Susan Cruickshank (31 August 1946 – 8 December 2009) was an Australian jazz singer, actress and writer. She was regarded as one of the finest female jazz singers in Australian history.

Early life

Cruickshank was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

, the eldest of four children. She grew up in the suburb of Adamstown in a musical family. Her father played double bass and her paternal grandmother had been a singer.

Career

In the 1970s Cruickshank moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and worked as a singer in a variety of low-end jazz clubs. She returned to Australia in 1979 and began to rise to public prominence, notably through successfully hosting a string of

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 ...

's annual Jazz in the Domain summer outdoor concerts. She subsequently appeared in many Australian film and television roles and was especially well known for her role in the 1988 surprise hit (in Australia) film ''

Young Einstein ''Young Einstein'' is a 1988 Australian comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Yahoo Serious. It is a fantasized account of the life of Albert Einstein which alters all people, places and circumstances of his life, including ...

'' and, from 1992, for her regular appearances on

Bert Newton Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie–winning entertainer, and radio, theatre and television personality and compère. Ne ...

's top-rating nationally-broadcast morning entertainment show '' Good Morning Australia''. In 1993-4 she hosted her own talk show on ABC TV called ''In Company with Su Cruickshank'' and she continued to make frequent guest appearances in a wide variety of Australian drama, comedy and light entertainment programs for the rest of the decade, as well as appearing in a number of TV commercials. She maintained a long-running fortnightly radio spot on the nationally broadcast

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

'' Overnights'' program and is often remembered for her appearances on the nationally televised World Series Debates that were a gala event of the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

in the early 1990s. A large woman, Cruickshank briefly co-owned a Portuguese-themed restaurant in

Newtown, New South Wales Newtown, a suburb of Inner West, Sydney's inner west, is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the Local government areas of New South Wales, local government areas of the City of Sy ...

in the late 1990s and often made use of her size in her onstage and onscreen personas and it became a signature part of her public image.

Death

Cruickshank suffered from a long-term illness in her last years and she died on 8 December 2009. A memorial concert was held to celebrate her life in her home town of Newcastle a week after her death.

Personal life

Cruickshank married and divorced in the 1970s and then never remarried. She had two stepchildren, Effie and Saabeah Theos, to her Ghanaian partner of eight years.

Acting roles

Film

*'' Somewhere in the Darkness'' (1998) *''Your Move: An Emergency Life Saving Adventure'' (1997) *''

'' (1988) *'' Those Dear Departed'' (1987) *''

Playing Beatie Bow ''Playing Beatie Bow'' is a popular Australian children's novel, written by Ruth Park and first published on 31 January 1980. It features a time slip in Sydney, Australia. Plot summary Lynette Kirk has been a happy child, cheery about her paren ...

'' (1986) *''Undercover (1984) *''

Fatty Finn ''Fatty Finn'' was a popular long-run Australian comic strip series, created in 1923 by Syd Nicholls. It ran in Syndication agency, syndication until the creator's death in 1977. History In 1923 Syd Nicholls, a senior artist at Sydney's ''Evenin ...

'' (1980)

Television

* ''

The Mike Walsh Show ''The Mike Walsh Show'' was an Australian variety daytime television series. Hosted by Mike Walsh. History An early version of ''The Mike Walsh Show'' was a Thursday night variety show broadcast on HSV-7, Melbourne, from August 14, 1969. It w ...

'' (1980) Guest as herself *'' E Street'' *''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

'' * ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

'' as Bathsheba Smith (1981) *'' Stock Squad''

Publications

*Cruickshank, Su, ''Bring A Plate to The Mortdale Scout Hall – The Autobiography of a Fat Tart Complete with Recipes'', Sun Books, 1992,

References

External links

*
Cruickshank at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruickshank, Su 1946 births 2009 deaths Musicians from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian jazz singers Australian women jazz singers Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian memoirists Actresses from New South Wales Australian women memoirists 20th-century Australian women singers 20th-century Australian memoirists