Carole Skinner Explained

Occupation:	Actress
Years Active:	1966–2009, 2015
Birth Place:	Australia

Carole Skinner (born 8 May 1944)^[1] is an Australian retired actress, particularly known for her performances in theatre and television, although she has had small parts in films. She is perhaps best known internationally for her soap opera role's as Nola McKenzie in the soap opera, Prisoner, and Sons and Daughters, as Doris Hudson, as well as miniseries, The Harp in the South, and its sequel, Poor Man's Orange, as Delie Stock.

Biography

Early career

Skinner began her acting career in 1966, and first rose to prominence as an established theatre performer. Her performance as Olive in a production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll for the Melbourne Theatre Company in 1977 was met with high regard.^[2]

She became well known for her screen roles, particularly in television, making her debut in 1971, when she made a guest appearance in the Australian series, Dynasty, (not relatedto the American series of the same title) before going on to play a regular in Lane End (a spin-off series to the serial, Bellbird), and further guest roles in Certain Women, The Evil Touch, Ryan, Behind the Legend, and The Young Doctors.

Television soap opera

Prisoner, Sons and Daughters and Neighbours

Skinner became best known locally and internationally for her six-month stint as Nola McKenzie in the Network 10 soap opera, Prisoner (known outside of Australia as Prisoner: Cell Block H), during its fifth season in 1983. She later admitted that it was her choice to leave the series after producers offered to extend her contract to continue playing Nola. The character was killed-off in one of the series most iconic scenes, when she was shot in the forehead with a zip gun.^[3] This was followed by guest roles in soap operas and drama series', including Sons and Daughters, as Doris Hudson, a house-keeper obsessed with her boss, in which she attempted to smother toddler Robert Palmer in the series' 1985 season cliffhanger episode,^[4] as Laura Dennison in Neighbours in 1986,^[5] and briefly appearances in The Flying Doctors and A Country Practice.

Miniseries and later roles

She is also known for her role as Delie Stock in the miniseries, The Harp in the South, based on the novel by Ruth Park,^{[6] [7]} and the sequel miniseries, Poor Man's Orange, also based on Park's second novel of the same name.^[8]

She continued to appear in high-profile drama series', including, two different roles in the Seven Network soap opera, Home and Away, as Mary O'Brien during the show's eighth season in 1995, and as Annie Matthews in the twelfth season in 1999, E Street, Minder (when episodes were filmed in Australia),^[9] Murder Call, All Saints, and McLeod's Daughters.

Film appearances

Skinner is also a credited film actress, having appeared in several minor roles, including, her feature debut in the sex comedy, Alvin Purple, which spawned two sequels, and a short-lived television series. She continued with roles during the 1970s, in Eliza Frazer, co-starring with Susannah York and John Waters, and the critically acclaimed, My Brilliant Career, with Judy Davis and Sam Neill, before going on to appear in films, such as, Heatwave, Monkey Grip, Goodbye Paradise, The Umbrella Woman, Howling III, the second sequel to the classic 1981 film, and the 2001 blockbuster, Moulin Rouge! starring Nicole Kidman.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Maybe Tomorrow		TV Movie	^[10]
1973	Alvin Purple	Mother Superior	Feature film	^[11]
1974	Parent Teacher Interviews	Parent	Short film (segment: "A Stranger")	^[12]
1976	Eliza Fraser	Mrs. Shortland	Feature film	^[13]
1979	My Brilliant Career	Mrs. McSwatt	Feature film	^[14]
1980	Going Home	Molly	TV movie
1982	Deadline	Sybil	TV movie
1982	Heatwave	Mary Ford	Feature film	^[15]
1982	Monkey Grip	Waitress	Feature film	^[16]
1982	The Mystery at Castle House	Aunt Josephine	Feature film	^[17]
1982	A Most Attractive Man	Frances	Short film	^[18]
1982	Goodbye Paradise	Landlady	Feature film	^[19]
1983	The Weekly's War	Nurse	TV movie
1984	On the Loose	Mrs. Jones	Feature film	^[20]
1985	After Hours	Mother	Short film	^[21]
1987	The Umbrella Woman	Mrs. Gibson	Feature film	^[22]
1987		Yara	Feature film	^[23]
1991	Gotcha	Wilma	Short film	^[24]
1993	Don't Touch Wood!	Scott's Mum	Film (developed by ANZ Bank and Small Business Victoria)	^[25]
1994	Unacceptable Behaviour	Angela	Short film	^[26]
1995	Napoleon	The Cat	Feature film	^[27]
1996	Passion	-	Short play	^[28]
1996	Whipping Boy	Sex Store Wife	TV movie	^[29]
1998	Never Tell Me Never	Dusty	TV movie
2001	Moulin Rouge!	Landlady	Feature film	^[30]
2002	Hetty	Hetty	Short film	^[31]
2008	The View from Greenhaven	Bonny	Feature film	^[32]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Dynasty	Mavis Patterson	TV series, S2E13
1972	Lane End	Peggy Dunlop	TV series, 7 episodes
1973	Certain Women		TV series
1973; 1974	The Evil Touch	Two roles	TV series, S1E4 & S1E18
1974	Ryan	Jane Moore	TV series, S1E31
1975	Behind the Legend		TV series, S3E10
1979	Ray Lawler's The Doll Trilogy Other Times Kid Stakes Summer of the Seventeenth Doll	Olive Leech	TV production (filmed 1977)	^[33]
1980	Trial by Marriage		TV series
1980	Spring & Fall	Jamie's Mother	TV series, S1E6
1980	The Young Doctors	Dr Judith Ann Napier	TV series, episodes 846-878
1982	The 1982 Australian Film Institute Awards	Audience member	ABC TV Special
1983	Prisoner	Nola McKenzie	TV series, season 5, 40 episodes
1984	The Cowra Breakout	Mrs. Davidson	Miniseries
1985–1986	Sons and Daughters	Doris Hudson	TV series, seasons 4–5, 14 episodes
1986	A Fortunate Life	Shalagh Phillips	Miniseries, 1 episode
1986	The Flying Doctors	Joan Morgan	TV series, S1E20
1986	Neighbours	Laura Dennison	TV series, season 2, 19 episodes
1987	The Harp in the South	Delie Stock	Miniseries, 3 episodes
1987	Poor Man's Orange	Delie Stock	Miniseries, 2 episodes
1987	A Country Practice	Jean Brown	TV series, S7E59 & E7E60
1990	G.P.	Pat Kennedy	TV series, S2 E36 Crossover
1992	E Street	Cathy Norman	TV series, 1 episode
1993	Minder	Mary Maguire	TV series, S9E13
1993	A Country Practice	Betty Birchgrove	TV series, S13E65 & E13E66
1995	At Home	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1995	Home and Away	Mary O'Brien	TV series, season 8, 6 episodes
1996	Good Morning Australia	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1998	Murder Call	Mickey Lane	TV series, S2E10 & S2E11: Deadline (parts 1 & 2)
1999	Home and Away	Annie Matthews	TV series, season 12, 9 episodes
1999	All Saints	Sandra Gillespie	TV series, S2E40
1999	Bondi Banquet	Judy Trembath
2002	Don't Blame Me	Weird Wanda	TV series, S1E5 & S1E15
2003	White Collar Blue	Mrs. Simms	TV series, S1E6
2006	HeadLand	Supervisor	TV series, 3 episodes
2009	McLeod's Daughters	Helga	TV series, S8E14
2015	Catching Milat	Margaret Milat	Miniseries

