Carol Raye

Career

Britain Raye won her first stage role in No, No, Nanette in 1938, and was discovered the following year by Australian-born choreographer and producer Freddie Carpenter, then operating a dance academy in Soho, who further trained her in dance. and Strawberry Roan (1945) by Maurice Elvey. However it was 1945 musical romance Waltz Time by Paul Stein, as Empress Maria that launched her international screen career. That year in April, she toured the United States with the lead role in a stage production of Bonanza Bound!. She turned down a multi-year Hollywood contract, deciding return to London, where she subsequently appeared in features including Spring Song (1946) directed by Montgomery Tully and two films directed by John Harlow, Green Fingers (1947) and While I Live (1947) as well as several telemovies for the BBC. Dear Miss Phoebe

Kenya Raye having remarried in 1951, and with her husband being offered by the British Government, the opportunity to run a 1000-acre farm in the overseas Kenya Colony, the family settled in Navaisha Town, in the West of Mombasa. Whilst in Kenya, two filmmakers offered Raye the lead role in their film No Rain in Timbura, which would be the first feature produced in that country.

Australia After the family emigrated to Australia in 1964, Raye was introduced to the ABC's Charles Moses, who in turn recommended her to Seven Network CEO James Oswin at Sydney station ATN-7, where she took a job as network assistant to the General Manager. She devised the concept of a satirical television series, based on Phillip Street Theatre revues and British TV series The Week That Was. In November 1964, the network gave the green light for The Mavis Bramston Show, in which Raye starred as one of three originals, along with Gordon Chater and Barry Creyton. She also produced the pilot episode and co-produced the series (with Michael Plant), until her departure from the show in late 1965. She resumed work on the series for the 1967 and 1968 final seasons.

In the 1970s, Raye played the ongoing comedy role of much-married British socialite and baroness Amanda von Pappenburg, aunt of Don Finlayson (played by Joe Hasham) whom she visits from Heidelberg, Germany, in the top-rated soap opera Number 96. The Duke of Bedford and his wife appeared as guests on the show. After two substantial stints with the series between 1973 and 1974, Amanda was permanently written out of the serial, but Raye remained on as creative director, casting regular characters, and reviewing scripts and storylines. She appeared in many Australian theatre productions, including California Suite, The Pleasure of His Company, Travelling North, The Merry Wives of Windsor, You Can't Take It With You, Noises Off, and Hay Fever. as the mother of Sigrid Thornton’s character. although in a DVD release of 32 episodes of Number 96, she provided an audio commentary alongside co-star Elisabeth Kirkby, film and TV critic Andrew Mercado and The Honourable Michael Kirby.

Personal life and death On 3 November 1945, U.S. Army Engineer Captain Clark Spencer, a "prominent Winchester and Marblehead sportsman" (Massachusetts, USA).

In 1951, she married prominent veterinarian Robert Ayre Smith (1926–2006). Her youngest daughter, Harriet, born in 1961 started her career in the Sydney Theatre Company office

Honours Raye was honoured in the 2022 Commonwealth of Australian Queens Birthday Honours List, with an appointment to the Member of the Order of Australia (AM), with the citation For services to the arts as an actress and producer.

Filmography

Film

Television Year Title Role Type 1964–1968 The Mavis Bramston Show Various roles 1965 Today with Carol Raye Host The Peek Snatchers Self 1966 66 And All That Host Australian Playhouse The Woman Teleplay: "Across the Bridge" 1967 The Delightfully Desperate, Daring and Different Doings of Daphne Davenport Daphne Davenport Teleplay1969 The Pennyweathers TV pilot Riptide Lauriana French 1 episode 1970 Tarbuck's Luck Self 1 episode 1973–1975 Number 96 Baroness Amanda Von Papenburg / Claudine 35 episodes 1976 Up The Convicts Lady Fitzgibbon This Is Your Life: Gordon Chater Guest 1 episode 1976–1977 The Young Doctors Rosalie Parker 15 episodes 1977–1978 Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks Regular panellist 16 episodes 1977 This Is Your Life: Carol Raye Guest 1 episode 1978 Cappriccio! Host Loss of Innocence Julie Miniseries, 1 episode Chopper Squad Eileen Traill 1 episode Micro Macro Team Leader Exploring the Psychic Mind Host 1987 Rafferty's Rules 1994 Mission Top Secret Mrs. Jessie Burdock (uncredited) 1 episode The Mavis Bramston 30th Anniversary Special Herself TV special 2000 SeaChange June Dawson 1 episode 2022 Pushing the Boundaries: The Mavis Bramston Show TV documentary

Theatre Year Title Role Type Ref. 1938 No, No, Nanette Nanette Southsea Theatre 1939 Bobby Get Your Gun Manchester Opera House 1940 Funny Side Up (aka Laugh Clown Laugh) Ensemble His Majesty's Theatre, London, Opera House Theatre, Blackpool 1941 Fun and Games The Dancer Princes Theatre, West End 1943–1944 The Merry Widow Frou-Frou His Majesty's Theatre, London The Love Racket 1949 Tough at the Top Ruritanian Princess Adelphi Theatre, London 1950–1951 Dear Miss Phoebe Miss Phoebe Throssel UK tour 1956 Harmony Close Jill Grant Theatre Royal, Birmingham 1957 The Ticket-of-Leave Man May Edwards Arts Theatre, London 1976 California Suite Hannah Warren / Diana Nichols / Gert Franklyn Ensemble Theatre, Sydney 1977 The Pleasure of His Company Katharine Dougherty Theatre Royal Sydney, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne with AETT 1978 The Mighty 1978 RSL Talent Quest Performer / Guest Judge Whitehorse Pub Theatre, Sydney 1979 Travelling North Frances Nimrod, Sydney, Melbourne Athenaeum, Civic Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company 1980 The Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Alice Ford Sydney Opera House with STC 1981 Hay Fever Judith Bliss Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company 1982 You Can't Take It With You Sydney Opera House with STC Night and Day Ruth Carson Marian St Theatre, Sydney, Canberra Theatre Centre 1982–1983 Noises Off Dotty Otley Australian tour 1985 Stepping Out Vera Australian tour 1989–1990 Hay Fever Australian tour with Peter & Ellen Williams Source: