Gloria Dawn (26 February 1929 – 2 April 1978) was an Australian actress, choreographer singer and vaudevillian performer. She was one of the leading stars of the stage from the 1950s to her death.
Early life Dawn was born in Port Melbourne, Victoria, the only daughter of theatrical agent William Edward Evans and Zilla Emma Edith Odling, a native of Thailand. Both her parents were vaudeville performers, known as "Billy and Weatherly", and she toured with them, appearing on stage from infancy and doing Shirley Temple impersonations. At 12 Dawn was one of the Tivoli Gang of juvenile stars, performing in the Crazy Show at the Tivoli Theatre. She also began playing soubrette on stage, in shows such as the Naughty Nineties at the Tivoli.
Career Dawn made her debut in theatre in 1935 and featured in everything from pantomime, cabaret, vaudeville, revue and musical and comedy drama. In 1949 she was the star of the show, Sunny, at the Cremorne Theatre in Brisbane.
In the 1950s, as the queen of revue, she appeared in productions such as Once Upon a Mattress and C.J. Dennis' iconic The Sentimental Bloke and A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down. In the 1970s stage roles included The Slaughter House of St. Theresa Day, Mother Courage and A Hard God. According to The Canberra Times, Dawn "won the greatest acclaim of her career for the leading role in Gypsy, a musical based on the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee".
In 1977, several months before she died, she appeared on Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks.
Her film credits include They're a Weird Mob in 1966 The Mango Tree in 1977.
Personal life Dawn married variety artist Francis Patrick Cleary in Brisbane on 15 January 1947 and had four children. They separated in 1970.
She died from cancer at the King George V Hospital in Camperdown, Sydney on 2 April 1978.
Filmography
FILM
+FilmYearTitleRoleType 1966 They're A Weird Mob Mrs. Chapman Feature film 1977 The Mango Tree Pearl Feature film
TELEVISION +TelevisionYearTitleRoleType 1962 Consider Your Verdict Guest role TV series, 1 episode 1972 The Pressure-Pak Show Regular - Herself TV series 1972 The Tony Hancock Special Mrs. Gilroy TV special 1973 Boney Guest role: Mother Superior TV series, 1 episode 1973 Jill Guest - Herself TV special 1974 A Hard God Lead role ABC TV film 1975 The Graham Kennedy Show Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode 1977 Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks Herself - Panellist TV series, 5 episodes
STAGE / THEATRE The Crazy Show Revue (1940) Little Nellie Kelly (1949) Once Upon a Mattress The Sentimental Bloke (1961) A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down But I Wouldn't Want To Live There Annie Get Your Gun (1968) The Threepenny Opera (1968) The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day (1973) Mother Courage (1974) Gypsy (1974) Young Mo (1975/1977)
References
External links Australian theatre credits at AusStage
Gloria Dawn at Australian Dictionary of Biography Gloria Dawn at Live Performance Hall of Fame