Ethel Isabel Lang (28 June 1902 – 1 November 1995), also known as Ethel Brunton Gibb, was an Australian actress prominent as a pioneering local radio performer during the 1930s, but also appeared in numerous stage roles. From the age of seven she appeared in school plays and concerts before being asked to play Napoleon's son in ''The Royal Divorce''. Stage roles included

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' and ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' Lang remained active in the industry to her death in 1995, aged 93, performing alongside her former radio contemporary and Blue Hills star

Queenie Ashton Ethel Muriel Ashton (11 November 190321 October 1999), known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a singer, dancer, and character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best ...

in a production of The Old Grey Mare, to mark the 50th anniversary of the rural department of the ABC.

Biography

Early life

Lang was born in the Sydney suburb of

Surry Hills, New South Wales Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

, to a father from Germany and a mother of an English background who worked as a hairdresser's receptionist, her father came to Australia with his three brothers and sister from

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, aged 14, she had two sisters, one Beryl died at thirteen weeks from malnutrition and another sister Rita died at one year and ten months old from inflammation of the stomach. She attended high school at Ladies Collegiate High School, St. Johns Church, before attending Bethlehem College.

Radio career

Lang became her career in radio began in 1924, and while raising a family during

The Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and beyond, she had an independent career: * Leading parts in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

radio feature plays 1930–40. * ''One Man's Family'' for commercial radio

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's prog ...

. * ''Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories'' s the titular "Aunty Jenny" for commercial radio

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...

1943–51. * In the long-running ABC serial ''The Lawsons'' as Mrs. Lawson, then as Mary "Meg" MacArthur in its even longer-running sequel " Blue Hills". as Mary "Meg" MacArhur, starring alongside Queenie AShton,

Ruth Cracknell Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedian and author. Her career encompassed all genres, including radio, theatre, television, and film. She appeared in many dramatic as wel ...

and

Gwen Plumb Gwendoline Jean Plumb Member of the Order of Australia, AM British Empire Medal, BEM (2 August 1912 – 5 June 2002), was an Australian performer of international appeal, actress and comedian active in literally every form of the art genre, (exc ...

. *Minor parts in other commercial radio serials, including ''

When a Girl Marries ''When a Girl Marries'' is an American daytime radio drama that was broadcast on three major radio networks from 1939 to 1957. Created by Elaine Sterne Carrington (who also was responsible for ''Pepper Young's Family'' and ''Rosemary''), it was ...

'' and ''Mary Livingstone MD''. Like her husband

James Brunton Gibb James Brunton Gibb LTCL (13 January 1897 – 28 June 1968) was a prominent Australian performer of radio and stage, theatre impresario and teacher of elocution. Biography He was born James Thomas Gibb, but adopted his mother's maiden name as his ...

, she was generous in her support of charitable events, notably

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

. On occasion, she adjudicated at eisteddfods and produced performances by the Brunton Gibb Players, when she used her married name.

Recognition

She was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in 1992 for services to the arts and community.

Personal life

Lang married actor and elocution teacher James Brunton Gibb (13 January 1897 – 28 June 1968) on 1 September 1923; they frequently appeared on stage together. Their children were: *Peter Brunton Gibb (1924–2011) served with the RAAF during WWII and married Patricia Saunders in 1946. *Judith Wendy Brunton Gibb (1925– ), professionally known as Wendy Brunton Gibb *Barbara Joan Brunton Gibb (1927–2014), professionally known as Barbara Brunton, married journalist Stuart Revill (1929–2019) in 1952. Revill had various positions with the ABC between 1959 and 1992. *David Brunton Gibb (1939– ) The whole family used "Brunton" as though it were part of their surname.

Family

Peter and Wendy Brunton Gibb both excelled in elocution. Wendy appeared in the 1949 film ''

Sons of Matthew ''Sons of Matthew'' is a 1949 Australian film directed and produced and co-written by Charles Chauvel (filmmaker), Charles Chauvel. The film was shot in 1947 on location in Queensland, Australia, and the studio sequences in Sydney. ''Sons of Matt ...

'', left for London and joined Dan O'Connor's British Commonwealth Players and in 1953 became Mrs Michael Benge. Barbara was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

and worked as a radio and stage actress associated with

Doris Fitton Dame Doratea Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton (3 November 18972 April 1985) was an Australian actress and pioneering theatre entrepreneur, and theatrical director and producer who became best known for establishing with 19 other actors The Independent ...

Independent Theatre Independent Theatre, formerly known as The Independent Theatre Ltd., was an Australian dramatic society founded in 1930 by Dame Doris Fitton in Sydney, Australia. It is also the name given to the building it occupied from 1939 (then known as t ...

and

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

David became Professor of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care at

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

in 2001. He is commemorated at Sydney High School by the David Brunton Gibb Prize for Soccer.

References

Sources

Library Of New South Wales website

National Film and Sound Archive

External links

* Read more about Ethel Lang, listen to excerpts of her work and an oral history interview with her on th
National Film and Sound Archive
website. * For more context on women in early radio in Australia visit the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

'
Women in Early Radio
collection. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Ethel 1902 births 1995 deaths Australian radio actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Members of the Order of Australia Australian people of German descent