Notes and References

1. Book: Bourke . Terry . Prisoner Cell BlochK H: Behind the Scenes . Angus and Robertson (UK).
2. Web site: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll . The Australian Live Performance Database . AusStage and contributors . January 17, 2021 . https://archive.today/20121129040954/http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/30111 . 29 November 2012.
3. Web site: Episode 369. wwwentworth.co.uk. 11 July 2022.
4. Web site: Episode 696. sonsanddaughters.co.uk. 11 July 2022.
5. Web site: Laura Dennison (née Simpson) 1986. perfectblend.net. 11 July 2022.
6. Web site: Harp in the South (1986). aso.gov.au. 11 July 2022.
7. Web site: HARP IN THE SOUTH, THE. nostalgiacentral.com. 11 July 2022.
8. Web site: POOR MAN'S ORANGE. nostalgiacentral.com. 11 July 2022.
9. Web site: Carole Skinner. AusStage.
10. Web site: MAYBE TOMORROW.
11. Web site: ALVIN PURPLE. mubi.com. 10 July 2022.
12. Web site: Parent teacher interviews. acmi.net.au. 10 July 2022.
13. Web site: ELIZA FRASER. mubi.com. 10 July 2022.
14. Web site: My Brilliant Career (1979). https://web.archive.org/web/20160811141137/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6beb2f3c. dead. 11 August 2016. www2.bfi.org.uk. 10 July 2022.
15. Web site: Heatwave (1982). scopophiliamovieblog.com. 10 July 2022.
16. Web site: Monkey Grip (1982). https://web.archive.org/web/20220710171318/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b746e5e89. dead. 10 July 2022. www2.bfi.org.uk. 10 July 2022.
17. Web site: Mystery at Castle House. ozmovies.com.au. 10 July 2022.
18. Book: A most attractive man.. worldcat.org. 220162897. 10 July 2022.
19. Web site: GOODBYE PARADISE. screenaustralia.gov.au. 10 July 2022.
20. Web site: ON THE LOOSE. screenaustralia.gov.au. 10 July 2022.
21. Web site: After Hours (1984). https://web.archive.org/web/20201126192316/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7b466dd0. dead. 26 November 2020. www2.bfi.org.uk. 10 July 2022.
22. Web site: The Umbrella Woman (1986). https://web.archive.org/web/20200428172238/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7206a49d. dead. 28 April 2020. www2.bfi.org.uk. 10 July 2022.
23. Web site: Howling III (1987). filmaffinity.com. 10 July 2022.
24. Web site: Gotcha. mix-movie.com. 10 July 2022.
25. Web site: Dont Touch Wood (1993). 12 May 2023.
26. Web site: UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR. screenaustralia.gov.au. 10 July 2022.
27. Web site: Carole Skinner. behindthevoiceactors.com. 10 July 2022.
28. Web site: Love Seen In Laundromat. televisionau.com . January 2016.
29. Web site: Whipping Boy. movieranker.com. 10 July 2022.
30. Web site: Moulin Rouge (2001). https://web.archive.org/web/20160811133846/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b83847d22. dead. 11 August 2016. www2.bfi.org.uk. 10 July 2022.
31. Web site: HETTY. screenaustralia.gov.au. 10 July 2022.
32. Web site: THE VIEW FROM GREENHAVEN. screenaustralia.gov.au. 10 July 2022.
33. Web site: Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll (1977). www2.bfi.org.uk. 13 October 2022.