Anne Mary Phelan (2 August 1948 – 27 October 2019) was an Australian actress of stage and screen who appeared in many theatre, television and film productions as well as radio and voice-over.
She was best known internationally for her role as prison inmate and top dog Myra Desmond in Prisoner (1980–1985), and for the 1988 miniseries Poor Man's Orange.
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Early life
Phelan was raised in Fitzroy, Victoria. She was reported as saying that she had no formal study or qualifications for acting or singing, but instead had trained through 15 years work in amateur theatre. At age 16, she became pregnant and gave her daughter up for adoption, seeing her again for the first time 50 years later.
Career
Phelan began her television career in 1968. She had an ongoing role in the local soap opera Bellbird as Kate Ashwood in the early 1970s.
In the late 1970s, Phelan played guest roles in Prisoner, first appearing as Officer Manson, in a 1979 episode of the series. Later that year, she played the role of dopey prisoner Bernadette in a number of episodes. She began appearing as recurring character Myra Desmond between 1980 and 1983. Myra was then reintroduced to the series in early 1984 as a regular character and Phelan continued in the role for a further 18 months.
Phelan starred in 1988 miniseries Poor Man's Orange, based on the 1949 novel by Ruth Park. The role saw her win a 1988 Australian Film Institute Award.
Phelan's other soap roles included Starting Out (1983), Family and Friends (1990) and Something in the Air (2000–2002). She won the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama in 2000 for her role as Monica Taylor in the latter.
Phelan guest starred in numerous drama series, including The Flying Doctors and Blue Heelers. She was also a regular on Marshall Law and appeared in the ABC comedy Mother and Son, playing the role of a social worker who befriends Maggie Beare.
Phelan also made two guest appearances in Neighbours. The first, in 1997, was as Claudia Harvey and the second, in 2004, was as Doreen 'Peace Dove' Cassidy. In 2007, she appeared in an episode of The Librarians, as a prisoner with the Prisoner theme song.
In 2012, Phelan joined the cast of comedy drama Winners & Losers in the ongoing role of Dot Gross. Winners & Losers marked her first regular role in 10 years. Prior to this, she had appeared in several theatre productions and made various television guest appearances.
Community work
Phelan was a public speaker and a recipient of Regional Arts Victoria's Don Mackay Award (2006) for Outstanding Achievement in Regional Touring.
From 2000, she was the patron of Positive Women (Victoria), a support and advocacy group run by and for women living with HIV. She received the Oz Showbiz Cares / Equity Fights AIDS 2002 Activist of the Year Award for outstanding contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Phelan performed and sang with the Choir of Hard Knocks on Melbourne's streets in 2006, busking to raise money for a performance at the Melbourne Town Hall. She was a member of Actors for Refugees, a group of performers who volunteer their time and talent to tell the stories of Australia's refugees and asylum seekers. She was an ambassador for Alzheimer's Australia VIC, educators, advocates and spokespeople for those living with dementia, their families and friends and those who support them.
Death
Phelan died of natural causes, on 27 October 2019. She was 71 at her time of death, although, some sources have stated her age as 75. She was privately cremated.
Filmography
Radio and voice
ABC Book readings include: Down by the Dockside and The Harp in the South
Serials and plays including the production of the one-woman-play Dream Kitchen
Narrator for Visions of Yankalilla, a documentary for Flaming Star Pictures and the documentary series Grey Voyagers, for SBS
TV monologue – The Agony and the Ecstasy, for the ABC
Corporate
Anti-Cancer Council Breast Health Video
Awards and honours
Honours
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list for service to the arts as an actress, and to the community, particularly through support for women living with the HIV virus and for asylum seekers and refugees.
Inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2008.
Included in Who's Who in Australia since 2006.