Valerie Muriel Jellay (born Valerie Jelly; 25 September 1927 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian vaudevillian, actress, soubrette, dancer, author and TV personality. At the time of her death, she was the widow of fellow

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

vaudevillian, actor and comedian

Maurie Fields Maurice Fields (born Maurice Sheil, 4 August 1926 – 18 December 1995) was an Australian vaudeville performer, actor and stand-up comedian. Career Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live progra ...

; together they were in general considered to be a duo act in the entertainment industry. She was the mother of comedian and actor Marty Fields. Her early career had been in vaudeville and on stage before becoming a staple on the small screen in 1957. She started performing at just four years old and was still performing in her 80s.

Career

Jellay's life in show business began in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, working with the

Tivoli circuit The Tivoli Circuit was a successful and popular Australian vaudeville entertainment circuit featuring revue, opera, ballet, dance, singing, musical comedy, old time black and white minstrel and even Shakespeare which flourished from 1893 to th ...

in Australia. Her career began with dance lessons in 1931. She later moved into comedy and drama in the different media of stage, radio, film and television. She appeared together with husband

as comedy regulars on HSV 7's '' Sunnyside Up'', along with Hal Lashwood,

Syd Heylen Harold Sydney Charles Heylen (25 May 1923 – 4 December 1996), credited variously as Syd Heylen, Sid Heylen and Sydney Heylen, was an Australian character actor of radio, stage, television and film, comedian, and variety performer and soldi ...

and Honest John Gilbert, then later as husband and wife in the television series '' The Flying Doctors''. She was also a regular on '' Good Morning Australia'' with

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 ...

, reviewing the latest movies, and also appeared on ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' is a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' with her son Marty. She appeared in serial ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' in four different character roles most notably as landlady Mabel Morgan, and in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' as Connie O'Rourke. She appeared in many guest roles in Australian soap operas.

Personal life

She married Australian actor

in 1960 and was married until his death in 1995.

Death

Jellay died on 6 May 2017 after having slipped into a coma and being on life support arising from complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

; she was 89.

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

References

External links

* 1927 births 2017 deaths Australian television actresses Actresses from Sydney Deaths from pneumonia in New South Wales {{Australia-actor-stub