Rowena Wallace
Encyclopedia
Rowena Wallace is a Gold -Logie winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters
.
, United Kingdom, an only child. She moved to Australia with her parents when she was five. Initially she grew up in Cairns
and later moved to Brisbane
at the age of 12 years. Here she attended Kedron State High School
and was taken by her mother to dancing lessons and also persuaded to join the Twelfth Night Theatre
in Bowen Hills
. Her father was a pilot for Ansett Airlines.
At age fifteen, Wallace left school and attended a business college at the insistence of her parents when she decided to become an actress, and also joined an advertising agency while still performing in the theatre at night. She then joined television in Brisbane as an entertainer on the variety show Theatre Royal (hosted by George Wallace Jr., no relation), and she also hosted the afternoon news and weather and a children's show. At the age of nineteen, Wallace was diagnosed with scoliosis
(curvature of the spine). She has been on painkillers almost permanently since then.
Wallace was working in television in Brisbane when Barry Creyton
persuaded the producers of a new series to fly Rowena down to Sydney to audition for the lead role in their show; as a result Wallace won the role of Margie Harris in You Can't See Round Corners and moved to Sydney.
After completing Corners, she went on to star as the juvenile lead in a hit comedy stage production with John McCallum
and Googie Withers
. The show, Relatively Speaking, played to packed audiences in Melbourne.
On 12 February 1970, the film Squeeze a Flower
had its world premiere in Sydney. Wallace starred in the movie as the female lead opposite international film veteran, Walter Chiari
. By 1972, she had found work intermittent. In 1973 she married George Assang
(d. 1997), a Thursday Island-born jazz singer known professionally as Vic Sabrino. The marriage lasted just over a year, and Wallace has had no long-term relationships since then.
Later in the 1970s she appeared frequently in Australian television, with an on-going role in the soap opera Number 96
in 1975–1976, followed by a regular role in the police drama Cop Shop
playing policeman's wife Pamela Taylor. After leaving that series she played a mentally unbalanced remand prisoner Anne Griffin in Prisoner
for several weeks in late 1980.
, in which she played Patricia Dunne Hamilton Morrell Palmer, starting in 1982. Nicknamed Pat the Rat, the character became an immensely popular bitch figure in the series and its most famous character.
In 1984 Wallace won a Gold Logie for the portrayal during an era when Gold Logies were usually won by major television personalities and hosts but not actors. She was the first woman to win the award since it was opened up to Most Popular Australian Personality.
Wallace also received Silver Logies for:
Wallace left Sons and Daughters after three years, with her final scenes going to air in early 1985 just after her Gold Logie win. The popularity of her character led to it being recast, with Belinda Giblin
assuming the role of a returning Patricia after extensive cosmetic surgery had altered her facial features. Late in the show's run, with ratings in decline, Wallace was returned to the series in an attempt to boost the show's popularity. With Giblin remaining in the show, Wallace now played a new character, that of Patricia's long-lost identical twin sister Pamela. Her return lasted ten weeks but did little to halt the show's dwindling ratings, and it was cancelled shortly afterwards.
, Beauty and the Beast, and Good Morning Australia
. In October 2005, she was charged with social security
fraud, and given a suspended sentence of six months imprisonment.
Between 1999 and 2003 Wallace had also completed a stint in the daily soap opera Home and Away
as June Reynolds.
In 2007 Wallace joined the cast of Neighbours
for several months. She played Mary Casey, an unstable woman who ended up in prison for the false imprisonment
of Pepper Steiger
. Mary's cellmate turned out to be Sky Mangel
.
In August 2010, Wallace was the subject of a Today Tonight
special feature on the Seven Network
, where she was reportedly nearly broke and on the verge of becoming homeless. The following week, an outpouring of offers to take her in came from Australians around the country.
In March 2011, she was the subject of more media coverage, this time because the unit she occupies at subsidised rent in Wonthaggi, Victoria is due for demolition in August 2011 and she fears she will have nowhere to live. The rents in Wonthaggi have doubled or even tripled due to the Wonthaggi Desalination Plant being constructed nearby, but her pension would not even cover her rent.
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
.
