Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is 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 ...

character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child actress and appearing on screen until 1999, since then she has worked on film writing and directing, most recently for co-writing and co-directing a musical epic about the life of

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

s in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

which became ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed and produced by George Miller and written by Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris and Warren Coleman. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hug ...

'', Australia's largest animated film project to date.

Early career

Morris's first role came at the age of 10 when she was part of the cast of the television episode "Picture of the Magi" a '' Family Theater'' production which aired about 1957 on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

in the United States. She then performed in two other roles in the US, at the age of 10 on the '' Loretta Young Show'', and in 1960, at the age of 13, on '' The Chevy Mystery Show'' hosted on that occasion by

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

Career

Returning to Australia, Morris's next role was not to come until she reached the age of 20 when, in 1967, she worked on the ABC television series, '' Bellbird''. Impressing casting agents, she was cast in numerous well known television series, including seven episodes of ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'', four episodes of ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for The 0-10 Network (now known as Network 10) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Ma ...

'' and three episodes of ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'', ''

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 war song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and the American public during World War I and World War II. Written shortly after the American entry into World War I, "Over There" i ...

'' (24 episodes) and '' Certain Women'' (26 episodes). In 1970, she starred in the portmanteau film '' 3 to Go''. During this time she also moved to more provocative (for its time) television, especially in the sexually-charged series '' Alvin Purple'', and then under the direction of

Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie '' Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel '' Alvin Rides Again'' (1974). Burstall's films f ...

as Sybil the babysitter in '' Libido: The Child'' (one of four parts of a portmanteau film that showed various aspects of human sexuality). In her role, Morris awakens the sexuality of the boy that she is babysitting. For her part, Morris won the 1973 Australian Film Industry (AFI) Best Actress in a Lead Role. Morris then played the part of Sam in the 1978 movie '' In Search of Anna'', before receiving top billing as the wife Jill Cowper in the 1979 black comedy '' The Plumber'', which began its life as a small 6 week television series directed by

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born 21 August 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), '' Gallipoli'' (1981), '' The Y ...

, but following its success was produced as a DVD titled ''The Mad Plumber''. The 1980s brought further success. She starred in '' Maybe This Time'' (1980), ''

Strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

'' (1983), ''

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a New Zealand-born champion Australian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Achieving great success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the ear ...

'' (1983) as Bea Davis, the wife of

's owner David J. Davis, and played the part of Catherine Faulkner, the mother of the main character, Kat Stanton, (played by

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

) in '' Bangkok Hilton'' (1989). In 1986 Morris was cast as Margaret 'Meg' Stenning in the miniseries ''The Last Frontier'', which also starred

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accola ...

as her father Edward Stenning, fellow Australian Jack Thompson as her brother, the black sheep of the family, Nick Stenning, and American actress

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...

as Kate Adamson-Hannon. During and after this work she also played the role of Liz Beare, the daughter-in-law of Maggie Beare (played by

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 ...

) in the series ''

Mother and Son ''Mother and Son'' is an Australian television sitcom that was broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. ...

'', which ran from 1984 to 1994. She also starred as an American photographer in Ozploitation film ''

Razorback A feral pig is a pig, domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. The term feral pig has also been applied to wild boars, which can interbreed with domestic pigs. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorb ...

''. Following this, she was cast in the role of Mrs Muggleton in eight episodes of '' Spellbinder'' (1995), amongst other work. In 1996, she voiced Melba the Crocodile for the animated TV show '' Crocadoo''.

Writing and directing

Morris wrote and directed the comedy film '' Luigi's Ladies'' in 1989. She later teamed up with George Miller and Dick King-Smith to write '' Babe: Pig in the City'' in 1998. She wrote an episode of '' Dinotopia'' in 2002, and then co-wrote ''

'' (along with Warren Coleman, John Collee, and once again, George Miller). ''Happy Feet'' was the first Australian animated film to win the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is an Academy Awards, Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best animation, animated feature film. An animated feature is defined by the a ...

, and for her part in writing it, Morris was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

. She later wrote the screenplay for

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

's 2011 film, '' The Eye of the Storm'', based on the novel of the same title.

Awards

Filmography

Film

Television

Writing and directing

References

External links

*
Information on Judy Morris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Judy 1947 births Australian child actresses Australian film directors Australian screenwriters Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian women film directors Best Actress AACTA Award winners Living people Logie Award winners Actors from Queensland