Fay Kelton (born in Tasmania, Australia between 1940 and 1941)Melbourne Age Radio-TV Supplement 8 April 1960, p. 5 is an Australian former actress of radio, theatre and television, she relocated to Melbourne in her teens."Women in the Theatre: Musical to Have Australian Cast" Melbourne Age 7 November 1959, p. 7 She was a regular performer on the ABC radio serial Blue Hills (1949–1976), and also appeared in the shorter serials for commercial radio Danse MacabreMelbourne Age TV-Radio Guide 24 June 1965 p. 9; Melbourne Age TV-Radio Country Guide 1 November 1966 p. 4 and Forests of the Night.Melbourne Age TV-Radio Guide 24 February 1966 p. 9; Melbourne Age TV-Radio Guide 8 July 1966 p. 10
Kelton also appeared in numerous television films, particular in her early career and guested in small roles in TV series, including a part based on the historical figure of Mary Bryant in the 1963 television series The Hungry Ones with Leonard Teale. She appeared in Nice Day at the Office, Cop Shop, Prisoner, A Country Practice and Home and Away.
Biography
Kelton worked as a radio actress before becoming a theatre and television actress in 1960, making her television acting debut in the live television play Who Killed Kovali? on the 13 July 1960."New Faces in Tennis Murder Drama on TV" Melbourne Age Radio/TV Supplement, 7 July 1960 p. 5 This was followed by, amongst other productions, the television film The End Begins (1961). Two years later, she was cast as Mary Bryant in the television mini-series The Hungry Ones, with co-star Leonard Teale,"The Hungry Ones." TV Times. 22 May 1963. and followed this with appearances in The Gioconda Smile (1963) and A Man for All Seasons (1964). Kelton played 'the daughter of a miser' in Cross of Gold which aired in October, 1965.'TV' Melbourne Age 27 October 1965 p. 14
She made eight guest appearances on Homicide between 1964 and 1971. She also made one-time appearances on the Australian series Dynasty and The Comedy Game, the latter performance leading to her role as Vicki Short in the spinoff A Nice Day at the Office in 1972.
Having moved from Melbourne to Sydney the previous year, she also performed on the ABC radio serial Blue HillsKent, Jacqueline. Out of the Bakelite Box: The Heyday of Australian Radio. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1983. (pg. 267) (as well as commercial radio serials Danse Macabre and Forests of the Night) and in the Hugh Leonard farce The Patrick Pearce Motel. She was working seven days a week and up to 16 hours a day."A Work Fest for Fay". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 Jan 1972 In 1974, she had a leading role in the televised play The Misanthrope.Sydney Morning Herald TV Guide section, 7 October 1974 p. 4
Kelton guest starred in Ryan, Matlock Police, Division 4 and Power Without Glory. In 1981, she was cast as Alison Page on the soap opera Prisoner.Museum of Broadcast Communications (2004). "Prisoner." In H. Newcomb (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Television (Vol. I, 2nd ed.). New York and London: CRC Press. (pg. 1827) Her character was introduced as a troubled housewife who is sent to prison for shoplifting. Despondent over the separation from her family and bullying from the other women, especially Doreen Burns (Colette Mann), she attempts suicide. Kelton later returned to stage acting and performed for the Northside Theatre Company in Sydney for much of the 1980s.
After a five-year absence from television, she appeared on A Country Practice in 1986 and the television miniseries Emma: Queen of the South Seas in 1988. In 1994, she had a recurring role as Anne Harris on Home and Away. She returned to acting once more to guest star on All Saints in 2001.
Filmography Title Year Role Who Killed Kovali (TV Film) 1960 Jill Masters The First Joanna (TV film) 1961 Augusta Quite Night (TV Film) 1961 Nurse Sparrow The Ides of March 1961 Pompela The End Begins (TV Film) 1961 Valerie Hollis Boy Round the Corner (TV Film) 1962 Sue Fury in Petticoats (TV Film) 1962 Fuegia Basket The Hungry Ones (TV Mini-series) 1963 Mary Bryant - Mary Broad A Man for All Seasons (TV Film) 1963 Margaret More The Gioconda Smile (TV Film) 1963 Doris Mead Corruption in the Palace of Justice (TV Film) 1964 Elena The Tower (TV Film) 1964 Megan Romanoff and Juliet (TV Film) 1965 Martha. Cross of Gold (TV Film) 1965 Eugenie Grandet Topaze (TV Film) 1966 Ernestine A Phoenix To Frequent (TV Film) 1966 Doto Australian Playhouse (TV series) 1966 2 episodes Captain Pamela - Evelyn Fisher A Ride n the Big Dipper (TV Film) 1967 Homicide (TV series) 1964-1971 Mrs. Forrseter - Sue Middleton - Betty Foster Dynasty (TVV series) 1971 Helene Dawson The Godfathers 1971 Helen Fraser The Comedy Game (TV series) 1971 Vicki Short A Nice Day at the Office (TV series) 1972 Vicki Short Ryan (TV series) 1973 Jean Thompson Matlock Police 1972-1974 Jean Baker - Carol Collins The Misanthorpe (TV Film) 1972 Division 4 (TYV series) 1972-1975 Penelope Brown - June Garrett - Maureen Hall Between the Legend (TV series) 1975 Power Without Glory (TV mini-series) 1976 Marjorie West Cop Shop (TV series) 1979 Catherine Temple Prisoner 1981 13 episodes Allison Page A Country Practice 1986 Denise Jackson Emma: Queen of the South Seas (TV mini-series) 1988 Aunt Elizabeth Home and Away (TV series) 1994-1995 Anne Harris (10 episodes) All Saints (TV series) 2001 Carol Singleton
References
Further reading Sumner, John. Recollections at Play: A Life in Australian Theatre. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993.
External links