Margaret Helen Dence AM (born 1 February 1942) is an Australian actress of stage and screen, with a career spanning some seven decades. She is equally at home in both comedy and drama roles.
Maggie Dence | |
|---|---|
 Dence in January 2013 | |
| Born | Margaret Helen Dence 1 February 1942 Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedienne |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | Graham Rouse |
Dence[1] is best known to early audiences for her roles in the satirical TV comedy The Mavis Bramston Show, and also serving as that series' mascot (originally portrayed by Noeline Brown).[2]
Dence featured in comedy Kingswood Country with stars Ross Higgins and Judi Farr as snobbish Merle Bullpit.
Her dramatic roles she is known for were in TV series The Sullivans as Rose Sullivan, Prisoner as Bev Baker and Neighbours as school headmistress Dorothy Burke.[2]
Professional career
editTV and film
editMavis Bramston and Kingswood Country
editDence played various characters influential Australian satirical sketch comedy program The Mavis Bramston Show from 1966 and 1968. One of her characters was the title character Mavis Bramston[3] – the joke being that Mavis appeared in only the opening segment of each episode and was not seen again thereafter. She was also a recurring guest in the popular 1980s sitcom Kingswood Country, playing the snobbish Merle Bulpitt.
Soap opera: The Sullivans, Prisoner and Neighbours
editHer best-known soap opera roles are The Sullivans as the sweet-natured Rose Sullivan between 1976 and 1978, Prisoner in a darker role in 1984 as an evil psychopath and serial killer called Bev 'The Beast' Baker, and Neighbours as stern school headmistress Dorothy Burke in the early 1990s.[2]
Other roles
editDence also had smaller cameo roles in TV serials A Country Practice,[4] The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Heartbreak High.[2]
In 2005 she appeared in the award-winning Australian film Look Both Ways.[2]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Wake in Fright | Receptionist | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Best of Friends | Shop assistant | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Italian Lady | Feature film |
| 1988 | Cherith | Film short | |
| 1989 | Luigi's Ladies | Shandra | Feature film |
| 2003 | Danny Deckchair | Meredith Butcher | Feature film |
| 2003 | Peter Pan | Lady Quiller Couch | Feature film |
| 2005 | Look Both Ways | Joan | Feature film |
| 2009 | Grace | Nona | Film short |
| 2015 | The Witching Hour | Old Witch | Film short |
| 2015 | The Widow | Elaine | Film short |
| 2016 | The Mother Situation | Film short | |
| 2016 | Setaceous | Film short | |
| 2018 | Granny | Granny | Film short |
| 2018 | Inside Water | Yabby | Film short |
| 2019 | Strangers | Bibi | Film short |
| 20?? | Dirt Cheap | Irene | Feature film |
| 2021 | The Drover's Wife | Mrs. Shirley McGuiness | Feature film |
| 2023 | The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race | Miss Vaughn | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966–1968 | The Mavis Bramston Show | Mavis Bramston | TV series (regular lead role) |
| 1967; 1975 | Homicide | Elaine Fleming | TV series, 1 episode: "The Legacy" |
| 1968–1969 | I've Married a Bachelor | TV series, 3 episodes "You Tell Me Your Dreams, I'll Tell You My Dreams", "Into the Breach" | |
| 1969 | Skippy the Bush Kangaroo | Soprano | TV series, 1 episode: "El Toro" |
| 1970 | The Link Men | Edie Whitman | TV series, 1 episode 11: "Somebody's Kid Is Missing" |
| 1972 | A Nice Day at the Office | Mrs. Quiggley | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1973 | Boney | Mrs. Coutts | TV series, 1 episode: "Boney and the Emu Man" |
| 1973 | Division 4 | Marion Evans | TV series, 1 episode: "Willie" |
| 1974 | Silent Number | Nurse Janet Kay | TV series, 1 episode: "Bang, Bang, You're Dead" |
| 1975 | Homicide | Anne Carson / Elaine Fleming | TV series, 1 episode: "Brick Veneer" |
| 1976–1979 | The Sullivans | Aunty Rose Sullivan | TV series, 250 episodes |
| 1979 | Doctor Down Under | Mrs. Peabody | TV series, 1 episode: "A Bird in the Hand" |
| 1980 | Trial by Marriage | TV series | |
| 1980–1984 | Kingswood Country | Merle Bullpit | TV series, 18 episodes; |
| 1981 | A Town Like Alice | Mrs. O'Connor | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Daily at Dawn | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1981 | A Country Practice | Jan Hardy | TV series, 2 episodes: "Secrets: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1981 | Holiday Island | Mrs Brandon | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1982 | A Country Practice | Courtney Fraser | TV series, 2 episodes: "Show Down: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1984 | A Country Practice | Blanche Mitchell | TV series, 2 episodes: "Ships in the Night: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1984 | Prisoner | Bev Baker | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1985 | The Perfectionist | Rosie Peters | TV film |
| 1985 | Possession | Lady Shannon | TV series |
| 1985 | Winners: The Other Facts of Life | Psychiatrist | TV film |
| 1987 | Willing and Abel | TV series, 1 episode: "Miss September" | |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Helen Manning | TV series, 1 episode: "Sapphire" |
