Wendy Hughes obit

Actress Wendy Hughes dead at 61

 

She was not on the list.

Australian actress Wendy Hughes has died at the age of 61.

The Melbourne-born star of My Brilliant Career and longtime actor in the Network Ten drama State Coroner is understood to have died of cancer in Sydney early on Saturday morning.

Actor Bryan Brown announced the death to the audience of Sydney Theatre Company's Travelling North on Saturday afternoon, inviting theatregoers to honour the late actress with a standing ovation.

Working across TV, film and the stage, Hughes was one of Australia's best recognised actresses, sensationally appearing in The Graduate in Sydney in 2001 and in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 2007.

Peter Evans, co-artistic director at Bell Shakespeare, directed the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Pygmalion, in which Hughes most recently starred in 2012.

"She was a star, such a straight shooter, incredibly generous and incredibly down to earth," Evans said.

"She didn't suffer fools - you knew exactly where you stood with Wendy."

A collaborator with director Paul Cox, with whom she worked on Salvation, Hughes studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art and in 1983 won the Australian Film Institute's Best Lead actress award for her role in Careful, He Might Hear You.

She had a daughter, Charlotte, with actor Chris Haywood, and a son, Jay, with restaurateur Patrick Juillet. Hughes was married for a short time to Sean Scully, whom she met while on tour with the play Butterflies are Free.

Hughes's first internationally known role was the character Patricia in Lonely Hearts (1982). This role commenced a decades-long collaboration with the Dutch-Australian director Paul Cox.

As one of the leading actresses in Australian cinema, Hughes's roles in the 1970s and 1980s included those in Newsfront, Kostas, My Brilliant Career, Lucinda Brayford, Touch and Go, Hoodwink, Lonely Hearts, Careful, He Might Hear You, My First Wife, I Can't Get Started, An Indecent Obsession, Echoes of Paradise, Boundaries of the Heart, Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1988) and Luigi's Ladies.

Hughes made her American debut in 1987 in John G. Avildsen's film Happy New Year opposite Peter Falk and Charles Durning. In 1989 she starred opposite Pierce Brosnan in The Heist, a TV movie made by HBO. She continued to make occasional appearances on television, such as playing Jilly Stewart in the mini-series Return to Eden in 1983. During the early 1990s, she spent time in the United States, where she played medical examiner Dr Carol Blythe in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street. She also appeared in the miniseries Amerika and made a guest appearance as Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren on Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the episode Lessons, as one of the few love interests that Captain Jean-Luc Picard had on the show. Back in Australia, Hughes played lead roles on television in The Man From Snowy River ("Snowy River: The McGregor Saga") and State Coroner. Hughes's film appearances at this approximate time included the fact-based comedy-drama Princess Caraboo and Paradise Road. Her later film roles included Salvation (2007), The Caterpillar Wish (2006) and The Man Who Sued God (2001).

Stage appearances by Hughes during this time included as Mrs. Robinson in the 2001 Melbourne version of The Graduate, Martha in a 2007 staging of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by the Melbourne Theatre Company, the character of Honor in Honour in 2010, and Henry Higgins's mother in Pygmalion (2012).

Her last TV appearance was in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Actress (72 credits)

 2012 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (TV Series)

Adele Freeman

- The Green Mill Murder (2012) ... Adele Freeman

 2009 Just Desserts (Short)

Judy

 2009 All Saints (TV Series)

Annalise Lang

- Facing the Music 2 (2009) ... Annalise Lang

 2008 The Saddle Club (TV Series)

Louise Lomax

- Cut to the Quick (2008) ... Louise Lomax (as Wendy Hughs)

 2008 The View from Greenhaven

Dorothy

 2008 Salvation

Gloria

 2007/I The Bridge (Documentary)

Narrator (voice)

 2007 City Homicide (TV Series)

Victoria Semple

- Lie Down with Dogs (2007) ... Victoria Semple

 2006 Two Twisted (TV Mini Series)

Barber's Wife

- Von Stauffenberg's Stamp (2006) ... Barber's Wife

 2006 Caterpillar Wish

Elizabeth Roberts

 2005 MDA (TV Series)

Gabrielle Bromley

- Departure Lounge: Part 4 (2005) ... Gabrielle Bromley

- Departure Lounge: Part 3 (2005) ... Gabrielle Bromley

- Departure Lounge: Part 2 (2005) ... Gabrielle Bromley

- Departure Lounge: Part 1 (2005) ... Gabrielle Bromley

 2001 The Man Who Sued God

Jules Myers

 1997-1998 State Coroner (TV Series)

State Coroner Kate Ferrari

- Watershed (1998) ... State Coroner Kate Ferrari

- Officers & Gentlemen (1998) ... State Coroner Kate Ferrari

- Flying Solo (1998) ... State Coroner Kate Ferrari

- Into the Fire (1998) ... State Coroner Kate Ferrari

- Assumptions (1998) ... State Coroner Kate Ferrari

1997 Paradise Road

Mrs. Dickson

 1996 Lust and Revenge

George's Advisor

 1994-1996 Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (TV Series)

Kathleen O'Neil / Kathleen McGregor

- House of Worship (1996) ... Kathleen O'Neil

- The Cutting Edge (1996) ... Kathleen O'Neil

- Code of Ethics (1996) ... Kathleen O'Neil

- Flight of Fancy (1996) ... Kathleen O'Neil

- Toy Soldiers (1995) ... Kathleen McGregor

1995 Golden Boy (TV Mini Series)

Employee C (English version, voice)

 1994 Blue Seed (TV Series)

Additional Voices (English version, voice)

 1994 Princess Caraboo

Mrs. Worrall

 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

Lt. Cmdr. Nella Daren

- Lessons (1993) ... Lt. Cmdr. Nella Daren

 1993 Homicide: Life on the Street (TV Series)

Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

- A Dog and Pony Show (1993) ... Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

- A Shot in the Dark (1993) ... Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

- Son of a Gun (1993) ... Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

- Ghost of a Chance (1993) ... Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

- Gone for Goode (1993) ... Dr. Carol Blythe, M.E.

