Robina Beard (born 1938) is an English-born Australian actress, dancer and choreographer. Beard has appeared in numerous stage and TV roles, but is best known as "Madge the Manicurist" in the Palmolive dishwashing liquid advertisements.

Early life

Born in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, London, England in 1938, Beard came to Australia with her family in 1949. Her education in dance began at age six and in Sydney she was trained in the

Cecchetti method The Cecchetti method is variously defined as a style of ballet and as a ballet training method devised by the Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928). The training method seeks to develop essential skills in dancers as well as stre ...

Career

Her professional career began in 1955 when she danced in the musical ''

Can-Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

'' for

J. C. Williamson's J. C. Williamson's, formerly Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove and Williamson and Musgrove, was an Australian theatrical management company and theatre owner. With its beginnings in the theatrical productions of J. C. Williamson and his p ...

. She performed in a number of musicals and plays at the

Phillip Street Theatre The Phillip Street Theatre (succeeded by the Phillip Theatre) was a popular and influential Australian theatre and theatrical company, located in Phillip Street in Sydney that was active from 1954 and 1971 that became well known for its intimate ...

including ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' in 1959 and '' The Boy Friend'' in 1968. She appeared as

Dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

in the 1962 teleplay of ''

'', alongside

Noel Ferrier Noel Ferrier Member of the Order of Australia, AM (20 December 193016 October 1997) was an Australian television personality, comedian, stage and film actor, raconteur, and theatrical producer. He was a regular panelist in Graham Kennedy's popu ...

(

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle, and is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. The first recorded versions of the rhyme date from ...

) and

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died i ...

(

White Knight A white knight is a mythological figure and literary stock character. They are portrayed alongside a black knight as diametric opposites. A white knight usually represents a heroic warrior fighting against evil, with the role in medieval literatu ...

). Beard joined GTV-9 in Melbourne in 1965, working first as their first weather girl and then appearing on ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety show, variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's mai ...

''. She also appeared in ''

Barley Charlie ''Barley Charlie'' was an Australian television sitcom which aired in 1964. It was the second television sitcom produced in Australia; being preceded by the 1957–1959 series ''Take That'', although that Crawford Productions sitcom had only air ...

'', the first sitcom produced in Australia and shown across the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

. She subsequently had roles in many well-known Australian series, including '' No. 96'', '' G.P.'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' and ''

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

''. Beard is best known as 'Madge', the manicurist in the Australian and New Zealand advertisements, for Palmolive dishwashing liquid from 1968, with the slogan, "You're soaking in it". She adapted and directed a production of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' which played at the Regent Theatre during the 1980

Festival of Sydney Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

. In 1981 she directed Greg Millin's ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'', which was described as "wonderful school holiday entertainment for the whole family". She re-staged ''

Sesame Street Live ''Sesame Street Live'' is a live touring show based on the children's television show ''Sesame Street'' produced by Roundroom Live under license of Sesame Workshop. History The VEE Corporation was started in March 1980 by founder Vincent Egan, ...

'' at the Capitol Theatre for the 1982

, then toured the production on a 16-week tour of Australia followed by New Zealand and Asia. In 2018 Playscript published her book, ''My Life – You're Soaking In It.'' Beard first performed the role of Daisy Bates in the play, ''Tales of Kabbarli'', by Geoffrey Sykes at 313 Theatre, Coniston, New South Wales in 2007. She is reprising the play in Sydney in 2023 at Actor's Pulse in Redfern.

Awards and recognition

Beard was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in the

2011 Australia Day Honours The 2011 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2011 by the governor general of Australia, Quentin Bryce. The Australia ...

for "service to the arts, particularly through dance". In July of the same year she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Australian Dance Awards The Australian Dance Awards recognise excellence and promote dance in Australia. They are awarded under the auspices of the Australian Dance Council (Ausdance) for performance, choreography, design, dance writing, teaching and related professions. ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Robina Beard
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Robina 1938 births Living people Actors from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses 20th-century Australian dancers Australian choreographers Australian theatre directors Australian women choreographers Australian women theatre directors People from Twickenham