| Other Names: | Sheila Kenneally |
| Birth Date: | 28 December 1936 df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Brighton, Sussex, England, UK |
| Nationality: | English Australian |
| Occupation: | Actress, comedienne |
| Years Active: | 1958–1971, 1977–1994 (theatre) 1967–2008 (television)[1] |
Sheila Kennelly (born 28 December 1936),[2] [3] also credited as Sheila Kenneally, is a British-born Australian retired character actress of theatre and music hall, television and film, with a career spanning over 50 years.[4] [5] From the late 1950s onwards, her early career was based exclusively in theatre and she didn't start her screen career until the late 1960s becoming well known for her roles in TV soap operas, serials, sitcoms and mini-series. She is best known locally and internationally for her role in Home and Away as Floss McPhee in that series first year (with several guest stints), before being written out as producers wanted to concentrate on a younger and updated cast.ref name="Oram">Oram, James "Home and Away" Behind the Scenes
Kennelly was born in Brighton, Sussex, England in December 1936, and arrived with her family in Australia at an early age, where she attended North Sydney High School before training at the Independent Theatre.
She started her career in stage plays in 1958, appearing with the Old Tote Theatre and the Nimrod Theatre Company, before undertaking a lengthy arts tour with A View from the Bridge and starring in numerous roles with the Neutral Bay Music Hall.
Sheila had been a staple of the small screen since the late 1960s until retiring in 2008, firstly appearing in plays at the ABC, before taking soap opera and comedy relief roles
She became a household name in the hugely popular serial Number 96 as brassy bubbly barmaid Norma Whittaker, a comedy character opposite Gordon McDougall. Norma's trademark catchphrase was calling everyone 'Ducky'. Whilst her husband, amateur inventor Les was killed off in the infamous bomb blast storyline, Norma remained with the series for years, returning for the final episode. Both characters also featured briefly in the Number 96 feature film version.
In one storyline, a fictional artist (played by Owen Weingott) visits the apartment and requests to paint a nude portrait of Norma; the painting is subsequently hung in the wine bar. This famed portrait of Norma, was in reality painted by the network's art director Eunice Dyer, and was based on "Chloé" a painting at a Melbourne hotel. After the series' demise it was given to Tom Oliver, who housed it at a wine establishment business he owned in Sydney Jacks Sellers[6] In a 2009 reunion with the cast of Number 96 on Where Are They Now?, Kennelly stated she had wanted to become a serious actor featuring in plays by such dramatists as Arthur Miller and Bertolt Brecht, but ended up in Number 96 instead as Norma, in which she used a blonde wig to disguise 'the real Sheila'. From 1980 until 1984, she appeared opposite Ross Higgins in the sitcom Kingswood Country. She played 'cheery wog', Rosa Berlucci who looked after Ted Bullpitt when his wife Thel played by Judi Farr left him. Throughout the 1980s, she continued to make appearances in serials such as Glenview High, childrens' series Secret Valley, The Flying Doctors and in a few guest roles in A Country Practice
In 1987, she was given the choice of appearing in a small role in the film Evil Angels. She stated at the time she would have loved to have been in the film, purely to be able to say she had appeared with Meryl Streep,[7] but ultimately turned it down to appear in new Seven Network soap opera Home and Away as one of 16 original characters. She played retired carnival worker Floss McPhee for the first year of screening, but was eventually written out, as the producers wanted to concentrate on a younger cast and updated formula.[3]
Kennelly's later roles included guest parts in The Flying Doctors, Big Sky (in 1997), and medical drama All Saints.
