fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Gerda Maureen Nicolson (11 November 1937 – 12 June 1992) was an Australian theatre and television actress best known for several long-running television roles. She was best known for playing Governor Ann Reynolds of the Wentworth Detention Centre in soap opera Prisoner.

Gerda Nicolson
Born	Gerda Maureen Nicholson 11 November 1937 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Died	12 June 1992(1992-06-12) (aged 54) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1957–1992
Spouse	Julius Szappanos (1966–1992, her death)

Early life

This section does not cite any sources. (February 2014)

Gerda Maureen Nicolson was born in Hobart, Tasmania, to parents both involved in theatre. In 1959, she travelled to London with her parents, and attended many stage performances.

Career

On returning to Australia in 1961, Gerda joined Melbourne University's Graduate Society and acted in a number of its amateur stage plays while working as a draughtsperson at the Victorian Health Department. A year later, she was spotted by a director who encouraged her to audition for a stage play, A Woman in a Dressing Gown. Scoring one of the main roles, she joined the ensemble on its tour of Australia and New Zealand. Nicolson later said that the producer awarded her with the role on account of her stunning legs.

She was in The Proposal and the Bear for ABC TV.

Nicolson first reached wider audiences through her long-running role in Australian Broadcasting Corporation daily soap opera Bellbird. After leaving that series she had a regular role in the police drama Bluey (1976) and also The Sullivans (1976) and a small guest role in Cop Shop. However, her most widely recognised role was as Governor Ann Reynolds in the popular Australian television soap opera Prisoner. This was her second role in the show — she had already played a minor role as a corrupt officer at another prison in earlier episodes. Nicolson played the role of Ann Reynolds from 1983 until the series ended in 1986. The series found huge international cult success in the 1990s and 2000s. Nicolson also appeared in Neighbours in 1989 as Robyn Taylor, who almost had an affair with Harold Bishop.

She collapsed in her dressing room prior to going to stage for theatre performance Mary Lives! in 1992. Although she was rushed to hospital, she never regained consciousness and died on 12 June. The cause of death was a brain-related haemorrhage.

Legacy

Green Room Award: The Gerda Nicolson Award (for an Emerging Actress) was instituted in her name to commemorate her work in Australian theatre, as she is recognised as one of Victoria's finest female actors. This award, protected by The Green Room Awards Association, was presented to the recipient by her husband up until his death in 2006. These recipients included; Alison Whyte, Peta Brady and Kat Stewart. •Gerda Nicolson Award for Indigenous female students studying at the Victorian College of the Arts in the areas of performing arts. This award was hosted through the Willan Centre for an undergraduate student.

Filmography

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Country Town	1971	Fiona Davies	Feature Film adaptation of the television series Bellbird
The Devil's Playground	1976	Mrs. Allen	Feature film
The Getting of Wisdom	1977	Minor role	Feature film
The Quick Brown Fox	1980	Mrs. Flint	Film short
Gallipoli	1981	Rose Hamilton	Feature film
Next of Kin	1982	Connie	Feature film
The Clinic	1982	Linda	Feature film
Belinda	1987	Belinda's Mother	Feature film
In Too Deep	1989	Mrs. Lyall	Feature film

Television

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Consider Your Verdict	1964	Minor Role	Seven Network • "Queen Versus Grainger"
Homicide	1965	Carol Barwick	Seven Network • "One Man Crime Wave" (#2.16)
Hunter	1967	Marion Tolhurst	Nine Network • 4 episodes
Homicide	1967	Anne Elliot	Seven Network • "One Last Wish" (#4.41)
	1968	Policewoman Reed	Seven Network • "Valley of Silence" (#5.34)
	1968	Tess Barker	Seven Network • "Objection Sustained" (#5.37)
Hunter	1968	Janet McGregor	Nine Network • 1 episode
Bellbird	1968–1974	Fiona Davies	ABC • 1,064 episodes
Division 4	1969	Ellen Finch	Nine Network • "The Victim" (#1.28)
Matlock Police	1971	Kate Maddern	Network Ten • "The Big Gun" (#1.2)
Boney	1972	Clare Joyce	"Boney and the Monster" (#1.10)
Ryan	1974	Mary	Seven Network • "Give Them the World" (#1.34)
Division 4	1975	Mrs. Laston	Nine Network • "Take No for an Answer" (#7.20)
Homicide	1975	Julie Edwards	Seven Network • "A Quiet Place" (#12.28)
Quality of Mercy	1975	Minor role	ABC TV series, 1 episode 6: "We Should Have Had a Uniform" (#1.6)
The Sullivans	1976	Mrs. Turnbull	Nine Network • Season 1, unknown episode(s)
Bluey	1976–1977	Monica Rourke	Seven Network • Season 1 (all 39 episodes)
Cop Shop	1978	Marion O'Reilly	Seven Network • 13 episodes
Chopper Squad	1979	Enid Paramor	Network Ten • "No Strings" (#2.11)
Skyways	1979	Joan Fitzgerald	Seven Network • Episode: "The Legend"
Young Ramsay	1980	Beth Emery	Seven Network • "Dyed in the Wool" (#2.13)
Prisoner	1981	Mrs. Roberts	Network Ten • Season 3 (2 episodes)
	1983–1986	Ann Reynolds	Network Ten • Seasons 5–8 (317 episodes)
Neighbours	1989	Robyn Taylor	Network Ten • Season 5 (10 episodes)
Bangkok Hilton	1989	Lady Faulkner	Network Ten • Miniseries (all 3 episodes)
Boys from the Bush	1991	Betty	BBC One • "Mateship" (#1.8)
Golden Fiddles	1991	Miss Birrell	Nine Network • Miniseries (2 episodes), (final role)

Television film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Nude with Violin	1964	Jane Sorodin	ABC movie
Everyman	1964	Cousin	ABC movie
The Physicists	1964	Minor Role	ABC movie
Ashes to Ashes	1966	Barbara Manson	ABC movie
Out of Love	1974	Minor Role	Story 3: "Separate Ways"

Awards

• Penguin Best Sustained Performance (1985) for Prisoner

Nominated

• Logie Best Supporting Actress (1977) for Bluey
• Logie Best Supporting Actress (1985) for Prisoner

External links

• Gerda Nicolson at IMDb
• The Unofficial Gerda Nicolson Web Pages

---