Vale: Lorraine Bayly | Television tonight

Legendary actress Lorraine Bayly, best known for The Sullivans, Carson’s Law And Play schoolpassed away at the age of 89.

She died this morning in a Sydney care home.

Bayly enjoyed a career spanning six decades on the Australian stage and screen. As matriarch Grace Sullivan, she was adored across the country and regarded as one of Australia’s quintessential TV mothers.

Bayly grew up in Batlow, southern NSW, the daughter of a police officer who dabbled in ventriloquism and magic. At the age of 9, she has a ventriloquist dummy with which she would perform at the local prison. When she was eleven, she played classical piano on 2UE.

“That’s how I got my first paying gig. A woman called and asked if I could play at her daughter’s wedding in Alexandria. I played Jerusalem And Pedro the Fisherman”, she once said Television tonight.

She trained at the Ensemble Theater and considers 1958 as the beginning of her professional career, with more than 50 theater productions.

Her first TV acting role came via two ABC series in 1966. Be our guest with Jackie Weaver, Gordon Glenwright, Jack Allen and Sean Scully.

At the same time, she appeared in ABC sci-fi series The interpreter.

“I played Vera Balovna, an astronaut in a tight-fitting black suit and a cape, for six weeks. We were one of the first (sci-fi shows) and it was before computers. But on the spaceship we had two computers: Alice and Henry, and they fell in love!” she said.

There have already been numerous guest roles The Sullivans came by, also for Homicide, Division 4, Hunter, The Rovers, Spyforce, Ride a Wild Ponyand an ongoing presenting role at the legendary Play school.

“I had to leave Play school to do Sullivans because it was based in Sydney. They kept calling me asking, “Can I come over on the weekend and do something?” But I worked seven days a week,” she says.

“I was very happy when I got the part because I knew the scripts I had to learn for the screen test looked good. It looked like it would be a good show.”

The war soap ran on Nine from 1976-1983 and topped the ratings and won Logically and a dedicated fan base, both here and internationally. Bayly’s warmth and strength in Grace rippled throughout the room Sullivans family, led by actor Paul Cronin as Dave and her children played on screen by Andrew McFarlane, Steven Tandy, Richard Morgan and Susan Hannaford.

“It was a really good show, when you look at it now. Especially when you realize we were shooting the equivalent of a full-length movie every week.”

But when she quit the show after just three years, pioneering producer Hector Crawford ran into trouble.

“Hector wasn’t very happy! I was taken to lunch and pretty much told I could ask whatever I wanted. But I didn’t realize what he was saying at the time!” she remembered.

“But I still wouldn’t have changed my mind. The three years I was on air explored so many things in family life with the kids and Dave and Grace that I was worried that – as sometimes happens – it would go astray. It didn’t, but I thought it was time to leave.”

Grace was shockingly written out as the victim of a German V-1 flying bomb in London, but in reality Bayly had left the show six months earlier.

Period legal drama Carson’s Law which ran on 10 from 1982 to 1984, was another big hit, starring Bayly as progressive attorney Jennifer Carson.

“It was written for me. Ian Crawford told me. I was very flattered,” she admitted.

“I really enjoyed doing it. A lot of the trials were parallel in society… drugs, rape… and I remember being shocked that homosexuality was a crime, and I was defending a character who was gay and I remember being stunned that he was found guilty and given 10 years of hard labor. And it was based on the truth.”

“It was terribly difficult to do because I had long closing and opening speeches.

“I loved working with Kevin Miles (as irascible father-in-law Godfrey Carson) and working with each other. They were such strong characters.

She won Silver Logies for most popular actress for both Carson’s Law And The Sullivans.

Other TV credits over a career spanning six decades include Number 96, 1915, The Challenge (as Eileen Bond), A rural practice, GP, pizza And Through my eyes. In 1991, she agreed to step in Neighbors as Faye Hudson, sister of Doug (Terence Donovan).

Movies included The man from Snowy River, Fatty FinnAnd Ride a wild pony.

Her stage career included The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Season in Sarsaparilla, Gaslight, Death of a Salesman, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Travels NorthAnd The sound of music, her last credit in 2016, as Frau Schmidt.

She told me in 2018 TV tonight, she had just updated her photo in Showcast at the age of 81.

“I’m not saying I’m going to retire because I retired when I was 60 because I had terrible problems with my blood pressure,” she said.

“But after a year another doctor changed my meds so I went back. I’ve only retired once, a lot of people have retired more.”

“I’ll think about it from now on. I’ve worked so hard. I live about 3 minutes from Mike Walsh’s beautiful Orpheum Cinema and I’ve seen 2 films in the last 4 years. I want to see more and meet people for lunch!”