| Diana Perryman | |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Birth Place: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Birth Date: | 9 November 1924 |
| Death Date: | 10 January 1979 (aged 54) |
| Death Place: | Sydney, Australia |
| Years Active: | 1946–1977 |
| Family: | Jill Perryman (sister) |
Diana Perryman (9 November 1924 – 10 January 1979) credited also as Diane Perryman, was an Australian actress, who appeared on stage, and in film and television.
Perryman was born in Melbourne in 1924 to father, Melbourne-born musical comedy actor and radio station 2KY personality William Harland-Perryman (with notable credits from 1919 to 1938), and mother, Adelaide-born actress, singer and showgirl Dorothy Eileen Duval (with credits from 1923 to 1932). Her parents were married in 1923, the year before she was born.[1]
Her first acting credit was as a child, on stage in a crowd scene role in White Horse Inn in 1936, alongside her parents and her two year old sister Jill.[2]
Perryman studied acting alongside Maggie Dence, Leonard Teale and Ruth Cracknell.[3]
Perryman was notable for her roles in early television soap operas and appeared in miniseries and made-for-tv movies, She appeared for 156 episodes in the tv series Autumn Affair with Muriel Steinbeck and Queenie Ashton. She was also a regular in tv soap The Story of Peter Grey.
Perryman also appeared in numerous theatre productions and radio plays throughout her career, including turning in an Erik Award-winning performance in stage play Two for the Seesaw in 1960.
Perryman's younger sister is stage and screen actress and singer Jill Perryman.[4] [5] Through her sister, she has a nephew, Tod Johnston who is an actor, musician and media personality; and a niece, Trudy Dunn who is an actress. Trudy's daughter McKenzie Dunn is also an actress.[6] [7]
Diana's husband, Dr. Kenneth Whiteley was a senior lecturer in wool technology at the UNSW and a huge fan of the theatre. Together with sister Jill's dancer/choreographer husband, Kevan Johnston, he urged Perryman to collaborate with her sister, which prompted her to switch to revue.[8]
Perryman was posthumously awarded an MBE in 1979.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Shell Presents | Inez | TV movie series, season 1, episode 2: Other People's Houses | |
| 1960 | The Scent of Fear | Joan Bridey | TV movie | |
| 1961 | Corinth House | Madge Donnythorpe | TV movie | |
| 1961 | The Big Client | Eleanor Comely | TV movie | |
| 1964 | I Have Been Here Before | Sally Pratt | TV movie | |
| 1968 | Tosca | Tosca | TV movie | |
| 1972 | Yeoman of the Guard | TV movie | ||
| 1975 | I'm Here, Darlings! | TV movie |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1959 | Autumn Affair | Julie | TV series, season 1, 156 episodes | |
| 1961 | The Story of Peter Gray | Jane Marner | TV series, season 1, 156 episodes | |
| 1964 | The Purple Jacaranda[10] | Darcy Crawford | TV miniseries, 7 episodes | |
| 1967 | You Can't See 'Round Corners | TV series, season 1, 3 episodes | ||
| 1970 | The Link Men | TV series, season 1, 2 episodes | ||
| 1972 | Catwalk | Mrs. Wheeler | TV series, season 1, episode 7: "Dear Desperate" | |
| 1973 | Boney | Mrs. White | TV series, season 2, episode 7: "Boney Hunts a Murderess" | |
| 1973 | Serpent in the Rainbow | Mrs Quigg | TV miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 1974 | This Love Affair | Kath | TV series, season 1, episode 8: "One of My Silly Dreams" | |
| 1973; 1975 | Certain Women | Alice | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | Mrs. Plummer | TV series, season 3, episode 9: "Annette Kellerman" | |
| 1975 | Shannon's Mob | Mrs. Pellini | TV series, season 1, episode 2: "Nothing Else to Lose" | |
| 1976 | The Outsiders | Marilyn | TV series, season 1, episode 1: "Drop Out" | |
| 1979 | Glenview High | Shirley Mason | TV series, season 1, episode 30: "Daughter of Darkness" |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue / Co. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Princess Precious Pearl | [11] | ||
