Maggie Fitzgibbon, an Australian actress and singer, was born in Melbourne on 30 January 1929. Coming from a show-business family, Maggie is the sister of the late Smacka Fitzgibbon

Smacka Fitzgibbon

Graham Francis Fitzgibbon was an Australian entertainer.He was born at Mordialloc on 12 February 1930, the son of Francis Fitzgibbon, clerk and Minnie née Mitchell and younger brother to actress-singer Maggie Fitzgibbon...

. She began her career as operatic soprano Margaret Fitzgibbon with the Tivoli Circuit in 1946 before graduating to radio 2GB with Jack Davey

Jack Davey

John Andrew Davey was a New Zealand-born star of Australian radio in the 1930s, '40s and '50s.-New Zealand:Jack Davey was born John Andrew Davey on 8 February 1907 and educated at King's College, Auckland...

. Around 1950 she started developing as a solo cabaret performer in Sydney's main night clubs and during this period she changed her performing name to Maggie. She was spotted there by Sir Frank Tait of J.C. Williamsons, who offered her the featured role of Bianca in the 1952 Australian production of Kiss Me Kate, in which she appeared with Hayes Gordon

Hayes Gordon

Hayes Gordon AO OBE was an American actor, stage director and acting teacher with a considerable career in Australia....

.

Maggie then left for the UK and was soon cast as Principal Boy in the Aladdin pantomime at Blackpool, opposite Hylda Baker

Hylda Baker

Hylda Baker was a British comedienne, actress and music hall star.-Early life and career:Baker was born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire, the first of seven children. Her father, Harold Baker, was a painter and signwriter, who also worked part-time in the music halls as a comedian...

 who played Widow Twankey. Then came a twelve months tour with Flanagan and Allen

Flanagan and Allen

Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act popular during World War II. Its members were Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen...

 in The Crazy Gang

The Crazy Gang

The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold...

. Her own cabaret act followed at The Astor, The Stork Room, The Pigalle and, in 1956, Winston's Club with Danny La Rue

Danny La Rue

Danny La Rue, OBE was an Irish-born British entertainer known for his singing and drag impersonations.-Early life:...

. More cabarets, stage musicals and plays came along (including playing the role of Jane in a 1960 London revival of Rudolf Friml

Rudolf Friml

Rudolf Friml was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer...

's Rose Marie, for which she recreated the role in a studio cast recording the following year) until, in 1961 she appeared opposite Max Bygraves

Max Bygraves

Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...

 in the musical Do Re Mi

Do Re Mi (musical)

Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go straight by going into the business of juke boxes and music...

.

Fitzgibbon appeared on various British television dramas such as Danger Man

Danger Man

Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...

. The BBC cast her in the starring role of Vivienne Cooper in their TV series The Newcomers

The Newcomers

The Newcomers may refer to:* The Newcomers , British soap opera aired by the BBC * The Newcomers , Canadian television series aired by the CBC * The Newcomers , American film...

http://nostalgiacentral.com/tv/drama/newcomers.htm which ran from 1965 to 1969. This led to her own show for London Weekend Television Maggie's Place and guest appearances with such as Benny Hill

Benny Hill

Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...

 and Morecambe and Wise

Morecambe and Wise

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0280420/. She also played a leading role as Adelaide in LWT's 1970 26-part wartime drama "Manhunt".

Maggie returned to Australia briefly in 1963 to star in Noel Coward

Noël Coward

Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

's Australian production of his musical Sail Away

Sail Away

Sail Away may refer to:* Sail Away ; also the title of the first single from this album* Sail Away ** "Sail Away" , from that album* "Sail Away"...

, then returning to London to star with Bob Monkhouse

Bob Monkhouse

Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...

 and Ronnie Corbett

Ronnie Corbett

Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...

 in the Drury Lane

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...

 production of The Boys from Syracuse

The Boys from Syracuse

The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical...

(Luce). Her final West End appearance was in Side By Side By Sondheim after which she retired to farm in Australia, making only occasional guest appearances, mainly on the concert stage. In 2002 she was awarded an OAM for services to the community.

External links

• Papers of Maggie Fitzgibbon, 1950s–1980s, Performing Arts Collectio, the Arts Centre, Melbourne
• Programs and related material in the National Library of Australia's PROMPT collection