Early life and budding career
Rowena Wallace was born in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, United Kingdom, an only child. She moved to Australia with her parents when she was five. Initially she grew up in Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
and later moved to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
at the age of 12 years. Here she attended Kedron State High School
Kedron State High School
Kedron State High School is a Queensland public secondary school which is located in the inner-northern suburb of Wooloowin in Brisbane, Australia....
and was taken by her mother to dancing lessons and also persuaded to join the Twelfth Night Theatre
Twelfth Night Theatre
thumb|250px|Twelfth Night TheatreThe Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Australian actors such as Rowena Wallace, Sigrid Thornton, Judith McGrath, Jon English, June Salter, Penny Downie, Carol Burns, Kate Wilson,...
in Bowen Hills
Bowen Hills, Queensland
Bowen Hills is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 3 km northeast of the Brisbane CBD. It was named after a Governor of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen.-History:...
. Her father was a pilot for Ansett Airlines.
At age fifteen, Wallace left school and attended a business college at the insistence of her parents when she decided to become an actress, and also joined an advertising agency while still performing in the theatre at night. She then joined television in Brisbane as an entertainer on the variety show Theatre Royal (hosted by George Wallace Jr., no relation), and she also hosted the afternoon news and weather and a children's show. At the age of nineteen, Wallace was diagnosed with scoliosis
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...
(curvature of the spine). She has been on painkillers almost permanently since then.
Wallace was working in television in Brisbane when Barry Creyton
Barry Creyton
Barry Creyton is an Australian actor and playwright.Creyton began his professional career in radio and revue in Melbourne, in Australia and became well-known in Sydney starring in and writing popular comedy-melodramas at the Music Hall theatre-restaurant in Neutral Bay...
persuaded the producers of a new series to fly Rowena down to Sydney to audition for the lead role in their show; as a result Wallace won the role of Margie Harris in You Can't See Round Corners and moved to Sydney.
After completing Corners, she went on to star as the juvenile lead in a hit comedy stage production with John McCallum
John McCallum (actor)
John Neil McCallum, AO, CBE was an Australian theatre and film actor. He was also a television producer.McCallum was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1918, son of theatre owner and entrepreneur John Neil McCallum Sr., who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of...
and Googie Withers
Googie Withers
Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
. The show, Relatively Speaking, played to packed audiences in Melbourne.
On 12 February 1970, the film Squeeze a Flower
Squeeze a Flower
Squeeze a Flower is 1970 Australian comedy film directed by Marc Daniels.-Plot:Brother George is the only monk at the Italian Monastery who knows the secret recipe of the popular liqueur that is the sole source of income for the monastery...
had its world premiere in Sydney. Wallace starred in the movie as the female lead opposite international film veteran, Walter Chiari
Walter Chiari
Walter Chiari, stage name of Walter Annichiarico , was a hugely successful Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles....
. By 1972, she had found work intermittent. In 1973 she married George Assang
George Assang
George Assang was a singer and actor from Thursday Island. He performed under his own name and the stage name Vic Sabrino. Assang was of Aboriginal, Islander and Asian descent....
(d. 1997), a Thursday Island-born jazz singer known professionally as Vic Sabrino. The marriage lasted just over a year, and Wallace has had no long-term relationships since then.
Later in the 1970s she appeared frequently in Australian television, with an on-going role in the soap opera Number 96
Number 96 (TV series)
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
in 1975–1976, followed by a regular role in the police drama Cop Shop
Cop Shop
Cop Shop was an Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday operations of both the uniformed police officers and the plain-clothes detectives of the fictional Riverside Police Station....
playing policeman's wife Pamela Taylor. After leaving that series she played a mentally unbalanced remand prisoner Anne Griffin in Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
for several weeks in late 1980.
Sons and Daughters – television highlight
Wallace's most famous role was in the soap opera Sons and DaughtersSons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
, in which she played Patricia Dunne Hamilton Morrell Palmer, starting in 1982. Nicknamed Pat the Rat, the character became an immensely popular bitch figure in the series and its most famous character.
In 1984 Wallace won a Gold Logie for the portrayal during an era when Gold Logies were usually won by major television personalities and hosts but not actors. She was the first woman to win the award since it was opened up to Most Popular Australian Personality.
Wallace also received Silver Logies for:
- Most Popular Lead Actress (1983);
- Most Popular Actress (1984);
- Best Actress in a Series (1984) and
- Best Lead Actress in a Series (1985).
