Patricia Anne Crocker (1929 – 15 March 1992) professionally known as Patti Crocker (no relation to entertainer,

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian

Early life

Crocker was born in Bankstown, New South Wales the daughter of Edna May Crocker (née Dingwall 1905 – 18 November 1992) and upholsterer Roy Samuel Crocker (28 February 1906 – 1980). She was educated at Bankstown North Public School and Meriden Church of England Girls Grammar School,

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A sma ...

. At her parents' insistence, she entered the stream for the academically inclined and passed her Leaving Certificate exams in 1948, though without distinction. Her mother was anxious that she not inherit her own shyness, and accordingly received elocution training from Grace Buist and Harry Thomas and studied piano under Eileen Hanley. She entered, or was entered for,

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

s from the age of eight, usually for "humorous recitation", or piano solo, culminating in that of 1941, when she won "Best Entertainer" at an eisteddfod in Sydney against adult performers, and received high praise from the judge.

Career

Radio and stage

Crocker was a guest on the ''Youth Show'', in 1941, 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 ...

, which first went to air on radio 2GB on 27 July 1940, and became a regular shortly after, with Peggy Hamilton as a comedy duo "Null and Void". Her first radio acting job was as "Dolly" in the serial ''Budge'' (later ''Budge's Gang'') for the

Australian Broadcasting Commission 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 a ...

's Children's Session from around June 1942, followed by juvenile roles in ''The Poltergeist'' and Christa Winsloe's ''Children in Uniform'', which won the Macquarie Award for Catherine Duncan. She also played stage parts: as "Agnes" in

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's ''The Beautiful People'' at Bryant's Playhouse in 1946 and "Adela", the headstrong youngest daughter in Lorca's ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' () is a play (theatre), play by the Spain, Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding (play), Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as the Rural Trilogy. García Lorc ...

'', at the Metropolitan Theatre in 1951. Her most enduring role was as "Mandy Gordon", the cheeky youngest daughter of "Dr Neil Gordon" in

Gwen Meredith Gwenyth Valmai Meredith OBE (18 November 1907 – 3 October 2006), also known by her married name Gwen Harrison, was an Australian writer, dramatist and playwright, and radio writer. She is best known for her radio serials ''The Lawsons'' (1944 ...

's long running radio serial '' Blue Hills'', on ABC radio. Her part ran from 1949 to 1952, when her character married "Dr Frobisher", played by

Max Osbiston Maxwell Hamilton Osbiston (7 August 1914 – 12 March 1981) was an Australian actor, active in radio, stage, film and television. Biography Osbiston was born in Sydney, the son of Frank and Iolanthe Osbiston (née Margoliouth) of Cremorne, New S ...

, and never reappeared. In real life she was about to sail with actress

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 ...

to London, but from her return to Australia in 1953 she made frequent guest appearances in a variety of minor roles, and was one of the few (with

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 ...

and Osbiston) who played in both the first and last episodes (28 February 1949 and 30 September 1976). Another radio play of note in which she appeared was ''White Coolies'' (1955), by

Betty Jeffrey Agnes Betty Jeffrey, (14 May 1908 – 13 September 2000) was an Australian nurse, prisoner of war and writer, who wrote about her Second World War nursing experiences in the book '' White Coolies''. Second World War Jeffrey was a nurse in ...

, adapted in 52 episodes by Gwen Friend, sister of artist and notorious

hebephile Hebephilia is the strong, persistent sexual interest by adults in puberty, pubescent children who are in early adolescence, typically ages 11–14 and showing Tanner stages 2 to 3 of physical development. It differs from pedophilia (the primary or ...

Donald Friend Donald Stuart Leslie Friend (6 February 1915 – 16 August 1989) was an Australian artist and diarist who lived much of his life overseas. He has been the subject of controversy since the posthumous publication of diaries in which he wrote about ...

, and starring

and

June Salter June Marie Salter AM (22 June 193215 September 2001) was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television. She is best known for her character roles, in particular as schoolteacher Elizabeth McKenzie in the soap opera ''Th ...

Television and film production

With the advent of television in Australia in the mid-1950s, sponsorship for quality radio drama dried up, and radio stations moved to quiz shows, talkback, and popular music programming. Local TV production at first centred on advertising, of which lucrative market Crocker had her share, but success in drama largely eluded her, perhaps on account of her diminutive stature, until she was cast as "Eileen Chester", a woman with two errant daughters, Debbie and Jane Chester (

Dina Mann Dina Mann (born c. 1950), also credited as Diana Mann, is an Australian former actress and later casting director recognised for several television soap opera and film roles from 1970 until 1985, after which she worked as a casting director un ...

and Suzanne Church) in serial ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when rotated by 180 degrees. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiper ...

''. Her character's life ended after being attacked by a shark. Other TV credits included the serials ''

The Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

'', ''

Luke's Kingdom ''Luke's Kingdom'' is a 1976 Australian TV series set in colonial Australia. Directors included Peter Weir and writers included Elisabeth Kata and Tony Morphett. It was co-produced with Trident Television, the then owners of Yorkshire and Tyne ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'', as well as the TV movie

White Man's Legend ''White Man's Legend'' is a 1984 Australian television film directed by Geoffrey Nottage and starring Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian and vaudevillian. Born in South ...

In the early 1980s Crocker was involved as a producer on ''Jess'', a movie that was to star (by then expatriate) Australians

Diane Cilento Elizabeth Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Tom Jones'' (1963), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, '' Hombre'' (1967) and '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). ...

and

Ed Devereaux Edward Sidney Devereaux (27 August 192517 December 2003), better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of ...

. It was to be set in the Depression and drought years of 1930s Australia. Financed by the

Film Finance Corporation Australia The Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) was the government agency responsible for funding commercial productions of Australian film, documentary, and television from 1988 to 2008. Unlike other publicly funded organisations responsible for f ...

and with European funding, the movie was never made.

Family life

Crocker married David Davies in 1958 and the couple had a son Michael in 1960. Patricia Davies died in Leura, New South Wales, in 1992.

Publications

* This important collection of anecdotes makes no claim to being a definitive history of the Australian entertainment industry but provides background on those involved. It throws light on the work of actors such as

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 ...

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second World W ...

Michael Pate Michael Pate Order of Australia, OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked prolifically as a supporting actor in Hollywood films and Ameri ...

Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was an Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant ...

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including '' Young Cassidy'' (1965), '' Nobody Runs Forever'' (1968), '' The Train Robbers'' (1973), and '' A Matt ...

John Meillon John Meillon ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989) was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films '' Crocodile Dundee'' and '' Crocodile Dundee II''. He also voiced advertiseme ...

and

, comedians

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

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

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 ...

and variety hosts

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

and Dolly Dyer. The book has a foreword by

AM with whom Crocker performed on radio serial Blue Hills. This book has been used as a source for much of this article.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocker, Patti 1929 births 1992 deaths Australian radio actresses Australian television actresses Australian stage actresses Actresses from Sydney