Mary-Anne Fahey
Encyclopedia
Mary-Anne Fahey is an Australian actor, comedian and writer.
, Kittson, Fahey (the first Australian female-only sketch comedy program), Get a Life
and One Size Fits All
. She also had roles in The Dunera Boys, All the Rivers Run II, Celia
, Lucky Break
and SeaChange
. She has also had roles in theatre including Mary Lives. She is most famous for her work on Channel Ten's The Comedy Company
especially for her school girl character, Kylie Mole, and three year old "Jophesine", the Play School Sketches with Glenn Robbins
and the Bedscene sketches with her then real-life husband Ian McFadyen
.
In the 1980s she appeared in an advert for David Reid electronics which was promoting the Commodore Amiga 500
.
Fahey's Kylie Mole character – a scowling schoolgirl – was so popular she published the best-selling novel My Diary by Kylie Mole and also released the Double A-Side single with tracks "So Excellent" and "I Go, I Go", which hit #8 on the Australian ARIA chart in November 1988. A music video for "So Excellent" was filmed. The Kylie Mole character was one of several iconic characters that appeared in the show, and her characterisation resonated especially with Australian youth. The Australian adoption of the word "bogan
" was first popularised in the media by Kylie Mole, and other phrases she used also gained a wider currency.
As well as performing monologue comedy segments, The Comedy Company also featured Kylie Mole interviewing various celebrities, including Julian Lennon
, Sylvester Stallone
, the band INXS and Kylie Minogue
on the show. Kylie Minogue also appeared in some of the comedy sketches playing Kylie Mole's second-best friend, Rebecca.
As well as appearing in The Comedy Company, Kylie Mole was also featured in the second series of the ABC's
Kittson, Fahey television show in 1993. In 2002, sixty minutes of footage of The Comedy Company was edited into a special called The Comedy Company: So Excellent, with the subtitle referencing a famed line by the Kylie Mole character.
for "Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Personality" for her work on The Comedy Company. She has also won an AWGIE Award
and an Irish-dancing trophy where she came second in a competition of two.
split up in 1992. Since 1994 her partner has been children's writer Morris Gleitzman
(he too has a background in comedy writing as a former writer for The Norman Gunston Show and satirical columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
and The Age
.)
Biography
Fahey has starred in and written for comedy programs including The Comedy CompanyThe Comedy Company
The Comedy Company was an Australian comedy television series first aired from 16 February 1988 until about 11 November 1990 on Network Ten, Sunday night and was created and directed by Ian McFadyen, and co directed and produced by Jo Lane...
, Kittson, Fahey (the first Australian female-only sketch comedy program), Get a Life
Get a Life (TV series)
Get a Life is a television sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network from September 23, 1990, to March 8, 1992. The show starred Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson. Peterson lived in an apartment above his parents' garage...
and One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released...
. She also had roles in The Dunera Boys, All the Rivers Run II, Celia
Celia (film)
Celia is a 1988 Australian drama film written and directed by Ann Turner.-Plot:Set in rural Australia in the 1950s amidst the Red Scare and a rabbit plague, it stars Rebecca Smart as troubled nine year old Celia as the movie follows her descent into madness.-Cast:* Rebecca Smart as Celia...
, Lucky Break
Lucky Break
Lucky Break is a 2001 British comedy film starring James Nesbitt and directed by Peter Cattaneo.-Synopsis:Feelgood prison-escape movie that sees a group of prison inmates , put on a theatrical show of Nelson: The Musical to cover their daring break-out attempt...
and SeaChange
SeaChange
SeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...
. She has also had roles in theatre including Mary Lives. She is most famous for her work on Channel Ten's The Comedy Company
The Comedy Company
The Comedy Company was an Australian comedy television series first aired from 16 February 1988 until about 11 November 1990 on Network Ten, Sunday night and was created and directed by Ian McFadyen, and co directed and produced by Jo Lane...
especially for her school girl character, Kylie Mole, and three year old "Jophesine", the Play School Sketches with Glenn Robbins
Glenn Robbins
Glenn Maxwell Robbins is an Australian comedian, writer and actor.Robbins attended Strathmore Secondary College and graduated in 1975...
and the Bedscene sketches with her then real-life husband Ian McFadyen
Ian McFadyen
Ian McFadyen is an Australian writer, actor, and director. He is best known as the producer and performer on the Australian television series The Comedy Company which ran from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990...
.
In the 1980s she appeared in an advert for David Reid electronics which was promoting the Commodore Amiga 500
Amiga 500
The Amiga 500 - also known as the A500 - was the first “low-end” Commodore Amiga 16/32-bit multimedia home/personal computer. It was announced at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1987 - at the same time as the high-end Amiga 2000 - and competed directly against the Atari 520ST...
.
Kylie Mole
Bogan
The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background....
" was first popularised in the media by Kylie Mole, and other phrases she used also gained a wider currency.
As well as performing monologue comedy segments, The Comedy Company also featured Kylie Mole interviewing various celebrities, including Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, the band INXS and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
on the show. Kylie Minogue also appeared in some of the comedy sketches playing Kylie Mole's second-best friend, Rebecca.
As well as appearing in The Comedy Company, Kylie Mole was also featured in the second series of the ABC's
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
Kittson, Fahey television show in 1993. In 2002, sixty minutes of footage of The Comedy Company was edited into a special called The Comedy Company: So Excellent, with the subtitle referencing a famed line by the Kylie Mole character.
Current career
Fahey is currently living in Melbourne and is now concentrating on writing and children's theatre. On 7 May 2007, she published her first children's novel I, Nigel Dorking: An Autobiography about a Boy with an Unusual Vocabulary, a Suit of Armour and an Unshakeable Dream, Written by That Very Boy (Nigel Dorking), Grade Six (ISBN 0-143-30247-7 and ISBN 978-0-143-30247-6).Awards
Fahey won a 1989 Logie AwardLogie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for "Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Personality" for her work on The Comedy Company. She has also won an AWGIE Award
AWGIE Awards
The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967....
and an Irish-dancing trophy where she came second in a competition of two.
Personal
Fahey has two sons Thomas Fahey (from her first marriage) and James McFadyen (born 12 July 1990). Fahey and Ian McFadyenIan McFadyen
Ian McFadyen is an Australian writer, actor, and director. He is best known as the producer and performer on the Australian television series The Comedy Company which ran from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990...
split up in 1992. Since 1994 her partner has been children's writer Morris Gleitzman
Morris Gleitzman
Morris Gleitzman is an English-born Australian writer. He is one of Australia's most successful writers.Morris Gleitzman has also gained recognition for sparking an interest in politically-controversial children's books like Two Weeks with the Queen.He has collaborated on children's series with...
(he too has a background in comedy writing as a former writer for The Norman Gunston Show and satirical columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
and The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
.)
External links
- Kylie Mole – So Excellent, (YouTube.com) Number 8 on the ARIA chart, 1988.
- Interview of Mary-Anne Fahey and Mark Mitchell, by George NegusGeorge NegusGeorge Edward Negus is an Australian author, journalist, and television presenter. He previously presented 6:30 with George Negus on Network Ten, until it was axed by the Network on 19 October 2011.-Education:...
. (broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
at 6.30 pm on 26 September 2002. - Book Review of I, Nigel Dorking by Sue Bursztynski (januarymagazine.com)
- Humorous author's bio for Mary-Anne Fahey (Penguin Books (Australia)Penguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
website) - Ask an Author: Mary-Anne Fahey (Fahey responds to questions from readers about her new book. The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper online, 7 May 2007. Accessed 11 August 2007. Includes current picture of Fahey.