| Grace Gibson | |
| Honorific Suffix: | AO |
| Birth Name: | Grace Isabel Gibson |
| Birth Date: | 17 June 1905 |
| Birth Place: | El Paso, Texas |
| Death Place: | Potts Point, New South Wales |
| Other Names: | Grace Atchison, Grace Parr |
| Occupation: | Radio executive, producer, entrepreneur |
Grace Isabel Gibson AO, (17 June 1905 – 10 July 1989), also known as Grace Atchison and Grace Parr was an American Australian radio entrepreneur, executive and producer.She was best known for her long-running serials Dr. Paul and the local version of NBC hit Portia Faces Life.[1]
Gibson was born in El Paso, Texas, USA, in 1905 to Calvin Newton Gibson and Mexican Margaret Escobara (Schultz) and finished her schooling in California. She started her career in her native US working for the Radio Transcription Company of America, as a distributor of radio programs, when recruited by Alfred Bennett, general manager of Sydney radio station 2GB, who was visiting the United States. Together they set up American Radio Transcription Agencies (later Artransa Pty Ltd), which sold American recorded radio programs throughout Australia, and Gibson moved to Sydney, Australia in 1934.
Gibson was on a buying trip in the US in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and as a result she was prevented from returning to Australia for several years. Whilst stranded she became manager of her former company, Radio Transcription Company of America.[2]
In 1944 set up her own company, Grace Gibson Radio Productions Pty. Ltd., based in Savoy House, Bligh Street, Sydney. The company would become one of the biggest producers of radio drama with broadcast productions that would air in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Canada.[3] Her company produced over 30,000 programs for Australian radio.[4]
The company's first show was the documentary series Here are the Facts. That was followed by a number of popular daytime soap operas and other shows such as Doctor Paul, Portia Faces Life, Night Beat, Dossier on Dumetrius, Cattleman, I Christopher Macauley, Chickenman, Chuck Chunder, Captain Kremmen, and Mr. and Mrs. North.
Gibson continued to produce radio dramas from her Australian headquarters for the South African market until as late as 1971, long after television had replaced radio as the main place to hear drama in the home in most countries. This was because South Africa was virtually the last place in the English-speaking world to introduce television.[5]
She retired in 1978 and sold Grace Gibson Radio Productions Pty. Ltd. in the same year.
Gibson was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1987 in recognition of her services to radio in Australia. Gibson was three times married and died in 1989 in Potts Point, aged 84.