| 1950 | Sonata | Lux Radio Theatre on 2UW Sydney, 3DB Melbourne, 4BK & SAD[12] | ||
| The Air Adventures of Biggles | Pat Kendall | Radio serial on 2GB Sydney, 2CH Sydney & 2KO Newcastle, episodes 269–625[13] | ||
| 1955 | Adam Had Four Sons | Radio play, episode 170 of The General Motors Hour[14] | ||
| 1955 | Rope | Radio play, episode 171 of The General Motors Hour[15] | ||
| 1955 | Love from a Stranger | Radio play, episode 183 of The General Motors Hour[16] | ||
| 1955 | Don't Listen Ladies | Radio play, episode 203 of The General Motors Hour[17] | ||
| 1955–56 | White Coolies | Radio serial[18] | ||
| 1956 | The White Rabbit | Radio serial on 2UE Sydney[19] | ||
| 1956 | The Prisoner of Zenda | Radio play, episode 208 of The General Motors Hour[20] | ||
| 1956 | The Pet Shop | Radio play, episode 211 of The General Motors Hour[21] | ||
| 1956 | The Human Touch | Radio play, episode 215 of The General Motors Hour[22] | ||
| 1956 | The Nine Days Wonder | Radio play, episode 217 of The General Motors Hour[23] | ||
| 1957 | A Pin to See the Peep Show | Radio play, episode 293 of The General Motors Hour[24] | ||
| 1957 | Autumn | Radio play, episode 301 of The General Motors Hour[25] | ||
| 1957 | Home is the Sailor | Radio play, episode 307 of The General Motors Hour[26] | ||
| 1958 | Each Wind That Blows | Radio play, episode 311 of The General Motors Hour[27] | ||
| 1958 | The American | Radio play, episode 313 of The General Motors Hour[28] | ||
| 1958 | Queen Bee | Radio play, episode 323 of The General Motors Hour[29] | ||
| 1958 | Simon and Laura | Radio play, episode 329 of The General Motors Hour[30] | ||
| 1958 | Seat of the Scornful | Radio play, episode 330 of The General Motors Hour[31] | ||
| 1958 | Subway in the Sky | Radio play, episode 332 of The General Motors Hour[32] | ||
| 1958 | The Quiet Room | Radio play, episode 355 of The General Motors Hour[33] | ||
| 1958 | Search by Night | Radio play, episode 362 of The General Motors Hour[34] | ||
| 1958 | Land of Promise | Radio play, episode 363 of The General Motors Hour[35] | ||
| 1958 | The Young May Moon | Radio play, episode 364 of The General Motors Hour[36] | ||
| 1958 | The Uninvited | Radio play, episode 368 of The General Motors Hour[37] | ||
| 1959 | Flood | Radio play, episode 382 of The General Motors Hour[38] | ||
| 1959 | After My Fashion | Radio play, episode 384 of The General Motors Hour[39] | ||
| 1959 | Young Timothy | Radio play, episode 386 of The General Motors Hour[40] | ||
| 1959 | Broken Journey | Radio play, episode 404 of The General Motors Hour[41] | ||
| 1959 | The Fifty Mark | Radio play, episode 408 of The General Motors Hour[42] | ||
| 1959 | The Guiding Light | Dr Mary Leland | Radio serial on 2UW Sydney for Grace Gibson Radio & TV Productions[43] | |
| 1960 | Love and Miss Figgis | Radio play, episode 413 of The General Motors Hour[44] | ||
| 1960 | The Long Dark Road | Radio play, episode 430 of The General Motors Hour[45] | ||
| 1960 | The Silent Inn | Radio play, episode 438 of The General Motors Hour[46] | ||
| A Stop on the Way | Radio play, episode 455 of The General Motors Hour[47] | |||
| The Letter | Radio play, episode 463 of The General Motors Hour[48] | |||
| 1960 | Life with Dexter | Jessie | Radio serial on 2GB Sydney[49] | |
| 1961 | Cattleman | Radio serial for Grace Gibson Radio & TV Productions[50] | ||
| Rebel in White | Jan Regan / Elvira | Radio serial | ||
| King Neptune and the Mermaid | Radio series[51] | |||
| This Man is Mine | Radio serial for Grace Gibson Radio & TV Productions[52] | |||
| The Big One Got Away | Radio serial for Grace Gibson Radio & TV Productions[53] | |||
| 1974 | Under Her Spell | Julia Winslow | Grace Gibson Radio & TV Productions |
| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Two for the Seesaw | Best Actress | |||
| 1979 | Diana Perryman | MBE |