Lynn Foster (1914-1985), was a playwright, radio producer and writer, a script editor and television writer. She was the first woman in Australia both to direct and write a major national radio show, this being the serial " Big Sister". In 1945, she wrote a play called "Lost Generations", to aid in the sale of war bonds, and was given a letter of thanks from Prime Minister

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

Biography

Foster was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia in 1914. She wanted to become a playwright. When she was nineteen Foster won second prize in a competition which led to a job offer with the radio station

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 ...

in Sydney. Slowly she began to develop through short pieces for their channel until 1936 when she was writing scripts for the Broadcasting Service Association with a team that became known as the Macquarie Players in 1938. Foster preferred to work for herself and wrote for many different patrons. Her career progressed through adapting radio scripts from America until 1942 when she became the director of ''Big Sister''. The show held top ratings of the daytime programs during its five-year run and starred

Thelma Scott Thelma Marjorie Scott (17 June 1913 – 23 November 2006) was an Australian character actress whose six-decade career in theatre, radio, film and Australian made her one of her country's most recognisable and beloved personalities. Having sta ...

, and

Nigel Lovell Nigel Tasman Lovell (27 January 1916 – 13 December 2001) was an Australian stage, radio, film and television actor, and producer of opera and both stage and radio drama. History Lovell was born in Sydney, the son of Tasman Lovell, Professor ...

. When it finished Foster directed ''Crossroads of Life''. She added a role for a friend, actor

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...

. He used his pay to cover the fare to London where his career bloomed. In 1949 Foster followed him and stayed in London, working in radio and television there for twenty years. She returned to Sydney in 1970 and worked on the television show '' Number 96''.

Grace Gibson Grace Isabel Gibson OAM, (17 June 1905 – 10 July 1989), also known as Grace Atchison and Grace Parr was an American Australian radio entrepreneur, executive and producer. She was best known for her long-running serials ''Dr. Paul'' and the ...

from Texas formed Grace Gibson Productions in 1944 and hired Foster to be the company's first director. The following year Foster wrote ''Lost Generation'' and went on to become the representative commercial radio writers who were working to be able to transfer to Actors Equity which has developed into the Writers Guild. She moved to London in 1949. During her time in the United Kingdom she wrote ''The Exiles'', described as a cycle of four plays and set in Australia between 1873 and the then present day. Foster died in

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

, Sydney in 1985, aged 71.

Select Credits

*''When the Wind Blows'' (1957) - writer *'' The Exiles'' (1959) - writer *''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' - writer *''Divorce Court'' (1967–68) - writer *'' The Unloved'' (1969) - producer *'' Number 96'' - writer, script editor *''

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 ...

'' - writer, script editor

References and sources

External links

Lynne Foster
at

IMDB IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Lynn 1914 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian writers Women radio writers Australian radio writers