English-Australian actress Joan Sydney, known for her roles in A Country Practice and Neighbours, has died aged 86.
In a statement posted on Facebook, friend and colleague Sally-Anne Upton confirmed the veteran performer “passed away peacefully in her sleep” in Victoria on December 29, following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Sydney appeared in more than 450 episodes of A Country Practice as Matron Margaret ‘Maggie’ Sloan, going on to win a Logie for Most Outstanding Actress in 1989.
She also achieved longevity as Valda Sheergold on Neighbours, whom she played on a semi-regular basis, before becoming a permanent cast member.
The roles formed part of a stage and screen career that spanned more than five decades and encompassed a range of other titles, including E Street, Mother and Son, All Saints, and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Born in London, Sydney made her first screen in 1957 appearance in the film version of the English play When We Are Married.
She emigrated to Australia in 1965, arriving in Perth before making her way to Sydney, all the while appearing in theatre productions. During the 80s, she established herself on screen via television titles such as The Scalp Merchant, Flight Into Hell, Sisterly Love, as well as the aforementioned A Country Practice.
It was through her role as Maggie Sloane that first met Upton, who asked her to appear as the character for an Australian Nurses Federation (Victorian branch) fundraiser.
“She thought it wouldn’t work, as Wandin Valley had been a long time off our screen and I said ‘Are you kidding me, everyone will know who you are and it will be the highlight of the show’,” Upton recalled.
“Sure enough, as I’m MCing the second half, she appeared through the curtain in her white nurses uniform and ’70s nurses cap, no words spoken and brought the house down!
“Later in the green room, she was still in shock of the response, ‘Well, I never!’”.
Sydney is the older sister of stage and screen actress Maggie King, with pair often acting alongside each other in stage productions.
It was with her sister that she relocated to Melbourne in 1992 and later to the Dandenongs, to be closer to her daughter Ananda and her family.
In an obituary published in The Age, Sydney’s son described the impact of her dementia diagnosis.
“A decade ago Joan had started to have difficulty learning her lines and had become forgetful on occasions,” he wrote.
“There was increased difficulty with her favourite cryptic crossword and bigger mood swings. In 2015 came the diagnosis of dementia. In the ensuing years, she left us ever so slowly, that bastard Alzheimer at work.
“Hers was an entertaining life lived to the full, but with a long slow exit that still leaves us wanting more of the many good times we can cherish within us forever.”