| Joy Hruby | |
| Birth Name: | Joy Elaine Cox |
| Birth Date: | 1 July 1927 |
| Birth Place: | Taree, New South Wales, Australia |
| Death Place: | Sydney, Australia |
| Education: | Whitehall Academy of Dramatic Art, J.C. Williamson |
| Notable Works: | Joy's World Dubbo Dazzlers (book) |
| Family: | Anna Hruby (daughter) |
Joy Elaine Hruby (1 July 1927 – 21 February 2017) was an Australian actress and entertainer, comedian, TV presenter and interviewer, producer, film-maker, author and celebrity agent with a career spanning more than 50 years.[1] Hruby appeared in films including Caddie, The Love Letters from Teralba Road, Winter of our Dreams, and Kitty and the Bagman.
Hruby had small roles in TV soap operas including, Sons and Daughters and Home and Away, G.P. and All Saints and featured the mini-series Brides of Christ, she also appeared in numerous theatre productions and entered films into Tropfest.
Hruby was born in Taree, New South Wales, the fourth of five siblings to Grace Adelaide Esther Thomas, a public speaker, union woman, community worker and suffragist and Henry "Harry" James Cox, who was a station master at Dubbo during WWII, and ham radio enthusiast and maker of steel guitars. She married Czech jazz pianist Zdenek Hruby in 1954 and the couple had three children: actress Anna Hruby, Frank (a cameraman) and Janette (a former film location caterer).[1] Hruby studied at the Whitehall Academy of Dramatic Arts and then the J.C. Williamson theatre, and appeared in a production of Othello as Desdemona.
Hruby also had a community TV program on Channel 31 (later TVS) in Sydney and Melbourne titled Joy's World. She was known for brightly-coloured feathered costumes and feather boas, and her signature sign-off line, "...and keep smiling". After Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull cancelled community television, she launched her own website and YouTube channel.[2]
Her contribution to the arts and entertainment was recognised with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2007 Queen's New Years Honours List.[3] Published in 2003, she wrote a wartime memoir, Dubbo Dazzlers, which was also the name of a dance troupe she formed in Dubbo during WWII. Hruby had previously written notes for a biography titled The Spectacular Life of Joy Hruby.[3] She won a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Half in Ernest.
Hruby was later married to Denny, a pianist. She died, aged 89[4] on 21 February 2017.[5] Her service was held at Wilde Street Anglican Church at Maroubra, New South Wales on 2 March 2017.
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Caddie | Mrs. Sweeney | Feature film | |
| 1977 | The Love Letters from Teralba Road | Len's Mother | Short Feature film | |
| 1981 | Winter of Our Dreams | Marge | Feature film | |
| 1982 | Heatwave | Old Lady | Feature film | |
| 1982 | The Dark Room | Ida Henning | Feature film | |
| 1985 | A Street to Die | Maureen | Feature film | |
| 1987 | Confidentially Speaking | EAP Lady | Film short | |
| 1993 | You and Me and Uncle Bob | Mrs. Patterson | Feature film | |
| 1995 | Rough Diamonds | Mrs. Burns | Feature film | |
| 1998 | Praise | Old Woman | Feature film | |
| 1999 | All the Way | Mrs Kravytz | Feature film | |
| 2007 | Music Box | Aunt Mary | Film short | |
| 2008 | The Eighth | Story | Film short | |
| 2010 | Conference of the Planets | Role unknown | Film short | |
| 2010 | Donation Only | Mrs. B | Film short | |
| 2010 | The Key to the Computer | Story | Film short |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | No Room to Run | Woman On Beach | ABC TV movie, US/AUSTRALIA | |
| 1977 | The Outsiders | Guest role: Ella | TV series GERMANY/AUSTRALIA, 1 episode | |
| 1977 | Puzzle | Guest role | ABC TV movie, US/AUSTRALIA | |
| 1980 | Spring & Fall | Guest role: Woman Selling House | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1982;1983 | A Country Practice | Guest role: The Waitress | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1983 | Scales of Justice | Guest role: Mrs. Simpson | ABC TV film series, 1 episode 1. "The Job" | |
| 1983 | A Country Practice | Guest role: Mrs. Farrow | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | Sweet And Sour | Guest role | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1985 | Sons And Daughters | Guest role: Prostitute | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1986 | A Fortunate Life | Recurring role: Ma | TV miniseries, 1 episode | |
| 1986 | Alice to Nowhere | Recurring role: Mrs. Leary | TV miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 1987-2001 | Sunday Joyride | Herself - Presenter | TV series | |
| 1988 | Mother and Son | Guest role: Woman Shopper | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1988 | Mike Willesee's Australians | Guest role: Mrs. Whittle | TV film series, 1 episode 5: "Lottie Lyell" | |
| 1988;1989 | Rafferty's Rules | Guest roles: Mrs. Barnes / Dero Lady | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1990-2015 | Joy's World | Herself - Presenter | TV series | |
| 1991 | Brides of Christ | Recurring role: Sister Polycarp | ABC TV miniseries, 6 episodes | |
| 1992 | Phoenix | Guest role: Fat Alice | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1994;1996 | G.P. | Guest roles: Mrs. Lucas / Millie | ABC TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1994;1995 | Darren Gray Down Under | Herself - Guest | TV series, 3 episodes | |
| 1994 | TVTV | Herself & The Young Doctors cast | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1995-1996 | Agatha Ramsbottom Show | Herself - Presenter | TV series | |
| 1996;1998 | Home and Away | Guest roles: Mrs. Riley / Mrs Penrose | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1998;2004 | All Saints | Guest roles: Mrs. Heinrich / Robin Wallace | TV series, 3 episodes | |
| 2000 | Above the Law | Guest role: Mrs. Meriwether | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 2004 | Double the Fist | Guest role: Edith | ABC TV series, 1 episode | |
| 2011 | The Hamster Wheel | Additional Cast | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 2011;2012 | Laid | Recurring Guest role: Nan-Nan | ABC TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Ten News | Herself - Joy Hruby Funeral Service | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 2017 | The Project | Herself - Joy Hruby Funeral Service | TV series, 1 episode |