Madeleine Orr
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Madeleine Grace Orr (31 July 1914 – 29 June 1979) was an Australian-born film, stage and TV actress who worked for many years in London. She is best known as the first person to portray
Madge Allsop Madge Allsop (born Marjorie Kiri McWhirter) is a fictitious character invented by satirist Barry Humphries as the long-time companion (and former bridesmaid) of his most popular and enduring character, Dame Edna Everage. First mentioned in Edna's ...
, bridesmaid and companion to
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...
' most popular and enduring comic character,
Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, ...
.


Early life

Born in
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
in 1914, Madeleine Grace Orr was the daughter of Charles Hugh Orr (1883–1932) and his wife Madeleine, ''nee'' Walsh, (1888–1961). Charles Orr was a caterer and hotelkeeper by profession, and he and his wife ran a succession of inner city hotels in the early twentieth century including the City Court Hotel and Tattersall's Hotel, both in
Russell Street, Melbourne Russell Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and was laid out as a core feature of the Hoddle Grid in 1837. Russell Street is named after John ...
. After Charles' death in 1932, his widow continued as licensee of the latter hotel for some years thence. During the 1930s, Charles and Madeleine's like-named daughter maintained a high profile in Melbourne's social circles, with her name often recorded in the women's column of the daily newspapers as a guest at parties, balls and dances. The younger Madeleine Orr was reported present, for example, at a 1934 junior auxiliary dance for the District Nurses' Society, a 1935 charity ball aboard the troopship ''Duntroon'' and a 1937 German-themed beer garden party. Such connections inevitably gained her ''entree'' into Melbourne's theatrical community. In 1935, Orr was noted as one of several young women who sold programmes and sweets at a special fundraising performance that was held at Her Majesty's Theatre.


Professional life

Madeleine Orr started her professional career as a singer, but soon moved into radio productions and repertory and commercial theatre.Biography of Madeleine Orr, in theatre programme for ''Robert and Elizabeth'', Melbourne, 1966. Her earliest recorded stage appearances, dating back to 1937, included a production of J. B. Priestley's ''Duet in Floodlight'' at the Tivoli Theatre and in a one act-play, ''Pedlar's Progress'', at the
Melbourne Little Theatre Melbourne Little Theatre was a theatre company in Melbourne, Australia, founded by Brett Randall and Hal Percy in 1931. History Randall and Percy staged their first production, Miles Malleson's ''The Fanatics'', at the central hall of His Majest ...
. In the early 1940s, she was a cast member of two radio serials, ''Bright Horizons'' and ''Golden Sanctuaries'', produced by 2CH in Sydney. She went on to appear in the Melbourne season of
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 ...
's ''Dark of the Moon'', "an unusual folk play with music", which opened at the Comedy Theatre in 1952. For many years, Orr was also associated with the St Martin's Theatre, a small independent playhouse in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. She appeared there in productions of several Australian plays including ''The Tower'' by
Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and short story writer. He is known for his 1963 memoir, ''The Watcher on the Cast Iron Balcony''. The Hal Porter Short Story Comp ...
(1964) and ''The Jabberwock'' (1966) by Patricia Napper, as well as the Australian premiere of ''
The Physicists ''The Physicists'' () is a German satiric drama/ tragic comedy written in 1961 by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The play was mainly written as a result of the Second World War and many advances in science and nuclear technology. The play ...
'' (1964) by Swiss playwright
Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...
. Like many Australian actors of her generation, Orr intended to travel to the United Kingdom to further her professional experience and, after several proposed but postponed trips, finally arrived in early 1965"Actress returned", ''The Age'', 24 December 1965, p 12. She spent more than seven months in London, living with Australian-born opera singer
Sylvia Fisher Sylvia Gwendoline Victoria Fisher (18 April 191025 August 1996) was an Australian operatic soprano whose stage career was made in England, who was especially distinguished in German opera, and who created the role of Miss Wingrave in Benjamin Br ...
and her husband Ubaldo Gardini in their
Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
home. During that time, Orr was briefly employed by the BBC and appeared in the television play ''Verdict''. Otherwise, she spent much of her time attending West End shows, including productions of ''
Ivanov Ivanov, Ivanoff or Ivanow (masculine, , Sometimes the stress is on Ива́нов in Bulgarian if it is a middle name, or in Russian as a rare variant of pronunciation), or Ivanova (feminine, , ) is one of the most common surnames in Russia and Bu ...
'' (with
John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
) and ''
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad ''Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad: A Pseudoclassical Tragifarce in a Bastard French Tradition'' was the first play written by Arthur Kopit. Plot Described by the author as a "farce in three scenes", the ...
'' (with
Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and ea ...
). She also attended a controversial "late night show" performed by
Elizabeth Seal Elizabeth Anne Seal (born 28 August 1933) is a British actress. In 1961, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the title role of '' Irma La Douce''. Career Elizabeth Seal made her professional de ...
and her husband Zach Matalon, which closed after that one performance. On her return to Melbourne in December 1965, Orr informed the local press that "I was disappointed by the general standard of theatre in London's West End". Orr's next major role was in the Australian premiere of the stage musical ''
Robert and Elizabeth The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
'', which opened at the
Princess Theatre, Melbourne The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...
, on 21 May 1966, and ran for six months. She reprised her role in the subsequent Sydney production, which was not as successful; it opened on 19 November 1966, but closed less than four weeks later. Orr remained in Sydney for two weeks' rest, returning to Melbourne in January 1967. Her next appearance on the musical stage was in an original Australian show entitled ''Razza-ma-tazz (and all that Jazz)'', co-written by
John-Michael Howson John-Michael Howson (born 8 August 1936) is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and Melbourne radio commentator. His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years. Earl ...
, which was produced at the Southland Theatre in 1968. In a 1966 theatre programme biography, Orr was also described "a composer of popular ballads", whose compositions had been used on many occasions by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
. During the 1960s, she also appeared on a number of Australian television series including ''
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 ...
'', and ''
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 ...
''. In 1968, she appeared in a pilot for a new TV series entitled ''Once upon a Twilight'', which, inspired by the popularity of ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'', was to depict the semi-fictitious adventures of a real-life local band,
The Twilights The Twilights were an Australian rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1964 by Peter Brideoake on rhythm guitar, John Bywaters on bass guitar, Clem "Paddy" McCartney and Glenn Shorrock both on lead vocals. They were joined by Terry Britten o ...
. Despite much publicity in the local music paper, ''
Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...
'', the series was cancelled after its principal sponsor, Ford Motor Company, withdrew its backing. Orr subsequently performed in a new production of Shakespeare's ''
All's Well that Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate about the date of its composition, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608. ...
'', directed by Sir
Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at ...
, which opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. On 21 October 1970, for a limited three-week season. By the early 1970s, Madeline Orr had settled permanently in London, where she appeared in two episodes of ''
Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...
'' (1973) and the TV mini-series adaptation of ''
David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
'' (1974). She then performed the role of Mrs McFudd in the West End revival of the stage musical ''
Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...
'' (1976). The latter show included, in the title role, fellow Australian actress Julie Anthony, who had won acclaim in the 1974 Australian production of the same show. Although Orr had not appeared in that production, her role of Mrs McFudd was played by Australian actress Connie Hobbs, who, ironically, would take over the role of Madge Allsop after Orr's death in 1979. Madeleine Orr first appeared as Dame Edna Everage's long-suffering bridesmaid and companion in the BBC TV series ''The Barry Humphries Show'' (1976). Several photographs of Orr, in character as Madge, were subsequently included in Humphries' book, ''Dame Edna's Coffee Table Book'', which was published in London later that year. In June 1978, Orr returned to Australia to help Humphries publicise his latest LP release, ''The Sound of Edna''. At the record launch, Orr (again in the guise of Madge Allsop) arrived in the back of a panel van and then recited a poem that was purportedly written for the occasion by Dame Edna herself. As Madge explained to the press, "Dame Edna wrote it because I'm a bit of an idiot". A newspaper article describing the event was accompanied by a photograph of Dame Edna (in her punk outfit) with bridesmaid Madge, both straddling a huge motorcycle. One of the songs on the album, titled "My Bridesmaid and I", was dedicated to Madge Allsop; a photograph of Orr, in character, was subsequently included in Humphries' accompanying publication ''The Sound of Edna: Dame Edna's Family Songbook'' (1979) Madeleine Orr then returned to London, where, in her last TV appearance before her death, she played Mrs Hemmings in a 1979 episode of the
Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 37 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad ...
vehicle ''Potter''.


