Dorothy Isabel May Foster (14 February 1908 – 5 July 1981) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

radio producer, comedy scriptwriter and actress. She created the characters of "Ada and Elsie" during WW2.

Life

Foster was born in 1908 in

Devonport, Tasmania Devonport ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Limilinaturi'') is a port city situated at the mouth of the Mersey River (Australia), Mersey River on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Positi ...

. Her parents Mary Isabel (born Collett) and Charles Marshall Foster who were both born in Australia. Her father was an engineer. She was educated in Hobart at

St Michael's Collegiate School St Michael's Collegiate School, colloquially known as Collegiate, is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls. It is located in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Overview Established in 1 ...

and her first job was in radio. left, "Ada and Elsie" in 1942 She went to Melbourne in 1934 as a secretary to the impresario John Tait and she was employed at radio 3UZ in 1935. Later at 3AW "Dilly" became a comedian on the "Shell Show" which was recorded each week in front of a live Melbourne audience. Foster had heard of a successful British comedy act named "Gert and Daisy" who were created by

Elsie and Doris Waters Florence Elsie Waters (19 August 1893–14 June 1990) and her sister Doris Ethel Waters (20 December 1899–18 August 1978) were English comic actresses and singers who performed as a double act. They are remembered for creating the co ...

. Foster wrote a similar conversational comedy script and then auditioned for a comic partner. She chose the haughty Rita Pauncefort and "Ada and Elsie" was formed. "Dilly" Dorothy Foster married, for the second time, a wool buyer named Robert Gray Nicolson in 1939. "Calling the Stars" was an expensive radio show created by

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia, owned by Nine Radio, that also owns 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2024, 2GB held 14% of the total radio ratings share, making it one of the most widely listened-to radio sta ...

in Australia and sponsored by

Colgate-Palmolive The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational corporation, multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in ...

. The stars of the show included comedians

Jack Davey John Andrew Davey (8 February 190714 October 1959), known as Jack Davey, was a New Zealand-born singer and pioneering star of Australian radio as a performer, producer, writer and host from the early 1930s into the late 1950s. Later in his caree ...

, `Mo’ (

Roy Rene Roy Rene (pron. ''reen''; born Henry van der Sluys, 15 February 189122 November 1954) was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of th ...

) and

Willie Fennell William John Fennell (20 January 1920 – 9 September 1992) was an Australian radio, television (serials and mini-series), stage and film actor, comedian, producer, radio scriptwriter and writer who appeared in many Australian television s ...

. Foster and her partner and now friend read double entendres as the, not too bright, "Ada and Elsie" as part of Foster's regular scripts. In 1940, the 2GB station was said to be the largest producer of radio drama programs in the southern hemisphere and she created her own company "Dorothy Foster Radio Features". "Ada and Elsie" continued until 1954. The demand for her work waned by she said that she still wrote "a gag a day". On her 70th birthday in 1978 she was interviewed on the radio by Dean Banks about her career.

Death and legacy

Foster died in 1981 in

St Leonards, Sydney St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore (Sydney), North Shore of Sydney, Australia. St Leonards is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the Local government in Australia, local government areas of ...

. "Ada and Elsie" were revived for a show on the

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

in 2014 by Maureen Sherlock and Carole Yelland.

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Dorothy 1908 births 1981 deaths People from Devonport, Tasmania Australian radio producers Australian radio personalities Australian comedians