Wallace left Sons and Daughters after three years, with her final scenes going to air in early 1985 just after her Gold Logie win. The popularity of her character led to it being recast, with Belinda Giblin
Belinda Giblin
Belinda Giblin is an Australian actress.She played Kay Webster in the risqué, satirical 1970s soap opera The Box, and the scheming Alison Carr in the 1980s melodrama Sons and Daughters...
assuming the role of a returning Patricia after extensive cosmetic surgery had altered her facial features. Late in the show's run, with ratings in decline, Wallace was returned to the series in an attempt to boost the show's popularity. With Giblin remaining in the show, Wallace now played a new character, that of Patricia's long-lost identical twin sister Pamela. Her return lasted ten weeks but did little to halt the show's dwindling ratings, and it was cancelled shortly afterwards.
Later career
Between July 1999 and November 2003, Wallace was collecting a disability support pension, despite being actively employed by television series such as Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
, Beauty and the Beast, and Good Morning Australia
Good Morning Australia
Good Morning Australia from Network Ten was the name of two different programs. This article is for Bert Newton's morning program, not to be confused with the breakfast news program of the same name....
. In October 2005, she was charged with social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
fraud, and given a suspended sentence of six months imprisonment.
Between 1999 and 2003 Wallace had also completed a stint in the daily soap opera Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
as June Reynolds.
In 2007 Wallace joined the cast of Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
for several months. She played Mary Casey, an unstable woman who ended up in prison for the false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
of Pepper Steiger
Pepper Steiger
Heidi "Pepper" Steiger is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Nicky Whelan. The character was introduced into the serial as part of a group of four characters branded as "20 somethings". She made her debut in the episode airing on 12 October 2006....
. Mary's cellmate turned out to be Sky Mangel
Sky Mangel
Sky Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephanie McIntosh. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 February 1989, played by Miranda Fryer. McIntosh took over the role on 13 August 2003 when the character returned to the show...
.
In August 2010, Wallace was the subject of a Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
special feature on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, where she was reportedly nearly broke and on the verge of becoming homeless. The following week, an outpouring of offers to take her in came from Australians around the country.
In March 2011, she was the subject of more media coverage, this time because the unit she occupies at subsidised rent in Wonthaggi, Victoria is due for demolition in August 2011 and she fears she will have nowhere to live. The rents in Wonthaggi have doubled or even tripled due to the Wonthaggi Desalination Plant being constructed nearby, but her pension would not even cover her rent.
Filmography
- You Can't See 'round CornersYou Can't See 'round CornersYou Can't See 'round Corners is a 1969 Australian drama film directed by David Cahill. The film is a theatrical version of the TV show You Can't See Round Corners. It was based on the novel by Jon Cleary updated to the Vietnam War.-Cast:...
(1967/1969) ... Margie Harris - Contrabandits (1968) ... Carole
- Hunter (1968) ... Sue
- RiptideRiptide (TV series)Riptide is a TV detective series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986, starring Perry King, Joe Penny, and Thom Bray. Riptide was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter...
(1969) ... Cathy Smith - Squeeze a FlowerSqueeze a FlowerSqueeze a Flower is 1970 Australian comedy film directed by Marc Daniels.-Plot:Brother George is the only monk at the Italian Monastery who knows the secret recipe of the popular liqueur that is the sole source of income for the monastery...
(1970) ... June Phillips - The RoversThe Rovers (TV series)The Rovers was an Australian ocean-based family adventure television show originally screened 1969 - 1970 on the 0-Ten network.Produced by NLT Productions, the series starred Rowena Wallace, Edward Hepple, Noel Trevarthen and Grant Seiden....
(1969–1970) ... Rusty Collins - DynastyDynasty (TV series)Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
(1970–1971) ... Betty Westlake/Jill Campbell - SpyforceSpyforceSpyforce was an Australian TV series produced from 1971 to 1973, based upon the adventures of Australian Military Intelligence operatives in the South West Pacific during World War II...
(1971) ... Trish Mathews - Barrier Reef (1971–1972) ... Tracey Deane
- Matlock PoliceMatlock PoliceMatlock Police was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1971 and 1975....
(1971–1973) ... Kate White/Susan Stone - BoneyBoney (TV series)Boney is an Australian television series produced by Fauna Productions during 1971 and 1972, featuring James Laurenson in the title role of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte...