Personal life

In September 1952, Madeleine Orr announced her engagement to John Reed Hearle of Elwood."Engagements", ''The Age'', 16 September 1952, p 5. Orr died of cancer in London on 29 June 1979. A portion of her estate was bequeathed to the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
for the establishment of a scholarship in her memory. The Madeleine Orr Scholarship, which is still awarded annually, is open to full-time students of the Faculty of Music enrolled in a degree course for pianoforte.


Select appearances


Stage plays and musicals

*''Duet in Floodlight'' (Melbourne, 1937) *''Pedlar's progress'' (Melbourne, 1937) *''Dark of the Moon'' (Melbourne, 1952) *''The Tower'' (Melbourne, 1964) – as "Aunt Hester" *''The Physicists'' (Melbourne, 1964) – as "Doktor Mathilde von Zahnd" *''The Jabberwock'' (Melbourne, 1966) – as "Moira Charleton" *''Robert and Elizabeth'' (Melbourne and Sydney, 1966) – as "Wilson" *''Razza-ma-tazz (and all that Jazz)'' (Melbourne, 1968) *''All's well that ends well'' (Melbourne, 1970) *''Irene'' (London, 1976) – as "Mrs McFudd"


Television

*''Verdict'' (BBC, 1965) *''Hey, you!'' (Australia, 1967) *''Good morning, Mrs Doubleday'' (Australia, 1969) *''Division 4'' (Australia, 1969–70) *''Crossroads'' (ATV, 1973) *''The Barry Humphries Show'' (BBC, 1976) *''Potter'' (BBC, 1979)


Radio

*''Bright Horizons'' (Radio 2CH, 1942) *''Golden Sanctuary'' (Radio 2CH, 1942) *''David's Children'' (Radio 3DB, 1952) – as "Eve Hamilton"


Film

* ''Stork'' (1971) – as "Stork's mother"


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Madeleine 1979 deaths 1914 births Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian musical theatre actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Actresses from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Deaths from cancer in England Actresses from London Australian expatriates in England 20th-century Australian women singers