fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Margaret Helen Dence AM (born 1 February 1942) is an Australian actress of stage and screen, with a career spanning some seven decades. She is equally at home in both comedy and drama roles, and is best known to early audiences for her roles in the satirical TV comedy The Mavis Bramston Show, and also serving as that series' mascot.[1]

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification, as it includes attribution to IMDb. (February 2010)

Maggie Dence AM
Dence in January 2013
Born	Margaret Helen Dence (1942-02-01) 1 February 1942 (age 80) Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Actress, comedienne
Years active	1959-present
Spouse	Graham Rouse

Dence featured in comedy Kingswood Country with stars Ross Higgins and Judi Farr, and is known for iconic roles in TV series The Sullivans, Prisoner and Neighbours as Dorothy Burke.[1]

Professional career

Stage TV and Film

Dence is well known to Sydney theatre audiences for the very large number of roles she has played, in particular with the Nimrod Theatre Company. She has also appeared in panto in the United Kingdom.

From 1966 to 1968 she had played various characters in the influential Australian satirical sketch comedy program The Mavis Bramston Show. One of her characters was the title character Mavis Bramston – the joke being that Mavis appeared in only the opening segment of each episode and was not seen again thereafter. She was also a recurring guest in the popular 1980s sitcom Kingswood Country, playing the snobbish Merle Bulpitt.

Her best-known soap opera roles are The Sullivans as the sweet-natured Rose Sullivan between 1976 and 1978, Prisoner Cell Block H in a darker role in 1984 as an evil psychopath and serial killer called Bev "The Beast" Baker, and Neighbours as stern school headmistress Dorothy Burke in the early 1990s.[1]

Dence also had smaller cameo roles in TV serials A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Heartbreak High.[1]

In 2005 she appeared in the award-winning Australian film Look Both Ways.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Wake in Fright	Receptionist	Feature film
1982	The Best of Friends	Shop assistant	Feature film
1982	The Return of Captain Invincible	Italian Lady	Feature film
1988	Cherith		Film short
1989	Luigi's Ladies	Shandra	Feature film
2003	Danny Deckchair	Meredith Butcher	Feature film
2003	Peter Pan	Lady Quiller Couch
2005	Look Both Ways	Joan	Feature film
2009	Grace	Nona	Film short
2015	The Witching Hour	Old Witch	Film short
2015	The Widow	Elaine	Film short
2016	The Mother Situation		Film short
2016	Setaceous		Film short
2018	Granny	Granny	Film short
2018	Inside Water	Yabby	Film short
2019	Strangers	Bibi	Film short
20??	Dirt Cheap	Irene	Feature film
2021	The Drover's Wife	Mrs. Shirley McGuiness	Feature film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966–1968	The Mavis Bramston Show	Mavis Bramston	TV series, Lead role
1966	In Perth Tonight	Herself (as Mavis Bramston	TV series
1967;1975	Homicide	Elaine Fleming	TV series, 1 episode: "The Legacy"
1968–1969	I've Married a Bachelor	unknown role	TV series, 3 episodes "You Tell Me Your Dreams, I'll Tell You My Dreams", "Into the Breach"
1969	Skippy	Soprano	TV series, 1 episode: "El Toro"
1970	The Link Men	Edie Whitman	TV series, 1 episode: "Somebody's Kid Is Missing"
1972	A Nice Day at the Office	Mrs. Quiggley	TV series, 1 episode
1973	Boney	Mrs. Coutts	TV series, 1 episode: "Boney and the Emu Man"
1973	Division 4	Marion Evans	TV series, 1 episode: "Willie"
1974	Silent Number	Nurse Janet Kay	TV series, 1 episode: "Bang, Bang, You're Dead"
1975	Homicide	Anne Carson / Elaine Fleming	TV series, 1 episode: "Brick Veneer"
1976–1979	The Sullivans	Rose Sullivan / Aunty Rose / Aunty Sullivan	TV series, 250 episodes; Regular role
1979	Doctor Down Under	Mrs. Peabody	TV series, 1 episode: "A Bird in the Hand"
1979	The Mike Walsh Show	Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1980	Trial by Marriage	unknown role	ABC TV series
1980–1984	Kingswood Country	Merle Bullpit	TV series, 18 episodes; Regular role
1981	Stress, It Wasn't Meant To Be	Herself	Film documentary
1981	A Town Like Alice	Mrs. O'Connor	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1981	Daily At Dawn	unknown role	TV series, 1 episode
1981	A Country Practice	Jan Hardy	TV series, 2 episodes: "Secrets: Parts 1 & 2"
1982	A Country Practice	Courtney Fraser	TV series, 2 episodes: "Show Down: Parts 1 & 2"
1984	A Country Practice	Blanche Mitchell	TV series, 2 episodes: "Ships in the Night: Parts 1 & 2"
1984	Prisoner: Cell Block H	Bev Baker	TV series, 6 episodes
1985	The Perfectionist	Rosie Peters	TV film
1985	Possession	Lady Shannon	TV series, Guest role
1985	WINNERS: The Other Facts Of Life	Psychiatrist	TV film
1987	Willing and Abel		TV series, 1 episode: "Miss September"
1987	The Flying Doctors	Helen Manning	TV series, 1 episode: "Sapphire"
1988	Act of Betrayal	Dorothy	ABC TV film
1989	A Country Practice	Victoria Fleming	TV series, 2 episodes: "Bel Canto: Parts 1 & 2"
1989	Rafferty's Rules	Vanessa Pearce	TV series, 1 episode
1989	Eden's Lost	Producer	ABC TV miniseries, 4 episodes
1989	Home Brew	Marjorie Daley	TV film
1990	More Winners: The Big Wish	Lady Mikeevil	ABC TV film
1990–1993	Neighbours	Dorothy Burke	TV series, Regular role; 356 episodes
1994	G.P.	Judith Marr	ABC TV series, 1 episode: "Coitus Interruptus"
1994	The Mavis Bramston 30th Anniversary	Herself	TV special
1995	Correlli	Maureen Barnes	ABC TV series, 1 episode: "An Early Release"
1995	Neighbours: A 10th Anniversary Celebration	Herself / Dorothy Burke	TV special
1996	40 Years Of TV Stars... Then And Now	Herself	TV special
1997	Heartbreak High	Mrs. Mac	TV series, 1 episode
1998	Blue Heelers	Elizabeth Schulz	TV series, 1 episode: "Letting Go"
1998	Driven Crazy	Granny Rose	TV series, 1 episode: "Mousechap"
1998-2007	All Saints	Lyn Brown / Maggie Cooper / June Markham	TV series, 5 episodes, 1 episode: "Forget Me Not"
2000	Water Rats	Joy Turner	TV series, 1 episode: "Mummy Dearest"
2000	Grass Roots	Ellen Leonard	ABC TV series, 1 episode: "The Whole Year"
2000	Stingers	Celia Jones	TV series, 1 episode: "Organised Crime"
2001	Good Morning Australia	Herself	TV series, 1 episode
2002	Fairy Tale Police Department	(voice)	TV series, 26 episodes: "Pinocchio: Puppet in Peril"
2002	Always Greener	Sister Stern	TV series, 1 episode: "Understanding the Cry"
2002–2003	All Saints	June Markham	"Chemistry", "Trust", "Friend in Need"
2006	Small Claims: The Reunion	Roma	TV film
2008	Milly, Molly	(voice)	TV series
2008	Out of the Blue	Olive Hammond	TV series, 17 episodes; Regular role
2012	The Morning Show	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
2013	The Very Trevor Ashley Show	Old Lady	TV series, 1 episode: "Pilot"
2013–2015	Wonderland	Ruth MacPherson	TV series, 9 episodes; Recurring role
2014;2016	Black Comedy	Guest Cast	ABC TV series, 2 episodes
2015	Ready for This	Mabel	TV series, 1 episode: "Fresh Meat"
2016	The Daily Edition	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
2016;2019	Today Extra	Herself - Guest	TV series, 2 episodes
2016	Rake	Janet	ABC TV series, 1 episode: "4.3"
2017	Attack! Attack! Art?	Gran	TV series, 4 episodes
2019	Today Extra	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
2019	The Commons	Janice	TV miniseries, 1 episode
2019	Frayed	Mrs Atkins	ABC TV series, 7 episodes; Season 1 (recurring role – 3 episodes)
2022	Pushing The Boundaries: The Mavis Bramston Show	Herself	Film Documentary
2022	Heartbreak High	Nan	TV series, 3 episodes
2022	Significant Others	Pam	ABC TV series, 3 episodes

Awards and recognition

Dence was named (on 29 September) the 2011 recipient of the Equity Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding services to the performing arts – both stage and screen – and her longstanding involvement with the NSW Actors' Benevolent Fund.[1] The award, presented by Foxtel, is from Maggie's peers and members of her union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Equity (Performers) Section, which she joined in 1962.[1]

Dence was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours "for service to the performing arts".[1][2]

References

External links

• Maggie Dence at IMDb
• Maggie Dence as Dorothy Burke

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