Queenie Ashton
Introduction '''Ethel Muriel Ashton'''  (11 November 190321 October 1999),  known professionally as '''Queenie Ashton''', was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio and television soap opera roles, although she did also feature briefly in films. Ashton alongside her contemporaries Grace Gibson, Amber Mae Cecil and Ethel Lang, has been described as a pioneer for females in radio. Her best known role's was in the long-running Gwen Meredith radio serial ''Blue Hills'', as Lee Gordonand later Grannie Emily Bishop a role she would later reprise for television, with the first Australian-produced soap opera ''Autumn Affair''.
Biography ===Early life and stage===Ashton was born in London. She was an accomplished ballet dancer, and specialist in voice production and drama, who started performing when she was fourteen. She appeared in musical comedy on the London stage, on occasion appearing with playwright Noël Coward. She left England in 1927, and performed for Dame Nellie Melba while travelling to Australia through the Suez Canal. She first appeared in Melbourne as a soprano on the concert stage, then in musical comedy, alongside such stars as Gladys Moncrieff, whom she understudied, and Strella Wilson.===Radio===Ashton featured in radio from the 1930s, she appeared in musical comedy opposite Dick Bentley in ''Oh! Quaite''. Her first straight drama role was in 1939, a period piece playing Marie Antoinette.She played Budge's mother in "Budge's Gang", a segment of the ABC Children's Session (c. 1941–45, and it was so popular it was made into a comic book). Most notably, she played the wife of Dr. Gordon and the long-running role of Granny Bishop (a character many years her senior) in the radio serial ''Blue Hills'', for the entire 27 years of the serial's run (1949–1976 – hers were the very first and last spoken parts). Ashton, as Granny Bishop, spoke: "We don't have to see people every day of the week/to imagine them in their surroundings or even to live their lives with them. We can still use our imagination ... they can still be in our minds. They can still be with us and so you see, and it is isn't really very hard to say goodbye. to say goodbye and God bless. "===Television and film===Ashton also played this role on Australia's first television serial ''Autumn Affair''. In 1957 she appeared in a one-off television play called ''Tomorrow's Child'' and played in ''Certain Women'' (as "Dolly Lucas"), She was a semi-regular cast member of ''A Country Practice'' (as "Lillian Coote") and ''G.P.'' (as "Mrs Sculthorpe"). Film roles included both theatrical and telefilms ''Always Another Dawn'' in 1948 and ''The Farrer Story'' in 1949, she also had cameo's in ''Mama's Gone A-Hunting'' in 1977 and ''The Year My Voice Broke'' in 1987.She also appeared in many television commercials, most notably for Sara Lee. She was still performing in stage and cabaret plays in her nineties and was one of Australia's last great grand dames and one of the oldest entertainers still performing.
Personal life Ashton married Lionel Lawson in 1931 (who died in 1950), a violinist, who became leader of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; they had a daughter, nurse Janet Lawson, in 1933 and a son, Tony Lawson, in 1935.They divorced in 1940.Ashton remarried in 1946 to Frederick John Cover, a theatrical agent, and founder and managing director of the actors' casting firm, Central Casting. She died on 21 October 1999, in Carlingford, New South Wales, aged 95.
