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Vale: Joan Sydney

Veteran actress Joan Sydney, best known for A Country Practice and Neighbours, has died.

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Veteran actress Joan Sydney, best known for A Country Practice and Neighbours, has died aged 83.

She passed away peacefully on December 28 in Sydney according to friend and colleage Sally-Anne Upton.

Joan Sydney enjoyed had a long career in across entertainment industry, including radio, television, mini-series and telemovies.

Born in London, she was the older sister of stage and screen actress Maggie King, whom she often appeared alongside in productions. She made her screen debut aged 18 in the 1957 film version of English play When We Are Married.

She emigrated to Perth in 1965, and subsequently Sydney, performing in theatre, before TV roles in The Scalp Merchant, Hector’s Bunyip, Flight Into Hell.

But it was as Matron Sloane, the no-nonsense but compassionate matron of Wandin Valley Bush Nursing Hospital, in 453 episodes of A Country Practice from 1983–1990 that made her a household name.

She was the second actor to head up the hospital succeeding Helen Scott as Matron Marta Kurtez. Sydney won the Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Actress for her performance in 1989. After Seven cancelled the show, she was one of a few cast including the late Joyce Jacobs and Andrew Blackman to transfer to the short-lived 10 reboot, located in Emerald, Victoria.

She also featured in E Street as Mary Patchett, All Saints as Mary Price and Neighbours as Valda Sheergold initially on a semi-regular recurring basis, before becoming a permanent member of the cast for the 2007–2008 season.

Other credits included Mother and Son, Something in the Air, Cliffy, Tracks of Glory, Lowdown, Conspiracy 365, Thank God You’re Here and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

There was a long list of stage credits from 1968 to 2011 including Steaming, My Fair Lady, equus, Hello Dolly, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Waiting for Goddot, No No Nanette, Oliver!, The Importance of Being Ernest, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Nunsense, Secret Bridesmaids Business and a stage version of Are You Being Served?

Sally-Anne Upton, remembering her friend, wrote of a benefit she was once organising, “I asked Joan if she would appear as Matron Sloane and at first she was very reluctant. She thought it wouldn’t work as Wandin Valley had been a long time off our screen. And I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Everyone will know who you are. And it will be the highlight of the show.’ And sure enough, as I’m MC-ing the second half she appeared through the curtain in her white nurses uniform and 70s nurses cap, no words spoken, and brought the house down. Later in the green room she was still in shock of the response. ‘Well, I never!'”

Ex-ACP star Shane Withington said, “Oh no.. This is terrible news indeed. Comedy is never as easy as it looks and this lady made it look effortless. I adored her. Vale Joan Sydney.”

24 Responses

  1. This Joan Sydney article /memorial on TV Tonight has been surprisingly active, sometimes you just assume that you’re the only one that cared enough to comment or indeed remember the star/actor/talent. It’s nice to see Joan remembered this way .

  2. Loved her when I used to watch Neighbours. I was also hoping for her to make a final appearance in the lead-up to the finale, but it never materialised. I also noticed that she was credited as a series regular in the end credits, and I was disappointed that she never appeared in the opening titles. She, like so many of our older and more distinguished actors, had such a commanding presence in virtually every scene she was in, even with as little screentime as she was often given. My best wishes and condolences to her loved ones. Rest in peace, Joan.

    1. Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one that hated the fact she never made it to the opening titles during her time on the show! I feel like that alone meant I completely forgot about her as a character until reading this article 🙁

      1. I agree , the comedic timing in these scenes was outstanding, the supporting neighbours cast did a great job but the veteran cast here was outstanding and really held the storylines together, so underrated. But in retrospect so appreciated.

    1. Yeah she sure was a class act, there’s always been lots of great TV Tonight memories that I should have commented on in the past, but for Joan Sydney it was enough to make me reset my password and make a comment today. I really liked her along with Penny Cook, Lorrae Desmond, Brian Wenzel and the irrepressible Joyce Jacobs. (and there was no googling required for those names)

      I know you are busy David K, but it would be so great to get some interviews with people such as Rowena Wallace, Leila Hayes, Abigail, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Elspeth Ballantyne, Maggie Millar, Tom Richards, Ally Fowler, Peter Phelps, Shane Porteous
      As the years progress there is less and less opportunity to record these actors stories (if they are even interested in sharing at all?), it would be so good to have these recorded for posterity. Id help if I could but I am a mere media consumer .

      1. I do quite a few nostalgic interviews, which is probably why you are suggesting those names. Unfortunately not all of those you mention are up to doing interviews, as I’ve made enquiries in the past.

        1. HI David,

          So made a 2023 resolution to thank the people that make my Everday life enjoyable, that includes the content creator of TV Tonight, which is you David .

          I have been following your great site ‘TV Tonight’ regularly for 20 years, like almost daily. I’m not a very prolific poster or contributor really but it’s my top ‘Go To’ page as I enjoy all the articles and your reviews are spot on and you are my bible when it comes to what to watch. Thanks for keeping the silent majority informed and entertained it really is appreciated.

          Cheers
          Marty.

      2. I recommend you follow the “Talking Prisoner” YouTube page. Matt and Ken interview Prisoner/ S&D / Neighbours cast. They have interviewed some of the greats.

        1. Thanks for the suggestion, I am Learning a lot about some great historical resources for Classic Aussie TV this week . Sad to hear that some of our TV legends are passing but love hearing about stories from our tv history .

      3. If David will allow, there was a Podcast about ACP that started in 2020 and had 3 seasons ending April last year. It’s called A Country Podcast and episodes include interviews with Matt Day, Caroline Johansson (Donna Manning), Lorrae Desmond, Judith Colquhoun & Margaret Morgan & Leon Saunders (3 of the writers), Di Smith, Shane Porteous, James Davern, Grant Dodwell, Emily Leiding Weight (Penny Richards), Jo Mitchell, Wendy Strehlow, John Tarrant, Kate Raison, Georgie Parker, Shane Withington and Anne Tenney. It’s on iTunes and Spotify

          2. Het David thanks for posting the link and to the orginal original content creators for posting the ACP memories as well. This site is a treasure trove of memories that ought to be preserved. Love this Website, thankyou..

  5. That’s very sad news. She was a joy to watch in Neighbours as part of the Scully family. For some comedy gold check out “Neighbours – Jack’s Ricky Martin Poster” on Youtube.

  8. Class act with X factor as well, vale Joan Sydney . And condolences to her friends and family . Thank-you Sally Anne Upton for marking this occasion and letting the public know. Appreciated and you’ve got that X factor too, love seeing you on screen as much as I did Joan .

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