Joy Westmore
Joy Westmore | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joy Grisold 13 March 1932 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 5 November 2020 (aged 88) Melbourne, Victoria[1] |
| Occupation | Actress (radio, stage, television), voice-over artist[1] |
| Years active | 1950–2013 |
| Known for | Prisoner also known as Prisoner Cell Block H aka Caged Women – Officer Barry/Joyce Pringle (maiden name Joyce Barry) |
Notable work | |
| Spouse(s) | Brian Westmore
(m. 1960; died 2019) |
| Children | 4 |
Joy Westmore (née Grisold; 13 March 1932 – 5 November 2020)[1][2] was an Australian actress on radio, stage and television, and in voice-over. She was best known to local and international television viewers for her long-running role in Prisoner as the friendly but highly ineffectual bespectacled officer Joyce Barry, appearing from the first season in 1979 until the final episode in 1986 and smaller roles in Neighbours in 1991 and 2003.
Career[]
Westmore had been an actress since 1950. She read commercials on radio and was particularly known for her performances opposite Barry Humphries's alter ego Dame Edna Everage. She also appeared in early television comedy sketches with Graham Kennedy and Ernie Sigley. She made her small-screen debut in the TV movie The Sentimental Bloke, and subsequently had roles in the soap The Sullivans and in Bellbird, before taking on the longer-lasting role of Officer Joyce Barry in Prisoner. She was in the recurring cast throughout the first five years of the show, but became regular in 1984 and continued until the series' finale in 1986. Entertainment reporter Peter Ford stated that "Joyce Barry was probably the world's worst prison officer, because she was too overly nice and trustworthy, although she provided a lot of comic relief in the series".[1]
After Prisoner she played Mrs Blanche White in an Australian version of the TV game show Cluedo, and had two brief roles in Neighbours, as Mrs Forster in 1991 and as Dee Bliss's grandmother, Nancy Bliss, in 2003. She also played various small roles in one-off and long-running dramas, including Waiting at the Royal, Fergus McPhail and Blue Heelers.
Personal life and death[]
Westmore was married to dentist Brian Westmore on 13 March 1960, the same day as her 28th birthday. They had four children together.[3]
Joy Westmore died from dementia in an aged care facility in Melbourne, Victoria, on 5 November 2020, aged 88.[1][4]
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Summerfield | Mrs. Shields | |
| 1979 | The Odd Angry Shot | Bill's Mum | |
| 1980 | Nightmares | Matron | Also known as Stage Fright |
| 1983 | A Slice of Life | Receptionist #1 | |
| 1984 | Annie's Coming Out | Receptionist | Also known as A Test of Love |
| 1986 | The More Things Change... | Mrs. Degan | |
| 1987 | Les Patterson Saves the World | Lady Gwen Patterson | |
| 2011 | The Op Shop | Claudia | Short film |
| 2012 | Echo | Mother | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Teenage Show | Herself | Unknown episode(s) |
| 1959 | Press Gang | Unnamed/unknown role | Short |
| 1959 | Saturday Party | Herself | 2 episodes (dated 18 July, 8 August) |
| 1959 | Bandwagon | Herself | Unknown episode(s) |
| 1960 | With a View to Revue | Herself | TV special (dated 20 February) |
| 1960 | Once More with Fooling | Herself | TV special (dated 27 February) |
| 1972–75 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself | 121 episodes |
| 1974–76 | The Ernie Sigley Show | Herself | 125 episodes |
| 1976 | Ernie | Herself | Unknown episode(s) |
| 1976 | The Sullivans | Unnamed/unknown role | Unknown episode(s) |
| 1976 | The Sentimental Bloke | Unknown role | Television film |
| 1977 | Blankety Blanks | Herself | Unknown episode(s) |
| 1977 | Bellbird | Bella/Stella | 3 episodes (guest) |
| 1979 | Taxi | Mrs. Peters | Television film |
| 1979–86 | Prisoner | Joyce Barry/Pringle | Seasons 1–5 (recurring) Seasons 6–8 (regular) 246 episodes |
| 1981 | Cop Shop | Beth Amess | Season 5 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 1983 | Carson's Law | Mrs. Hetherington | 1 episode (guest) |
| 1986 | Punchlines | Herself | Game show short |
| 1991 | Col'n Carpenter | Unnamed/unknown role | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Neighbours | Mrs. Forster | Season 7 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 1991 | The Worst Day of My Life | Miss Neil | Season 1 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 1992 | Cluedo | Mrs. Blanche White | Seasons 1–2 (regular, 21 episodes) |
| 1994 | The Damnation of Harvey McHugh | Head Warder | miniseries (guest, 1 episode) |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers | Mrs. Buchanan | Season 1 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2000 | Blue Heelers | Anne Duffy | Season 7 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2000 | Waiting at the Royal | Diana's Mother | Television film |
| 2003 | Neighbours | Nancy Bliss | Season 19 (guest, 2 episodes) |
| 2004 | Fergus McPhail | Mrs. Vance | Season 1 (recurring, 5 episodes) |
| 2005 | Blue Heelers | Dora Tufnell | Season 12 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2013 | It's A Date | June | Season 1 (guest, 1 episode) |
Awards[]
- Penguin Award – Joyce Barry in Prisoner
References[]
- ^ a b c d e Cartwright, Darren (5 November 2020). "Joy Westmore from TV hit series Prisoner dies".
- ^ Richard Lane. "Prisoner:Cell Block H".
- ^ "TV Week article, issue published 17 May 1986, p.13.
- ^ Knox, David (6 November 2020). "Vale: Joy Westmore". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
External links[]
- Joy Westmore at IMDb
Authority control  |
|
|---|
- Australian film actresses
- 1932 births
- 2020 deaths
- Australian soap opera actresses
- 20th-century Australian actresses
- 21st-century Australian actresses