(1972) ... Kat Loader - ...And Millions Die!...And Millions Die!...And Millions Die! is a 1973 American television film shot in Hong Kong directed by Leslie H. Martinson. The film is about a Nazi war criminal named Franz Kessler , a wealthy germ warfare living in Hong Kong who deals with terrorists....
(1973) ... Maggi Christopher - HomicideHomicide (TV series)Homicide was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network between 1964 and 1977.The series dealt with the homicide squad of the Victoria police force and episodes revolved around the various cases the detectives are called upon to...
(1972–1973) ... Primrose Taylor - Out of LoveOut of LoveOut of Love is the debut studio album of indie rock supergroup Mister Heavenly. It was released on August 16, 2011 on the record label Sub Pop.-Track listing:...
(1974) ... Julia Martin - The Evil TouchThe Evil TouchThe Evil Touch is an Australian-produced television series, originally broadcast in Australia in 1973. It was an anthology series where each episode had a self-contained story and a new set of characters. Each episode feature a new cast of guest actors, although several guest stars appeared in more...
(1974) ... Jean - Silent NumberSilent numberIn telephony, a silent number, unlisted number , ex-directory number or private number is a telephone number that is intentionally not listed in telephone books....
(1974) ... Sylvia Marsh - RyanRyan (TV series)Ryan was an Australian adventure television series screened by the Seven Network from 27 May 1973. The series was produced by Crawford Productions and had a run of 39 one hour episodes....
(1973–1974) ... Holly Beckett/Sue Ogilvie - Number 96 (1975–1976) ... Muriel Thompson
- Shannon's Mob (1975) ... Estelle
- Murcheson Creek (1976) ... Karen Fields
- Division 4Division 4Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
(1971–1976) ... WPC Jane Bell/Andrea Hayes - McCloud (1976) ... Police Detective
- Power Without GloryPower Without GloryPower Without Glory is a 1950 novel written by Australian writer Frank Hardy. It was later adapted into a mini-series by the Australian Broadcasting Commission .- Publication :...
(1976) ... Harriet Marshall - Bluey (1977) ... Jean Anderson
- Glenview HighGlenview HighGlenview High is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978.-Story:...
(1977) ... Pam Wilson - Cop ShopCop ShopCop Shop was an Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday operations of both the uniformed police officers and the plain-clothes detectives of the fictional Riverside Police Station....
(1977) ... Pamela Taylor - Bobby DazzlerBobby Dazzler- External links :*...
(1978) ... Ruth Rierdon - Burn the Butterflies (1979) ... Dr. Trish Morrison
- Water Under the Bridge (1980) ... Honor Mazzini
- Holiday Island (1981) ... Marjorie Quaid
- PrisonerPrisoner (TV series)Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
(1980–1981) ... Anne Griffin - Sons and DaughtersSons and Daughters (Australian TV series)Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
(1982–1985) ... Patricia Dunne Hamilton Morrell Palmer - Glass Babies (1985) ... Dr Ruth McCrae
- Sons and DaughtersSons and Daughters (Australian TV series)Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
(1987) ... Pamela Hudson - Strike of the Panther (1988) ... Sgt. Lucy Andrews
- More Winners: The Big Wish (1990) ... Queen
- A Country PracticeA Country PracticeA Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
(1992) ... Justice Patricia Lincoln - Echo PointEcho PointEcho Point was an Australian television soap opera produced by Southern Star Productions for Network Ten in 1995.The series was devised as an attempt by the Ten Network to rival the opposition soap Home and Away on the Seven Network...
(1995) ... Elizabeth O'Connor - Pacific DrivePacific DrivePacific Drive is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow in association with New World International for the Nine Network between 1996 and 1997....
(1996) ... Mara de Villenois - All SaintsAll Saints (TV series)All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
(2000) ... Katrina Ford - Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
(2000) ... Dolly Munro - The Finder (2001) ... Irene Davidson
- Home and AwayHome and AwayHome and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
(2001–2003) ... June Reynolds - Code 11-14 (2003) ... Mrs. Shaw
- Neighbours (2007) ... Mary Casey
- Mind Fire (2011 IN PRODUCTION) ... Dr. Rebecca Ryder