Betty Ann Bobbitt was an American actress, director, singer, and playwright based in Australia, with a career that spanned over 60 years, encompassing theatre, television, and film.
16 Facts About Betty Bobbitt
1.
2.
Betty Bobbitt attended a Catholic school and Norristown High School.
3.
When Betty Bobbitt moved to Los Angeles, at the age of 18, to appear in a theatre production of Auntie Mame, she was approached by an Australian television producer who asked her if she "wanted to come to Australia and be funny".
4.
Betty Bobbitt was contracted for six months and appeared as a regular on a Melbourne television variety show, Daly at Night, as "a female Victor Borge, singing off-key and just plain acting like a dumb brunette".
5.
Betty Bobbitt was known in Australia in the early 1960s as "Betty Bobbitt the dizzy brunette from Big Bear", referencing a fictitious place ostensibly in Pennsylvania.
6.
Betty Bobbitt appeared in many theatre productions with the Melbourne Theatre Company.
7.
Betty Bobbitt teamed up with future Prisoner stars Anne Phelan and Colette Mann in a 1970s stage show called The Glitter Girls who performed 1940s songs.
8.
Betty Bobbitt became best known for her role in Prisoner for her portrayal of lesbian character Judy Bryant, a series regular.
9.
Betty Bobbitt first appeared in the show in February 1980.
10.
Betty Bobbitt's character was intended only for a short-term 13 episode appearance, but she became immensely popular, and was retained in the series.
11.
Betty Bobbitt was the second major star actress to portray a lesbian character in the series after Carol Burns, who played original character Franky Doyle.
12.
In 2004, Betty Bobbitt she made a brief uncredited appearance in the American television remake of the Stephen King classic, Salem's Lot.
13.
In 2019, Betty Bobbitt appeared in a guest role in TV series Neighbours, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Prisoner.
14.
Betty Bobbitt featured alongside fellow stars Jane Clifton, Jentah Sobott and Jenny Lovell, who arrive in Erinsborough to attend Sheila's Bookclub.
15.
Betty Bobbitt was married to Australian artist, Robin Hill in 1963, with whom she had a son, Christopher Hill, who was born in the UK.
16.
Betty Bobbitt died in Melbourne on 30 November 2020, aged 81, five days after suffering a stroke.