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Neva Carr Glyn

Summary

Neva Carr Glyn or Neva Carr Glynn (born Neva Josephine Mary Carr Glyn, 10 May 1908 – 10 August 1975) was an Australian stage, film and radio actress born in Melbourne to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn (died 16 January 1923),[1] a humorous baritone and stage manager born in Ireland, and Marie Carr Glyn (late Mola), née Marie Dunoon Senior (10 June 1874 – 24 December 1953),[2][3][4] an actress with the stage name "Marie Avis".[5] She had one half-sister Gwendoline Arnold O'Neill and two half-brothers Sacheverill Arnold Mola and Rupert Arnold Mola. She was named "Neva" after a great-aunt, who was a contralto of some quality. Both spellings of her surname appear in print roughly equally and apparently arbitrarily.

Neva Carr Glyn
in 1940
Born
Neva Josephine Carr Glyn

(1908-05-10)10 May 1908
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died10 August 1975(1975-08-10) (aged 67)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)Stage and screen actress, radio performer
Years active1908-1975
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1940; div. 1954)​
ChildrenNick Tate

Early career edit

Neva was born while her parents were with the Fred Niblo company touring the J. C. Williamson circuit. Her theatrical debut was four months later, in New Zealand, when Fred Niblo carried her on stage.[6] She was playing the young William to her mother's Lady Isabel Vane in East Lynne at the age of four.[citation needed]

From age five to twelve, when her father died, she was a boarder in various convent schools, ending in Sydney. At eight she was enrolled in the Minnie Hooper School of Dancing and at eleven she was dancing in a revue The Queen of Sheba at the Sydney Town Hall.[6]

At thirteen her dancing skills won her a place in the chorus line of a Fuller Brothers pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Majestic Theatre, Newtown then in 1925 toured with the Band Box Revue. For the following six years she worked for them under contract, touring Australia and New Zealand in revues. Robinson Crusoe from 1925 to 1926 as Principal Girl,[6] "Aladdin" 1927–28 as Principal Boy and Clowns in Clover for the Frank Neil company are noted appearances,[7] this last starring Roy Rene. Other stars she worked with at this time were Jim Gerald and George Wallace.[citation needed]

In 1929 she and her mother joined the Frank Neil company in a tour of South Africa playing leads in such comedies as Up in Mabel's Room.[5]

She travelled to London in 1931 and got a break with the Firth Shephard company playing the Sigmund Romberg operetta Nina Rosa (produced by Carol Reed) then with Firth Shephard and Leslie Henson in a string of "Aldwych comedies" such as Living Dangerously (1934), Accidentally Yours (1935), and Aren't Men Beasts? in 1936. She also appeared in four movies including Girls, Please! (1934) with Sydney Howard and The Squeaker (1937) with Ann Todd.[7]

There in 1936 she married an Australian grazier named Arthur John but left him when he insisted she give up the stage. In 1937 she returned to Australia and was soon in work, playing in Cinderella (playing Dandini) and other pantomimes by day and revues with Jim Gerald and Ella Shields at night.[5]

Radio and stage edit

The following year she was working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission doing radio plays with Peter Finch. The two became a famous pair, starring in dozens of dramas including a Max Afford husband-and-wife detective series Greyface as Jeffery and Elizabeth Blackburn.[5] It was around this time that she was given the nickname "Nessie".[8][9]

In 1940 she married actor John Tate[10] and their son Nick Tate, also an actor was born in 1942. In 1941 they commenced as a husband-and-wife team for the Macquarie network, where they were known as the "sweethearts of radio", playing romantic leads on the Lux Theatre, the premier drama show in the days when radio was king, and the dark-haired imperious Neva was one of the three "Queens of Radio" (with Lyndall Barbour and Thelma Scott).[5] She played Mrs Cogg, the undertaker's wife in the series Granny Martin Steps Out.[8] She also appeared in Star Theatre shows for Macquarie; one series with John Tate, another with Arundel Nixon. She played in the long-running ABC series Blue Hills.

She had not left the stage entirely; in 1944 she and John toured New Zealand, and she had regular appearances at the Minerva Theatre such as Love from a Stranger with Grant Taylor, Clutterbuck, Storm in a Teacup, Separate Rooms and Dangerous Corner by J.B. Priestley.[6] But the marriage was foundering. John went off to Central Australia to live with the Arunta tribe[5] (they divorced in 1954). She joined John Alden's Shakespearean touring company;[11] playing roles such as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Paulina in A Winter's Tale and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor.[6] In 1957 she joined the Trust Players at the Elizabethan Theatre (the old "Majestic" renamed), also toured performing Richard Beynon's The Shifting Heart and Peter Kenna's Slaughter on St. Teresa's Day.[5] Neva appeared in two episodes of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, 'Esmerelda' and 'Fred'.

 
Neva Carr Glyn c. 1926
 
Neva Carr Glyn c. 1945

Film and television career edit

The world was changing for Neva. Television had taken over as the star medium and required youthful good looks and different skills.

She appeared in Slaughter of St Teresa's Day with Annette Andre who called her "a wonderful actress – I was always terrified of her, she was a really tough lady, but very professional and experienced. I have to say I learned a lot from her."[12] She had played the role on stage.[13]

She was consigned to unsympathetic older roles like Mrs Gillipop in The Gillipops, and in movies like Age of Consent (1969) and Ride a Wild Pony (1975). Her last role was in the ABC-TV series Certain Women. She died mid-series.

Recognition edit

  • In 1950 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a leading role" (in Half Light).[14]
  • In 1951 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a leading role" (in If This Be Error).[15][16]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Television edit

Stage edit

Selected radio performances edit

  • The Laughing Woman with Peter Finch for the ABC in 1941[6]
  • Mrs Parkington with John Saul for Macquarie Network in 1946[17]
  • If This Be Error by Rachel Grieve and Mollie Greenhalgh for Macquarie Network 1951[15]
  • Shadow of the Vine by Beverley Nichols for the General Motors Hour 1952[18]
  • Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain in 1953[19]

References edit

  1. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 22 January 1923
  2. ^ marriage Brisbane Courier 18 May 1894
  3. ^ divorce Sydney Morning Herald 14 September 1926
  4. ^ death notice Sydney Morning Herald 28 December 1953
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lane, Richard The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Melbourne University Press 1994 ISBN 0-522-84556-8
  6. ^ a b c d e f Porter, Hal Stars of Australian Stage and Screen Rigby Ltd., Adelaide 1965
  7. ^ a b Australian Dictionary of Biography
  8. ^ a b Patti Crocker Radio Days Simon & Schuster 1989 ISBN 0-7318-0098-2
  9. ^ "Neva Carr-Glynn". Daily Examiner. New South Wales, Australia. 31 July 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 23 April 2020 – via Trove.
  10. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 23 July 1940
  11. ^ The Sunday Herald 21 December 1952
  12. ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2020). "Annette Andre: My Brilliant Early Australian Career". Filmink.
  13. ^ Vagg, Stephen (19 October 2020). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays – The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day". Filmink.
  14. ^ The Argus 12 February 1951
  15. ^ a b Canberra Times 11 February 1952
  16. ^ "Radio award to Sydney actress". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1952. p. 5 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 23 April 2020 – via Trove.
  17. ^ The Argus 23 July 1946
  18. ^ The Argus 2 February 1952
  19. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 17 December 1953

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