Joan Sydney

Joan Sydney King (5 September 1936^[3][4] – 28 December 2022) was an English-born Australian actress, primarily known for her television roles in soap operas and serials but who also appeared in theatre.

Joan Sydney
Born	Joan Sydney King (1936-09-05)5 September 1936 Kensington, Central London, England
Died	28 December 2022(2022-12-28) (aged 86) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Education	Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1957, 1968-2013[1]
Known for	A Country Practice E Street Neighbours
Children	3
Family	Maggie King (sister)[2]

Sydney started her career in local theatre before appearing on television where her best-known roles were in the soap operas A Country Practice as Maggie Sloane, E Street as publican Mary Patchett and Neighbours as Valda Sheergold.

Biography

Early life

Joan Sydney King was born in Kensington, Central London, England, on 5 September 1936, to Sam and Rose who met while working at hotels. The family relocated to Wales during the Second World War, first to Rhyl and then to Rhuddlan. She was educated at Abergele Grammar School and trained at the Oldham Repertory Theatre. She emigrated to Australia with her family as "Ten Pound Poms" in 1965, first living in Perth, Western Australia,^[1] then moving to Sydney, in 1974.

Career

After appearing on stage and film in her native England, Sydney featured in radio at the BBC and made her screen debut aged 21 in the 1957 film version of English play When We Are Married.

A Country Practice

Sydney was known for playing Margaret "Maggie" Sloan, the no-nonsense but compassionate matron of the fictional Wandin Valley Bush Nursing Hospital in the Seven Network rural series A Country Practice from 1983 to 1990 and over 400 episodes. She won the Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress for her performance in 1989.^[5] She also starred alongside her sister Maggie King in a movie-length pilot for a subsequently unmade series in 1987 called Sisterly Love.^[6]

Sydney was the second actress to play the matron of the fictional Wandin Valley Hospital after original actress Helen Scott. Her successor, Anne Brennen (played by Mary Regan), used the more modern title "Director of Nursing". After Brennen left, the title was changed back to Matron during the tenure of Rosemary Prior (Maureen Edwards).^[7]

In 1993, after 12 seasons on air, A Country Practice was abruptly cancelled, but rival network Ten picked it up soon afterwards. Production was relocated from Pitt Town, New South Wales, to Emerald, Victoria, and, after having spent time in England, Sydney reprised her role as matron, one of five actors including Joyce Jacobs and Andrew Blackman to return to the new ACP series.^[8]

Neighbours

In 2002, she joined the long-running serial Neighbours as Valda Sheergold, initially on a semi-regular recurring basis before becoming a permanent member of the cast for the 2007–2008 season.^[9]

Other roles

In 1990, Sydney briefly joined the new soap opera E Street in the role of publican Mary Patchett. She also had guest roles in many other programs including the sitcom Mother and Son and the dramas All Saints, Something in the Air and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

In 2013, she featured in the television film Cliffy, based on the life of Australian athlete Cliff Young.

Personal life

Sydney married her husband, Gerald, in 1960. They had two children, a daughter named Ananda and a son named Matthew. The couple later separated. Another son from an earlier relationship, Tony Braxton-Smith, was the former CEO of interstate rail company Journey Beyond, a division of Experience Australia Pty. Ltd. (known then under business name "Great Southern Rail").^[10] She was the elder sister of actress Maggie King.^[2]

Death

Sydney died, aged 86, at her home in Sydney, Australia (^[a])^{[citation needed]} on 28 December 2022 after a long illness with Alzheimer's disease which had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.^[11]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
1986	Departure		Feature film
2005	Martie's Party	Joan	Short film
2008	Your Turn	Joan	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
1957	When We Are Married	Ruby Birtle	TV film, UK
1978	The Scalp Merchant	Annie Brice	TV film
1981	Falcon Island	Guest role: Mrs. Yates	TV series, 1 episode
1983–1993; 1994	A Country Practice	Regular role: Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan	TV series, 457 episodes
1985	Flight into Hell		TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1985	One Summer Again		TV miniseries
1986	Hector's Bunyip	Maude Tremball	TV film
1987	Have a Go	Judge	TV series, 5 episodes
1988	Sisterly Love	Jean	TV film
1989	1989 TV Week Logie Awards	Herself	TV special
1989	The Bert Newton Show	Guest with Syd Heylen from 'A Country Practice'	TV series, 1 episode
1989	Who's True Blue?	Herself	Short film
1990	In Melbourne Today	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1991	Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune	Contestant	TV series, 1 episode
1991–1992	E Street	Regular role: Mary Patchett	TV series, 54 episodes
1992	The Morning Show	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Mother and Son	Guest role: Merle MacDonald	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Tracks of Glory	Mrs. Walker	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1994	A Country Practice	Regular role: Sister Maggie 'Sloan' Morrison	TV series, 30 episodes
1994; 1996	Good Morning Australia	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1995	Ernie and Denise	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1996; 1998	Good Morning Australia	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1996	Monday to Friday	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1998	Good Morning Australia	Guest (with sister Maggie King)	TV series, 1 episode
2000	The Morning Shift	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
2000	Something in the Air	Recurring role: Ruth Dooley	TV series, 3 episodes
2001	All Saints	Guest role: Mrs. Price	TV series, 2 episodes
2002–2008	Neighbours	Regular role: Valda Sheergold	TV series, 117 episodes
2006	TV Turns 50: The Events That Stopped A Nation	Guest (with A Country Practice cast: Lorrae Desmond, Brian Wenzel, Shane Porteous, Anne Tenney, Joyce Jacobs, Josephine Mitchell & Emily Nichol)	TV Special
2007	Where Are They Now?	Guest (with A Country Practice cast)	TV series, 1 episode
2009	Thank God You're Here	Contestant	TV series, 1 episode
2012	Lowdown	Guest role: Concierge	TV series, 1 episode
2012	Conspiracy 365	Guest role: Mrs. Fitzgerald	TV series, 1 episode
2013	Cliffy	Mum	TV film
2013	Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries	Guest role: Mother Aloysius	TV series, 1 episode

Theatre

Production	Year	No. of Performances
A Lilly in Little India	1968	Single
Old Time Music Hole	1968	Single
Paying the Piper	1972	Single
Small Craft Warnings	1972	Single
The Threepenny Opera	1973	Single
Butley	1973	Single
Note on a Love Affair	1973	Single
Village Wooing	1973	Single
The Typists	1973	Single
After Magritte	1973	Single
Old King Cole	1973	Single
Antony and Cleopatra	1974	Single
Equus	1975	Single
Time and Time Again	1975	Single
A Hard Time	1975	Single
The School for Scandal	1975	Single
Hello Dolly!	1975	Single
Kennedy's Children	1975	Single
The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day	1976	3 performances
Savages	1976	Single
The Magistrate	1976	Single
Everyone's a General	1976	Single
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	1976	Single
Mixed Doubles	1976	Single
The Edward of Edward the Second	1977	Single
Going Bananas	1977	Single
Cole	1977	Single
Chinchilla	1978	Single
The Seagull	1978	Single
Waiting for Godot	1978	Single
A Happy and Holly Occasion	1978	Single
The Hostage	1978	Single
No, No Nanette	1978	Single
A Plum Job	1979	Single
The Painting	1979	Single
Bossom	1979	Single
The Night of the Badger	1979	Single
No W.A.Y	1979	Single
The Way of the World	1979	Single
Something's Aloof	1979	Single
The Three Sisters	1979	Single
Garden Party	1980	Single
Roses in Due Season	1980	Single
Joseph Conrad Goes Ashore	1980	Single
Piaf	1980	Single
Backyard	1980	Single
Oliver!	1980	Single
Tomfoolery	1981	Single
The Importance of Being Ernest	1981	Single
Cowardy Custard	1981	Single
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	1981	Single
Court Napping	1981	Single
The Fields of Heaven	1982	Single
Steaming	1983	Single
Hedda Gebbler	1983	Single
Song from Sideshow Alley	1985	2 Performances
Nunsense		2 Performances
Mrs. Klein	1990	Single
Prin	1992
I Hate Hamlet	1992	2 Performances
Barmaids	1993	2 Performances
My Fair Lady	1996	Single
Secret Bridemaids Business	1999	2 Performances
Trelawny of the Wells	2000	2 Performances
Are You Being Served?	2001	Single
Talking Heads (national tour)	2002	38 Performances
Deckchairs	2005	13 Performances
Dirty Dusters	2010 (reprise)	Single
Be Watching by Gary Files – prelimenary readings 1.	2011	Single

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref
1988	AFI Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Telefeature	Sisterly Love	Nominated	[12]
1989	Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Actress	A Country Practice	Won	[5]
2014	Equity Ensemble Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-series or Telemovie	Cliffy	Nominated	[13]

Notes

1. Some sources state Healesville, Victoria, where her sister Maggie had resided

References

1. "Joan Sydney". AusStage. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
2. "A date with Joan Sydney and Maggie King". QUT. 19 September 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
3. Helen Pitt (5 January 2023). "A Country Practice star Joan Sydney dies aged 86". Sydney Morning Herald.
4. Tony Braxton-Smith (6 January 2023). "My Mum Maggie Sloan: A Country Practice stars 50 year career". Sydney Morning Herald.
5. Browne, Sheila (20 February 1992). "A 'champion of excellence'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Hooks, Barbara (27 December 1989). "A sisterly alchemy of golden wisdom and humor". The Age. Retrieved 5 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Australian Showbiz".
8. Sadlier, Kevin (12 December 1993). "Deja vu for Joan Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Kalina, Paul (28 March 2008). "Neighbours". The Age. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
10. "Acting keeps Tony Braxton-Smith going off the rails". News Limited. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
11. Knox, David (5 January 2023). "Vale: Joan Sydney". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
12. "Winners & Nominees – 1988". Australian Film Institute. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
13. "Redfern Now, Top of the Lake, Upper Middle Bogan casts win 2014 Equity Ensemble Awards!". Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

External links

• Joan Sydney at IMDb