Ethel Lang (actress)
Ethel Isabel Lang (AM) (1902 – November 1995)[1] was an Australian actress prominent in radio in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a performer since the age of seven she appeared in school plays and concerts before being asked to play Napoleon's son in The Royal Divorce. She appeared in numurous stage roles including Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice. She married elocution teacher James Brunton Gibb in 1923. They frequently appeared on stage together.
Career Highlights
She started her career in radio in 1924, While raising a family during The Depression and World War II and beyond, she had an independent career:
- Leading parts in ABC radio feature plays 1930–40.
- in One Man's Family for commercial radio 2SM.
- as "Aunt Jenny" in Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories for commercial radio 2UE 1943–51.[2]
- as Mrs Lawson in the long-running ABC serial The Lawsons, then as Mary "Meg" MacArthur in its even longer-running sequel "Blue Hills".[3]
- minor parts in other commercial radio serials, including When a Girl Marries and Mary Livingstone MD.
Like her husband, she was generous in her support of charitable events, notably Legacy. On occasion, she adjudicated at eisteddfods and produced performances by the Brunton Gibb Players, when she used her married name.[4]
Recognition
She received the AM in 1992 for services to the arts and community.[5]
Personal life
Ethel Isabel Lang married James Brunton Gibb LTCL (13 January 1897 – 28 June 1968) on 1 September 1923.
They had a son Peter in 1924, a daughter (Judith) Wendy in 1925[6] a daughter Barbara Joan around 1928 and a son David in 1939.[7] The whole family used "Brunton" as though it were part of their surname.
Peter and Wendy Brunton Gibb both excelled in elocution.[8][9] Wendy appeared in the 1949 Charles Chauvel film Sons of Matthew, left for London and joined Dan O'Connor's British Commonwealth Players and in 1953 became Mrs Michael Benge.[10]
Peter served with the RAAF during WWII and married in 1946.[11]
Barbara was educated at Fort Street High School and worked as a radio[12] and stage actress associated with Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre and Mercury Theatre under the name Barbara Brunton, marrying journalist Stuart Revill in 1952.[13]
David became Professor of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care at UNSW in 2001.[14] He is commemorated at Sydney High School by the David Brunton Gibb Prize for Soccer.
Sources
References
- ↑ http://www.serials.com.au/serials-articles/1995/11/4/veteran-actor-and-radio-favourite/
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 31 December 1950
- ↑ Lane, Richard The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama 1923-1960
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 15 November 1937
- ↑ It's an Honour website
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 24 October 1925
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 19 August 1939
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 2 September 1935
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 3 September 1935
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 13 September 1953
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 28 August 1946
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 4 March 1951
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 20 February 1952
- ↑ http://www.shsobu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/professors.pdf
External links
- Read more about Ethel Lang, listen to excerpts of her work and an oral history interview done with her on the National Film and Sound Archive website.
- For more context on women in early radio in Australia visit the National Film and Sound Archive's Women in Early Radio collection.