Local council to replace plaque for Maurie Fields & Val Jellay

The City of Port Phillip will replace a plaque dedicated to showbiz legends Maurie Fields & Val Jellay after vandals damaged a memorial at St Vincent Gardens in Albert Park.

The plaque refers to the pair as “The King and Queen of Vaudeville” but the words “King” & “Queen” had been defaced.

“It always seems to be something to do with ‘king’ and ‘queen’, so I’m not sure it’s personal — I think something about royalty,” son and entertainer Marty Fields told ABC.

“But even so, it’s clearly a monument … it’s just disappointing and it’s kind of sad.”

Best known for their role as a double act in The Flying Doctors, Maurie Fields and Val Jellay were mainstays on Australian stages and screens for decades.

Both Fields and Jellay had recurring roles on iconic TV shows such as Prisoner, Hey Hey It’s Saturday and Neighbours, with Fields the first actor to be posthumously inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.

On social media, Fields updated with, “I’m delighted to say that the City Of Port Phillip are going to replace Mum and Dad‘s plaque and try to make it a bit more resistant to vandalism. Shame they have to but there you are.”