''

The Mavis Bramston Show ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' is an Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series that aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Mavis was created, written, and co-produced by Carol Raye, who also starred in it and was inspired by ...

'', as well as writing for ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' and New Zealand series ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

''.

Biography and career

Angell was born in

Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, ...

in 1935 and educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College. before studying at the

Melba Conservatorium The Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music was a school of music located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. During its early days it was closely associated with opera diva Dame Nellie Melba, after whom it was later named. In 1994 it became affil ...

as a soprano. Angell began as an actress with the

Melbourne Little Theatre Melbourne Little Theatre was a theatre company in Melbourne, Australia, founded by Brett Randall and Hal Percy in 1931. History Randall and Percy staged their first production, Miles Malleson's ''The Fanatics'', at the central hall of His Majest ...

(later St Martins) under

Brett Randall Brett Randall Snr (15 September 1884 – c. 1 July 1963) was a British-born Australian actor and theatre director. He was the co-founder of the Melbourne Little Theatre, which became St Martins Youth Arts Centre. Biography Randall was born in ...

and Irene Mitchell, for whom she debuted in their 1955 production of '' The Guinea Pig''. She worked as a dancer-comedian with the

Tivoli Circuit The Tivoli Circuit was a successful and popular Australian vaudeville entertainment circuit featuring revue, opera, ballet, dance, singing, musical comedy, old time black and white minstrel and even Shakespeare which flourished from 1893 to th ...

from 1955 to 1958, and in comedy sketches. She was in Melbourne's first TV variety show, a live weekly program called ''Tivoli Party Time'' (1956–7), as one of the nuclear cast that featured her with Buster Fiddess, Iris Shand (wife of actor

Ron Shand Ronald Ernest McMurtry (3 February 1906, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia – 8 August 1993, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), professionally known as Ron Shand and earlier in his career billed as Ronnie McMurtry, was an Australian actor and ...

) and

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

. In this show she wrote her own comedy material. She visited the UK in 1959–60 where she performed a solo cabaret act, further featuring her comedy sketches, music and lyrics. On returning to Australia, she formed a Revue company with

Jon Finlayson Jon Douglas Finlayson (23 March 1938–12 September 2012) was an Australian stage and screen character actor, radio performer, writer, director, producer and singer Early life Jon Finlayson was born in Coburg, Victoria to Clorine and Ron Finl ...

at Melbourne's Arrow Theatre and co-wrote and produced a series of productions there including ''Slings 'n' Arrows'' and ''Outrageous Fortune'' – the titles both from the one line in Shakespeare. On stage, Barbara Angell starred again for the Tivoli in ''Lilac Time'' with John Larsen and in ''The Wizard of Oz'' as Glinda the Good Witch opposite

Reg Livermore Reginald Dawson Livermore (born 11 December 1938) is an Australian actor, singer, theatrical performer, designer, director, lyricist and writer and former television presenter. Biography Early life From a young age, Livermore demonstrated an ...

's Wicked Witch. Under the guidance of

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

at J. C. Williamson, she understudied

Jill Perryman Jill Perryman (born 30 May 1933) is an Australian retired actress, singer and dancer with a career that spanned 70 years. Perryman is from a family of show business performers; her sister was actress Diana Perryman and her son is media persona ...

in ''Carnival'' and Maggie Fitzgibbon in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''Sail Away''. She wrote TV sketches, music and lyrics for the satirical ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' from Episode 1 throughout its 4-year run and starred in it with Ron Frazer during its last 2 years. Following the Australian tour with

Madge Ryan Madge Winifred Ryan (8 January 1919 – 9 January 1994) was an Australian actress, known for her stage and film roles in the United Kingdom, including London stage productions of ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' (1964), ''Philadelphia, Here I Come'' ...

for J.C. Williamsons in

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

's play ''Black Comedy'' she returned to England in 1969, where she spent the next 20 years appearing on stage, in films and TV dramas and comedies. She was production coordinator of the Association of Australian Artistes, based at the Australian High Commission in London. She leased The Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street, WC2, for lunchtime theatre in the 1970s and directed a series of plays including some of her own. She wrote TV sketches for Dave Allen and became a script assessor for the BBC's light entertainment department. Her TV play ''Some Day Man'' won a nationwide competition in the U.K. and was produced by

David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to ...

for

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

in 1987. In 2005, Angell played a cameo role in the movie ''Superman Returns,'' filmed at Fox Studios, Sydney, Australia.

Publications

Her first book ''The Entertainment Machine'' was published in 1972 ( Horwitz), her second, ''Voyage To Port Phillip, 1803'' in 1983 ( Nepean Historical Society) her third book ''A Woman's War'' in 2003 (

New Holland Publishers New Holland Publishers is an Australian based international publisher of non-fiction books, founded in 1955. It is a privately held company, with offices in Australia. History The publishing firm was established as "Holland Press" was on 20 Jun ...

) but most of her writing career has been for television and the stage. Her latest book ''The

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of ''Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...

Story: Theatrical Life and Times of a Lustrous Australian'' was published in Sydney in May 2007 by her own company Angell Productions Pty Limited.

Education

In 2008 she completed a professional research doctorate in Visual and Performing Arts with

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

, her major paper being ''Another Coral Browne Story: analysis of the continuing export of Australia's performing arts talent'' (yet to be published). She continues to teach and to write.

Personal life

Angell was in a relationship for 43 years with her partner, Pat Gaye, an actress, who was also the first female film stunt driver in Britain, they remained together until her death.

Biography and career

Publications

Education

Personal life

Filmography

Screenwriter

See also

References

Further reading