Neva Carr Glyn
Encyclopedia
Neva Carr Glyn or Neva Carr Glynn born "Neva Josephine Mary Carr Glyn" (10 May 1908 – 10 August 1975) was an Australian contralto
and actress born in Melbourne
to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn (died 16 January 1923), a humorous baritone and stage manager born in Ireland, and Marie Carr Glyn (late Mola), née Marie Dunoon Senior (10 June 1874–24 December 1953), an actress with the stage name "Marie Avis". She had one half-sister Gwendoline Arnold O'Neill and two half-brothers Sacheverill Arnold Mola and Rupert Arnold Mola. She was named "Neva" for a great-aunt, a contralto of some quality. Both spellings of her surname appear in print roughly equally and apparently arbitrarily.
company touring the J. C. Williamson
circuit. Her theatrical debut was four months later, in New Zealand
, when Fred Niblo carried her on stage.
She was playing the young William to her mother's Lady Isabel Vane in East Lynne
at the age of four. From age five to twelve, when her father died, she was a boarder in various convent schools, ending in Sydney
. At eight she was enrolled in the Minnie Hooper School of Dancing and at eleven she was dancing in a revue The Queen of Sheba at the Sydney Town Hall. At thirteen her dancing skills won her a place in the chorus line of a Fuller Brothers pantomime Dick Wittington and His Cat at the Majestic Theatre, Newtown
then in 1925 toured with the Band Box Revue. For the following six years she worked for them under contract, touring Australia and New Zealand
in revues. Robinson Crusoe from 1925–26 as Principal Girl, "Aladdin" 1927–28 as Principal Boy and Clowns in Clover for the Frank Neil company are noted appearances, this last starring Roy Rene
. Other stars she worked with at this time were Jim Gerald
and George Wallace.
In 1929 she and her mother joined the Frank Neil company in a tour of South Africa
playing leads in such comedies as Up in Mabel's Room, from where she travelled to London in 1931 and got a break with the Firth Shephard company playing the Sigmund Romberg
operetta Nina Rosa (produced by Carol Reed
) then with Firth Shephard and Leslie Henson
in a string of "Aldwych comedies" such as Living Dangerously (1934), Accidentally Yours (1935), and Aren't Men Beasts? in 1936. She also appeared in four movies including Girls Please (1934) with Sydney Howard
and The Squeaker (1937) with Ann Todd
.
There in 1936 she married an Australian grazier named Arthur John but left him when he insisted she give up the stage. In 1937 she returned to Australia and was soon in work, playing in Cinderella (playing Dandini) and other pantomimes by day and revues with Jim Gerald
and Ella Shields
at night.
The following year she was working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission
doing radio plays with Peter Finch
. The two became a famous pair, starring in dozens of dramas including a Max Afford husband-and-wife detective series Greyface as Jeffery and Elizabeth Blackburn. It was around this time that she was given the nickname "Nessie".
In 1940 she married actor John Tate and their now-famous son Nick
was born in 1942. In 1941 they commenced as a husband-and-wife team for the Macquarie network, where they were known as the "sweethearts of radio", playing romantic leads on the Lux Theatre, the premier drama show in the days when radio was king, and the dark-haired imperious Neva was one of the three "Queens of Radio" (with Lyndall Barbour and Thelma Scott
). She played Mrs Cogg, the undertaker's wife in the series Granny Martin Steps Out. She also appeared in Star Theatre shows for Macquarie; one series with John Tate
, another with Arundel Nixon. She played in the long-running ABC series Blue Hills
.
She had not left the stage entirely; in 1944 she and John toured New Zealand, and she had regular appearances at the Minerva Theatre such as Love from a Stranger with Grant Taylor
, Clutterbuck, Storm in a Teacup, Separate Rooms and Dangerous Corner by J. B. Priestley
. But the marriage was foundering. John went off to Central Australia to live with the Arunta
tribe (they divorced in 1954). She joined John Alden's Shakespearean touring company; playing roles such as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Paulina in A Winter's Tale and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In 1957 she joined the Trust Players at the Elizabethan Theatre (the old "Majestic" renamed), also toured performing Richard Beynon's The Shifting Heart and Peter Kenna
's Slaughter on St. Teresa's Day.