 1991 Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue

Elle

 1991 A Woman Named Jackie (TV Mini Series)

Janet Lee Bouvier

- The Onassis Years (1991) ... Janet Lee Bouvier

- The Kennedy Years (1991) ... Janet Lee Bouvier

- The Bouvier Years (1991) ... Janet Lee Bouvier

 1991 Sukeban Deka (Video)

Additional Voices (English version, voice)

 1990 Donor (TV Movie)

Dr. Farrell

 1989 The Heist (TV Movie)

Sheila

 1989 Luigi's Ladies

Sara

 1988 Boundaries of the Heart

Stella Marsden

 1987 Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train

Girl

 1987 Happy New Year

Carolyn

 1987 Echoes of Paradise

Maria

 1987 Amerika (TV Mini Series)

Marion Andrews

- Part VII (1987) ... Marion Andrews

- Part V (1987) ... Marion Andrews

- Part IV (1987) ... Marion Andrews

- Part III (1987) ... Marion Andrews

- Part II (1987) ... Marion Andrews

1985 I Can't Get Started

Margaret

 1985 Remember Me (TV Movie)

Jenny

 1985 Promises to Keep (TV Movie) (uncredited)

 1985 An Indecent Obsession

Honour Langtry

 1984 My First Wife

Helen

 1984 Five Mile Creek (TV Series)

Arabella

- When the Kookaburra Cries (1984) ... Arabella

 1983 Return to Eden (TV Mini Series)

Jilly Stewart

- Part 1 (1983) ... Jilly Stewart

- Part 3 (1983) ... Jilly Stewart

- Part 2 (1983) ... Jilly Stewart

 1983 Careful, He Might Hear You

Vanessa

 1982 A Dangerous Summer

Sophie McCann

 1982 Lonely Hearts

Patricia Curnow

 1982 Partners (unconfirmed)

 1982 Duet for Four

Barbara Dunstan

 1981 Hoodwink

Lucy

 1980 Lucinda Brayford (TV Mini Series)

Lucinda Brayford

 1980 Cop Shop (TV Series)

Marian McCall

- Episode #1.272 (1980) ... Marian McCall

- Episode #1.271 (1980) ... Marian McCall

 1980 Coralie Landsdowne Says No (TV Movie)

Coralie Landsdowne

 1980 Touch and Go

Eva

 1979 Kostas

Carol

 1979 My Brilliant Career

Aunt Helen

 1978 Puzzle (TV Movie)

Claudine Cunningham

 1978 A Woman in the House (TV Movie)

 1978 Newsfront

Amy Mackenzie

 1977 High Rolling in a Hot Corvette

Barbie

 1977 The Alternative (TV Movie)

Melanie Hilton

 1976 Power Without Glory (TV Mini Series)

Mary West

- This, the Servant (1976) ... Mary West

- War Damage (1976) ... Mary West

- Fallen Heroes (1976) ... Mary West

- Confound Their Politics (1976) ... Mary West

- Lest We Forget (1976) ... Mary West

1976 The Outsiders (TV Series)

Susan Mayfield

- Golden Girl (1976) ... Susan Mayfield

 1976 Is There Anybody There? (TV Movie)

Marianne Dickinson

 1976 Rush (TV Series)

Emma

- I'll See You Dead McKellar (1976) ... Emma

 1971-1976 Matlock Police (TV Series)

Jill Perry / Joanna / Fran Carmody / ...

- Remember to Phone (1976) ... Jill Perry

- A Dangerous Sort of Man (1975) ... Jill Perry

- The Reckoning (1974) ... Joanna

- Confessional (1972) ... Fran Carmody

- Cast a Black Shadow (1971) ... Patti Anderson

 1975 The Company Men (TV Mini Series)

Jill Freeman

- Episode #1.6 (1975)

- Dog Eat Dog (1975) ... Jill Freeman

- The Man Who Abolished God (1975)

 1975 Number 96 (TV Series)

Vanessa Harrison

- Episode #1.723 (1975) ... Vanessa Harrison

 1975 Behind the Legend (TV Series)

- Christopher Brennan (1975)

 1975 Sidecar Racers

Lynn Carson

 1974 The Cherry Orchard (TV Movie)

 1974 The Spiral Bureau (TV Movie)

 1974 A Touch of Reverence (TV Mini Series)

 1974 Petersen

Dr. Patricia 'Trish' Kent

 1967-1972 Homicide (TV Series)

Barbara Carlisle / Jan Smith / Rosalind Eyre / ...

- The Street of Fear (1972) ... Barbara Carlisle

- Seen to Be Done (1969) ... Jan Smith

- A Lethal Weapon (1969) ... Rosalind Eyre

- The Final Movement (1968) ... Helen Raynor

- The Monday Girl (1968) ... Darlene Sadler

Show all 6 episodes

 1971 The Group (TV Series)

Laura Bent

- Pilot (1971) ... Laura Bent

 1968 Hunter (TV Series)

Sue Gallagher

- Crusader (1968) ... Sue Gallagher

Producer (2 credits)

 1989 Luigi's Ladies (executive producer)

 1988 Boundaries of the Heart (associate producer)

Writer (1 credit)

 1989 Luigi's Ladies (written by)

Soundtrack (1 credit)

 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)

- Lessons (1993) ... (performer: "Frère Jacques" - uncredited)