Selected stage appearances  Title  Year  ''Kid Boots'' with Leslie Henson at the Winter Garden, London  1926 ''Sunny'' as "Sue Warren" at the Empire Theatre, Sydney  1927 ''Rio Rita'' as "Carmen" at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne  1929 ''Whoopee!'' at the Empire Theatre, Sydney  1929 ''The Patsy'' (play by Barry Conners) as the nasty elder sister  1944 ''Anna Christie'' for the John Alden Company with Leonard Thiele and Lyndall Barbour  1951  ''A Victorian Marriage'' (1951 play by Warwick Fairfax)  1951 ''The Glass Menagerie''  1961 ''An Evening with Noël Coward''   1965 ''The Boy Friend''  1968/1969 ''The Old Fashioned Show''  1977 ''Three Sisters'' (by Anton Chekhov Drama theatre, Sydney Opera House)  1977  ''Stevie''  1982
Filmography '''Film'''YearTitleRoleType 1948  ''Always Another Dawn''  Molly Regan  Feature film 1949  ''Strong Is the Seed'' (aka ''The Farrer Story'')    Feature film 1980  ''Age Before Beauty''  Narrator  Film short 1987  ''The Year My Voice Broke''  Mrs. O'Neil  Feature film'''Television'''YearTitleRoleType 1957 ''Tomorrow's Child''  Teleplay 1958-1959 ''Autumn Affair'' Granny Bishop TV series, 156 episodes 1959 ''Lady in Danger'' Mrs Lamprey Teleplay 1959 ''Pardon Miss Westcott'' Lydia Patterson Teleplay musical 1960 ''Whiplash'' Miss Culbert TV series, 1 episode 1962; 1964 ''Consider Your Verdict'' Adelaide Upton TV series, 2 episodes 1965-1970 ''Homicide'' Emily Simpson / Mrs. Miriam Pinkerton / Mrs. Hamilton / Dulcie Reynolds TV series, 4 episodes 1965 ''TV Spells Magic'' Guest (with Max Meldrum, Ron Shand, Ruth Cracknell, Evie Hayes, Wendy Blacklock, David Copping, Kevin Miles, Gwen Plumb, Chips Rafferty & Keith Petersen) TV special 1967 ''My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?'' Miss Fitchett TV series, 1 episode 1968 ''Hunter'' Mrs. Pankhurst TV series, 1 episode 1969-1973 ''Division 4'' Emily Harrison / Elizabeth King / Mary Larkins / Mother O'Connell / Mrs. Wilde  TV series, 6 episodes 1969 ''Pastures of the Blue Crane''  TV series 1971 ''Matlock Police'' Mrs. McIntyre  TV series, 4 episodes 1971-1972 ''The Godfathers'' Mrs. Frenchman TV series, 4 episodes 1972 ''Crisis''  TV pilot 1973 ''Elephant Boy'' Doreen Graham TV series, 1 episode 1973-1976 ''Certain Women'' Dolly Lucas TV series, 257 episodes 1974 ''The Evil Touch'' Elspeth Pfeiffer TV series, 2 episodes 1976 ''Solo One'' Annie Robinson TV series, 1 episode 1977 ''Image of Death'' Mrs. Brooks TV film 1977 ''Mama's Gone A-Hunting'' Old Woman in Restaurant TV film 1977 ''Say You Want Me''  TV film 1977 ''The Restless Years'' Jessica Metcalf TV series, 1 episode 1978-1981 ''Cop Shop'' Agnes Hinch / Mrs. Roberts / Evelyn Armstrong / Betty Walton TV series, 6 episodes 1978 ''This Is Your Life'' Herself TV series, 1 episode 1978 ''The Mike Walsh Show'' Guest TV series, 1 episode 1979 ''Skyways'' Mrs. Fow TV series, 1 episode 1980 ''Young Ramsay'' Dolly Farrell TV series, 1 episode 1981 ''The Love Boat in Australia'' Mrs. Selkirk TV film, 2 episodes 1981 ''The Love Boat'' Mrs. Selkirk TV series, 2 episodes 1982, 1990 ''A Country Practice'' Mrs. 'Coote' Duggan TV series, 2 episodes 1983 ''Warming Up'' Mrs. Marsh TV film 1985 ''Double Sculls'' Pianist TV film 1986 ''Mother And Son'' Elsie TV series, 1 episode 1987 ''Poor Man's Orange'' Mrs. Casement TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1987 ''Dearest Enemy''  TV pilot 1988 ''Rafferty's Rules'' Mrs. Capra TV series, 1 episode 1988 ''The Dirtwater Dynasty'' Old Patient TV miniseries, 1 episode 1989 ''In Melbourne Today'' Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode 1990 ''A Country Practice'' Mrs. Lillian Coote TV series, 19 episodes 1991 ''The Miraculous Mellops'' Customer TV miniseries, 1 episode 1991-1992 ''G.P.'' Mrs. Jessica Sculthorpe ABC TV series, 6 episodes
Radio YearTitleRole1939''East Lynne'' Lady Isabel1949–1976 ''Blue Hills'' (radio serial)  Granny Bishop
Recognition In 1950 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a supporting role" (in "Edward, My Son").In 1980, she was appointed by her stage name Queenie Ashton a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to the performing arts.
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References ===Citations======Sources===***
External links *  Read more about Queenie Ashton, and listen to an oral history interview done with her on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's  website. * Visit the National Film and Sound Archive's  Women in Early Radio collection for more information about the history of women in radio in Australia. *