One of Australia’s most versatile and acclaimed actors, Carol Burns has passed away, aged 68, after a short battle with cancer.
Carol's partner of 36 years, composer and musician, Alan Lawrence was at her bedside as she passed at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Born in Brisbane in 1947, Carol attended Milton State Primary School where her initiation into the world of theatre began with elocution classes in 1958. She then acted with Brisbane Arts Theatre and also Twelfth Night Theatre in Brisbane.
Beginning her professional career as a founding member of Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) in 1969, Carol when on to star numerous productions with the likes of Geoffrey Rush and Bille Brown. A major contributer to QTC's success, she appeared in productions including: 'The Female Of The Species', 'Rabbit Hole', 'Black Comedy', 'Private Lives', 'The Real Inspector Hound', 'A Conversation', 'Bill & Mary', 'The Clean House', 'Design For Living', and too many more to mention.
Carol had a diverse career through Australia and worked with many theatre credits, including: Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, La Boite Theatre Company, Nimrod Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia. She also acted exclusively in the theatre for 10 years before giving film or television a shot.
She then appeared in such iconic Australian television series as 'The Day Of The Roses', 'The Love Of Lionel’s Life', 'Blue Heelers', 'Reef Doctors', 'Small Claims', 'Flipper', 'All The Rivers Run' and more. But her most famed role was that of a tough lesbian bikie in cult TV programme 'Prisoner'. Although she only appeared in the first 20 episodes, her performance as Franky Doyle won her a TV Week Logie Award for Best Lead Actress. In an interview in 2011 she stated she left 'Prisoners' because the pay was very low and the work load was increasing due to the more rapid production of episodes. She also stated that it was her decision to be killed off as she did not want to be lured back to the series.
After 'Prisoner' Carol went to work in the UK appearing in West End and regional productions, and had guest roles including: 'The Bill', 'Taggart', 'Casualty', 'Heartbeat' and 'Hannay'. The talent also appeared in films such as: 'The Mango Tree', 'Bad Blood', 'Starstruck', 'Strikebound', 'Hard Drive', 'Dusty' and more recently 'Gettin’ Square' and 'Tracks'.
Among her acting credentials, Carol was a talented director, directing several productions including 'The Road To Mecca' and 'A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg'. She also created her own stage adaptation of 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' for Brisbane Arts Theatre.
As well as an associate artist of Queensland Theatre Company and Queensland Arts Council/ Artslink, Carol was a patron of The Independent Theatre (Eumundi) and Fame Theatre School (Brisbane), a member of Actors Equity since 1973, President of Actors Equity Queensland, a member of the National Performance Committee and served as Vice-President of the Actors’ & Entertainers’ Benevolent Fund (Qld) Inc., the registered charity which assists performers in need.
A life well lived. Vale Carol Burns and condolences to her friends and family.