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Number 96 | Norma Whittaker | Feature film | |
| 1982 | Fluteman | Myra Hansen | Feature film | |
| 1987 | The Tale of Ruby Rose | Cook | Feature film | |
| 1993 | Shotgun Wedding | (Voice) | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Rape of the Belt | Hippobomene | TV play | |
| 1967 | You Can't See 'Round Corners | Guest role: Linda | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1968 | The Cell | Sister Veynard | TV movie | |
| 1968 | The Queen's Bishop | TV play | ||
| 1969 | Woobinda, Animal Doctor | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1969 | Tilley Landed On Our Shore | TV play | ||
| 1970 | Pastures of the Blue Crane | Rose Bradley | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1971 | The Comedy Game | TV series, season 1, episode: "Arthur" | ||
| 1972 | Division 4 | Guest roles: Mrs Allen / Mrs Villani | TV series | |
| 1972–1975 | Number 96 | Regular role: Norma Whittaker | TV series, 243 episodes | |
| 1977 | Number 96: The Final Night | Herself (with Number 96 cast) | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1977 | All at Sea | Mrs. Hand | TV movie | |
| 1978 | Puzzle | Mrs. Foster | TV movie US / Australia | |
| 1979 | Doctor Down Under | Guest role: Mrs. Ellis | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1979 | Glenview High | Recurring guest role: Val Deevney | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1979; 1980; 1982 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest | TV series, 3 episodes | |
| 1979 | Carrots | Regular role: Mabel Dobbs | TV series | |
| 1980; 1982 | Secret Valley | Regular role: Cecillia Cribbins | TV series, 14 episodes | |
| 1982–1984 | Kingswood Country | Regular role: Rosa Bertolucci | TV series, 31 episodes | |
| 1981 | Daily at Dawn | Recurring guest role | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1982 | Spring and Fall | Guest role: Marj | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1982–1993 | A Country Practice | Guest roles: Hazel Walmsley / Mary Sheridan / Val Laski | TV series, 6 episodes | |
| 1983 | Return to Eden | Lizzie | TV miniseries, 1 episode | |
| 1984 | Sweet and Sour | Recurring guest role: Darryl's Mum | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | Mail Order Bride | Dorothy | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Winners | Mrs. Tinsley | TV series | |
| 1985 | Anzacs | Recurring role: Mrs. Baker | TV miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 1986 | Kids 21st Birthday Channel Ten Telethon | Guest (with Number 96 cast: Johnny Lockwood, Bettina Welch, Elizabeth Kirkby, Vicki Raymond, Pat McDonald, Wendy Blacklock, Harry Michaels, Chard Hayward, Frances Hargreaves & Abigail) | TV special | |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Guest role: Hannah Robson | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1988–1989, 2000; 2002; 2004; 2008 | Home and Away | Regular / recurring role: Floss McPhee | TV series, 131 episodes | |
| 1990 | Come in Spinner | TV miniseries, 4 episodes | ||
| 1990 | How Wonderful! | Aunt Helen | TV movie | |
| 1990 | The Flying Doctors | Guest role: Merle Demster | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1991 | Hampton Court | Guest role: Mrs. Verstak | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1997 | Big Sky | Guest role: Betty | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 2001; 2007 | All Saints | Guest roles: Rada Verzina / Mary Moore | TV series, 4 episodes |
| Year | Production | Role | Venue / Co. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Under Milk Wood | Independent Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1959 | Sur Le Pont | Independent Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1960 | A View from the Bridge | Independent Theatre, Sydney, Cooma, Cooma, NSW, Broken Hill Town Hall | ||
| 1961 | Ondine | University of Sydney | ||
| 1961 | An Evening of Grands Guignoi | University of Sydney | ||
| 1962 | Shipwreck | Union Hall at University of Sydney | ||
| 1964 | How the West Was Lost | Neutral Bay Music Hall | ||
| 1967 | Virtue in Peril, or, Castle, Curses or Caresses | Neutral Bay Music Hall | ||
| 1968 | Her Only Mistake | Neutral Bay Music Hall | ||
| 1966 | The Face at the Window | Neutral Bay Music Hall, Sydney | ||
| 1969 | O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor | |||
| 1969 | The Sins of Society | Neutral Bay Music Hall | ||
| 1970 | Cox and Box | AMP Theatrette, Sydney | ||
| 1970 | Face of a Man | Majestic Cinemas, Sydney | ||
| 1971 | Flash Jim Vaux | Nimrod Street Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1971 | The National Health or Nurse Norton's Affair | |||
| 1971 | A Break in the Music | Independent Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1977 | The Visit | Edna | ||
| 1977 | The Political Bordello; or, How Waiters Got the Vote | Mrs | ||
| 1985 | The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet | Newcastle Region Art Gallery | ||
| 1986 | Farewell Brisbane Ladies | Playhouse, Newcastle | ||
| 1989 | Curtains | Northside Theatre, Sydney | ||
| 1991 | Steaming | Theatre Royal, Sydney | ||
| 1993 | Hot Taps | Riverside Theatres Parramatta | ||
| 1994 | Choice | Newcastle Civic Theatre, Bridge Theatre Coniston, Q Theatre Penrith | ||
| The Hostage |