30 Facts About Colleen Clifford

Colleen Clifford, born as Irene Margaret Blackford, was a British-born performer, who worked in her native England as well as New Zealand and, later in her career, Australia.

Colleen Clifford was a theatre founder, director and producer, coloratura soprano, dancer, comedian and classical pianist who was a specialist in voice production, drama and music.

Colleen Clifford worked variously as a commercial advertiser, spokeswoman and charity worker and released her own memoirs.

Colleen Clifford worked across stage and screen with stars including Laurence Olivier, Noel Coward and Bette Davis, and trained many Australian actors such as Judy Nunn, Paula Duncan and Melissa George.

Colleen Clifford was, at one time, featured on a 15-minute radio show showcasing her singing and musical performances.

Colleen Clifford emigrated to Australia in 1954, and from 1955 became a highly recognisable character actress of stage, television and films, from the early 1970s in soap operas, series, mini-series, telemovies and theatrical features, often portraying eccentric elderly women.

Colleen Clifford was a grand dame and matriarch of the arts and entertainment industry.

Colleen Clifford appeared in her last role at 93 years of age and as such, alongside Olga Dickie and Queenie Ashton was one of the oldest working actors in Australia, she died aged 97.

Colleen Clifford's paternal grandfather from Somerset served in the army as a Major and was a recipient of the VC, her paternal youngest uncle, Ned was killed in the Boer War.

Colleen Clifford although based in London, lived in various parts of England including Farnham, Stropeshire, Surrey, Kensington and Cornwall, as well as New Zealand during her childhood, where her father worked as a cadet on a stock station in Masterton, before purchasing a run in Taranaki.

Colleen Clifford studied classical piano in Belgium at the Brussels Conservatoire, before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy in London, but stating musical theatre was favoured more, she curtailed a musical career, to become active in British theatre as a stage performer for almost thirty years, starting with a production of Hubert Henry Davies, The Mollusc.

Colleen Clifford emigrated to Perth, Australia in 1954, after the death of her husband who was a Major in The Royal Air Force.

Colleen Clifford continued her theatrical career after emigrating to Australia, where she founded the Perth Theatre Guild and Drama School and as a side project taught voice production, drama and music, where throughout the next fifteen years she help develop and train talent for the theatre.

Colleen Clifford staged six successful musicals using entirely local talent and without importing professional actors.

Colleen Clifford moved to Sydney in 1969, where she appeared often at the Old Tote Theatre in theatre roles, including "A Nightingale Still At It".

Colleen Clifford was then in her late 70s and, with rent money and doctor bills piling up, Michael Craig, and Honor Blackman and other members of the company raised enough money to financially support Colleen Clifford until she was well enough to rejoin the cast.

Colleen Clifford returned to the theatre in 1990, at the age of 92, in the latest version of her one-woman show A Nightingale Still at It in Berkeley Square.

Colleen Clifford was awarded the John Campbell Fellowship for her contribution to theatre two years later.

Colleen Clifford became a highly recognisable actress in her latter years, appearing in everything from soap opera, miniseries, telemovies, and films.

Colleen Clifford made her television acting debut in 1971 as a guest star in the series Dynasty and The Godfathers in 1971.

Colleen Clifford took a three-year absence to return to the theatre full-time but, then in 1981, began playing the guest role of Miss Bird on A Country Practice.

Colleen Clifford appeared in supporting roles including the sitcom Mother and Son and Five Mile Creek throughout the 1980s.

Colleen Clifford returned to the serial A Country Practice between 1990 and 1993, playing two different roles: Freda Spinner and Mrs Grainger.

Colleen Clifford started to feature in small roles in films from the 1980s onwards, firstly the historical drama film Careful, He Might Hear You.

Colleen Clifford spent the next decade starring in a variety of supporting roles in film.

Colleen Clifford starred in films This Won't Hurt a Bit and Frauds.

Colleen Clifford suffered a heart attack in 1995, and was fitted with a pacemaker.

Colleen Clifford died in Sydney on 7 April 1996, at the age of 97.

Colleen Clifford had a long career in England, particularly in theatre before emigrating to Australia in 1954; the following documents her Australian credits only, where Colleen Clifford had a successful career in television and films as an actress and appeared in theatre, as well as was a theatre director and teacher in Australia.

Colleen Clifford made her stage debut in 1955 and her screen debut in 1959 in TV series Spotlight, the first production in Western Australia, and her final film appearance in 1993.