Colleen Clifford

Biography

Colleen Clifford was a British-born actress who worked in England, New Zealand, and Australia, and also made her mark as a theater founder, director, and producer. Born in Taunton, Somerset, she started out in the 1930s and 1940s, performing on early radio and television for the BBC, presenting cabaret and variety programs and taking West End stage roles. After moving to Australia in 1954, she established the Perth Theatre Guild and Drama School, taught voice production, drama, and music, and staged musicals with local talent. From 1955 she was a familiar character actress, frequently cast as eccentric elderly women. Her films included The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), The Year My Voice Broke (1987), and Frauds (1993). On television she appeared in Prisoner, A Country Practice, and Mother and Son. She received a John Campbell Fellowship for her theater work, performed in her last role at 93, and died in 1996.

97years old at death

Born November 17, 1898Taunton
Died April 7, 1996Sydney
Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
Also credited as Irene Margaret Clifford

Movie Career

Films: 3
Career span: 8 years1985 to 1993

Every film, newest first

1993FraudsIMDb rating 5.9
1987The Year My Voice BrokeIMDb rating 7.3
1985The Coca-Cola KidIMDb rating 5.9

Genres

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Early training
Clifford trained in classical piano at the Brussels Conservatoire in Belgium, then earned a scholarship to London's Royal Academy. She cut short a musical career because she favored musical theater, and spent almost thirty years as a British stage performer.
Behind the camera
After moving to Australia, Clifford founded the Perth Theatre Guild and Drama School, where she taught voice production, drama and music and trained actors over the next fifteen years.
First role
Clifford's first television acting work came in 1971, when she appeared as a guest star in The Godfathers and in Dynasty, a series unrelated to the American production of the same name.
A first
Clifford took her final acting part when she was 93, which made her, along with Olga Dickie and Queenie Ashton, one of Australia's oldest working actors, though her work was mostly guest spots and cameos.