The world was changing for Neva. Television had taken over as the star medium and required youthful good looks and different skills. She was consigned to unsympathetic older roles like "Mrs Gillipop" in The Gillipops, in movies like Age of Consent. Her last role was as in the ABC-TV series Certain Women. She died mid-series.
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
and actress born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn (died 16 January 1923), a humorous baritone and stage manager born in Ireland, and Marie Carr Glyn (late Mola), née Marie Dunoon Senior (10 June 1874–24 December 1953), an actress with the stage name "Marie Avis". She had one half-sister Gwendoline Arnold O'Neill and two half-brothers Sacheverill Arnold Mola and Rupert Arnold Mola. She was named "Neva" for a great-aunt, a contralto of some quality. Both spellings of her surname appear in print roughly equally and apparently arbitrarily.
Career
Neva was born while her parents were with the Fred NibloFred Niblo
Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...
company touring the J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
circuit. Her theatrical debut was four months later, in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, when Fred Niblo carried her on stage.
She was playing the young William to her mother's Lady Isabel Vane in East Lynne
East Lynne
East Lynne is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood. East Lynne was a Victorian bestseller. It is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centering on infidelity and double identities...
at the age of four. From age five to twelve, when her father died, she was a boarder in various convent schools, ending in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. At eight she was enrolled in the Minnie Hooper School of Dancing and at eleven she was dancing in a revue The Queen of Sheba at the Sydney Town Hall. At thirteen her dancing skills won her a place in the chorus line of a Fuller Brothers pantomime Dick Wittington and His Cat at the Majestic Theatre, Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
then in 1925 toured with the Band Box Revue. For the following six years she worked for them under contract, touring Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in revues. Robinson Crusoe from 1925–26 as Principal Girl, "Aladdin" 1927–28 as Principal Boy and Clowns in Clover for the Frank Neil company are noted appearances, this last starring Roy Rene
Roy Rene
Roy Rene , born Harry van der Sluys, was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of the 20th century. Roy Rene was born in Adelaide in the 15 of February 1892 with the name Harry van der...
. Other stars she worked with at this time were Jim Gerald
Jim Gerald
James Gerald was an Australian comedian, was born on 2 January 1891 at Darlington, Sydney, seventh son of Stephen Australia Fitzgerald, a cutter who became an actor, and his wife Mary Ann, née Ingram. A nephew of J. D...
and George Wallace.
In 1929 she and her mother joined the Frank Neil company in a tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
playing leads in such comedies as Up in Mabel's Room, from where she travelled to London in 1931 and got a break with the Firth Shephard company playing the Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
operetta Nina Rosa (produced by Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
) then with Firth Shephard and Leslie Henson
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
in a string of "Aldwych comedies" such as Living Dangerously (1934), Accidentally Yours (1935), and Aren't Men Beasts? in 1936. She also appeared in four movies including Girls Please (1934) with Sydney Howard
Sydney Howard
Sydney Howard was an English stage comedian and motion-picture actor born in Leeds, Yorkshire.Already a major stage star, Howard made his feature film début in 1929's Jack Raymond's Splinters, and went on appearing in unique roles in films such as French Leave, Up for the Cup and Mayor's Nest...
and The Squeaker (1937) with Ann Todd
Ann Todd
Dorothy Anne Todd was an English actress and producer.She was born in Hartford, Cheshire and was educated at St. Winifrid's School, Eastbourne. She became a popular actress from appearing in such films as Perfect Strangers and The Seventh Veil...
.
