Diana Gwenyth Bliss (11 November 1954 – 28 January 2012) was an Australian theatre producer.

Early life

Bliss was born on 11 November 1954 in

Temora, New South Wales Temora () is a town in the north-east of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the the population of Temora was 4,016. Temora was named by John Donald McCansh. In September 1880 he told the Warwick ...

. Her father, Douglas Bliss, was a Methodist minister in the nearby town of Ardlethan. The family later moved to Beecroft.

Career and marriage

Bliss studied fashion design at the

East Sydney Technical College The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

and subsequently became an air hostess for

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

. She went on to work in public relations at the Parmelia Hilton Hotel in Perth, where she first met businessman

Alan Bond Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s; the biggest corporate co ...

in 1979. In 1989 Bliss was involved in an

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...

investigation when she purchased 500,000 shares in Petro Energy at eight cents per share, just before

Bond Corporation Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s; the biggest corporate co ...

launched a takeover bid paying 14 cents per share. Bliss became a successful theatrical producer, working in the West End, New York and Sydney. Her notable projects included ''

Our Country's Good ''Our Country's Good'' is a 1988 play written by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel '' The Playmaker''. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales ...

'' in 1991 and ''The Holy Terror'' in New York in 1993.''Our Country's Good'' won the Laurence Olivier BBC Award in 1988 for best play. The Broadway production was nominated for six Tony awards. Wayne Harrison of the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

(STC) said "Bliss was instrumental in bringing several theatrical properties quickly to the STC, the most notable being '' Oleanna'', which became one of the great STC successes of the 1990s. Without her intervention, that important piece of 'of the moment' theatre wouldn't have happened in Sydney, and subsequently around Australia." Bliss produced

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received t ...

' ''Killer Joe'' in 1996. On 15 April 1995, Bliss married Alan Bond at Sydney's

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street, Sydney, George Street in The Rocks, Sydney, The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Cl ...

. Bond had divorced his first wife, Eileen, in 1992.

Death

During the night of 28 January 2012, Bliss was found dead in the swimming pool at the family home in Cottesloe. She had been receiving treatment for depression and had attempted suicide on two previous occasions. She left a suicide note thanking her family and friends for their understanding and support. Bliss' funeral was conducted on 4 February 2012 in the chapel of

Christ Church Grammar School Christ Church Grammar School is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Single-sex school, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary school#Australia, se ...

Television portrayals

Bliss was the subject of a 1997 episode entitled ''The Parson's Daughter'', on the documentary television series ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs, AB ...

''. In 2012, following her suicide, ''Australian Story'' aired a new, two-episode update of Bliss’ story, entitled ''Her Hour Upon the Stage''. Bliss was portrayed by actress

Rachael Taylor Rachael May Taylor (born 11 July 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Her first lead role was in the Australian television series ''headLand'' (2005–2006) as Sasha Forbes. She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in films in ...

in the 2017 television miniseries ''

House of Bond A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Diana 1954 births 2012 deaths Australian Methodists Australian theatre managers and producers People from Perth, Western Australia People from the Riverina Suicides in Western Australia 2012 suicides