| 1988 | Act of Betrayal | Dorothy | TV film |
| 1989 | A Country Practice | Victoria Fleming | TV series, 2 episodes: "Bel Canto: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1989 | Rafferty's Rules
Vanessa Pearce |
TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1989 | Edens Lost | Producer | TV miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1989 | Home Brew | Marjorie Daley | TV film |
| 1990 | More Winners: The Big Wish | Lady Mikeevil | TV film |
| 1990–1993 | Neighbours | Dorothy Burke | TV series, 356 episodes |
| 1994 | G.P. | Judith Marr | TV series, 1 episode: "Coitus Interruptus" |
| 1995 | Correlli | Maureen Barnes | TV series, 1 episode: "An Early Release" |
| 1997 | Heartbreak High | Mrs. Mac | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Blue Heelers | Elizabeth Schulz | TV series, 1 episode: "Letting Go" |
| 1998 | Driven Crazy | Granny Rose | TV series, 1 episode: "Mousechap" |
| 1998–2007 | All Saints | Lyn Brown / Maggie Cooper / June Markham | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Water Rats | Joy Turner | TV series, 1 episode: "Mummy Dearest" |
| 2000 | Grass Roots | Ellen Leonard | TV series, 1 episode: "The Whole Year" |
| 2000 | Stingers | Celia Jones | TV series, 1 episode: "Organised Crime" |
| 2002 | Fairy Tale Police Department | Voice | TV series, 26 episodes: "Pinocchio: Puppet in Peril" |
| 2002 | Always Greener | Sister Stern | TV series, 1 episode: "Understanding the Cry" |
| 2002–2003 | All Saints | June Markham | TV series, 3 episodes: "Chemistry", "Trust", "Friend in Need" |
| 2006 | Small Claims: The Reunion | Roma | TV film |
| 2008 | Milly, Molly | Voice | TV series |
| 2008 | Out of the Blue | Olive Hammond | TV series, 17 episodes |
| 2013 | The Very Trevor Ashley Show | Old Lady | TV series, 1 episode: "Pilot" |
| 2013–2015 | Wonderland | Ruth MacPherson | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 2014; 2016 | Black Comedy | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | Ready for This | Mabel | TV series, 1 episode: "Fresh Meat" |
| 2016 | Rake | Janet | TV series, 1 episode: "4.3" |
| 2017 | Attack! Attack! Art? | Gran | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The Commons | Janice | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2019 | Frayed | Mrs Atkins | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Heartbreak High | Nan | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Significant Others | Pam | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2023 | The Messenger[5] | Milla Roseby | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 2023 | Queen of Oz | June | TV series, 1 episode: "Ginger Eyebrows" |
Television (as self)
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | In Perth Tonight | Guest | TV series |
| 1979 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1981 | The World Around Us: Stress - It Wasn't Meant to be Easy | Herself | TV documentary |
| 1994 | The Mavis Bramston 30th Anniversary | Herself | TV special |
| 1995 | Neighbours: A 10th Anniversary Celebration | Herself | TV special |
| 1996 | 40 Years of TV Stars... Then and Now | Herself | TV special |
| 2001 | Good Morning Australia | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2012; 2015 | The Morning Show | Guest | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2013; 2016; 2019 | Today Extra | Guest | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Daily Edition | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Pushing The Boundaries: The Mavis Bramston Show | Herself | Film documentary |
Theatre
editAwards and recognition
editDence was named (on 29 September) the 2011 recipient of the Equity Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding services to the performing arts – both stage and screen – and her longstanding involvement with the NSW Actors' Benevolent Fund.[2] The award, presented by Foxtel, is from Maggie's peers and members of her union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Equity (Performers) Section, which she joined in 1962.[2]
Dence was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours "for service to the performing arts".[2][8]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Maggie Dence". Auslit.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ms Margaret Helen Dence AM". Australian Honours. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "LIFESTYLE TV- ARTS- ENTERTAINMENT Maggie Dence revels in her 'Annie' role". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 16, 911. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 January 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "LIFESTYLE TV- ARTS- ENTERTAINMENT Maggie Dence revels in her 'Annie' role". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 16, 911. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 January 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Production to begin on the Messenger | TV Tonight". 29 May 2022.
- ^ "AusStage".
- ^ "LIFESTYLE TV- ARTS- ENTERTAINMENT Maggie Dence revels in her 'Annie' role". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 16, 911. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 January 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Queens Birthday 2022 Honours List".