There in 1936 she married an Australian grazier named Arthur John but left him when he insisted she give up the stage. In 1937 she returned to Australia and was soon in work, playing in Cinderella (playing Dandini) and other pantomimes by day and revues with Jim Gerald
Jim Gerald
James Gerald was an Australian comedian, was born on 2 January 1891 at Darlington, Sydney, seventh son of Stephen Australia Fitzgerald, a cutter who became an actor, and his wife Mary Ann, née Ingram. A nephew of J. D...
and Ella Shields
Ella Shields
Ella Shields was a music hall singer and male-impersonator. Her famous signature song, "Burlington Bertie from Bow", written by her manager and first husband, William Hargreaves, was an immediate hit. Though American-born, Ella achieved her greatest success in England.-Biography:Ella Shields was...
at night.
The following year she was working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
doing radio plays with Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
. The two became a famous pair, starring in dozens of dramas including a Max Afford husband-and-wife detective series Greyface as Jeffery and Elizabeth Blackburn. It was around this time that she was given the nickname "Nessie".
In 1940 she married actor John Tate and their now-famous son Nick
Nick Tate
Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
was born in 1942. In 1941 they commenced as a husband-and-wife team for the Macquarie network, where they were known as the "sweethearts of radio", playing romantic leads on the Lux Theatre, the premier drama show in the days when radio was king, and the dark-haired imperious Neva was one of the three "Queens of Radio" (with Lyndall Barbour and Thelma Scott
Thelma Scott
Thelma Scott was an Australian actress whose 70-year career in theatre, radio, film and television made her one of her country's most recognisable personalities....
). She played Mrs Cogg, the undertaker's wife in the series Granny Martin Steps Out. She also appeared in Star Theatre shows for Macquarie; one series with John Tate
John Tate
John Torrence Tate Jr. is an American mathematician, distinguished for many fundamental contributions in algebraic number theory, arithmetic geometry and related areas in algebraic geometry.-Biography:...
, another with Arundel Nixon. She played in the long-running ABC series Blue Hills
Blue Hills (radio serial)
.Blue Hills, written by Gwen Meredith, was an Australian radio serial about the lives of families in a typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. "Blue Hills" itself was the residence of the town’s doctor....
.
She had not left the stage entirely; in 1944 she and John toured New Zealand, and she had regular appearances at the Minerva Theatre such as Love from a Stranger with Grant Taylor
Grant taylor
Grant Taylor is a professional skateboarder who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of former professional skateboarder Thomas Taylor. He began skating at an early age and turned pro in 2009...
, Clutterbuck, Storm in a Teacup, Separate Rooms and Dangerous Corner by J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
. But the marriage was foundering. John went off to Central Australia to live with the Arunta
Arrernte people
The Arrernte people , known in English as the Aranda or Arunta, are those Indigenous Australians who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands in the central area of Australia around Mparntwe or Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years...
tribe (they divorced in 1954). She joined John Alden's Shakespearean touring company; playing roles such as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Paulina in A Winter's Tale and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In 1957 she joined the Trust Players at the Elizabethan Theatre (the old "Majestic" renamed), also toured performing Richard Beynon's The Shifting Heart and Peter Kenna
Peter Kenna
Peter Joseph Kenna was an Australian playwright, radio actor and screenwriter.Born in Balmain, New South Wales, Kenna left school at fourteen and took up various jobs. He started working in the theatre by participating in concert parties at the camps in Sydney during World War II...
's Slaughter on St. Teresa's Day.
The world was changing for Neva. Television had taken over as the star medium and required youthful good looks and different skills. She was consigned to unsympathetic older roles like "Mrs Gillipop" in The Gillipops, in movies like Age of Consent. Her last role was as in the ABC-TV series Certain Women. She died mid-series.
Recognition
- In 1950 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a leading role" (in "Half Light").
- In 1951 she won the Macquarie Network's award for "best performance by an actress in a leading role" (in "If This Be Error").
Selected radio performances
- The Laughing Woman with Peter Finch for the ABC in 1941
- Mrs Parkington with John Saul for Macquarie network in 1946
- If This Be Error by Rachel Grieve and Mollie Greenhalgh for Macquarie network 1951
- Shadow of the Vine by Beverley Nichols for the General Motors Hour 1952
- Mildred Pierce by James M. CainJames M. CainJames Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
in 1953