Jeanne Little

Jeanne Mitchell OAM (11 May 1938 – 7 November 2020), professionally known as Jeanne Little, was an Australian entertainer, comedienne and television personality who won the Gold Logie award in 1977 (a dual honour that year with Don Lane winning as Best Male Personality). Her first success on television was on The Mike Walsh Show which earned her the Gold Logie plus two other Logies. Other television of appearances include Midday with Ray Martin and GMA with Bert Newton. She became well known for her flamboyant outfits, over-the-top personality and her trademark catch phrase said in a drawling speech of "Oh Dahling".[2]

Jeanne Little

OAM
Little in 2008
Born
Jeanne Mitchell

(1938-05-11)11 May 1938
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died7 November 2020(2020-11-07) (aged 82)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Television personality
  • actress
  • stage performer
  • singer
  • deviser
  • costume designer
[1]
Years active1969–2011
Known forAppearance on The Mike Walsh Show, Midday with Ray Martin, Beauty and the Beast
Spouse
Barry Little
​
(m. 1971⁠–⁠2019)​
(his death)

She was a regular panel member on the talk show Beauty and the Beast, during the tenure of "Beasts" Stan Zemanek and Doug Mulray.

She became known internationally after appearing on Sir Michael Parkinson's eponymous chat show. Her success transferred to cabaret and theatre when she landed roles on Jerry's Girls, Legends and Marlene – A Tribute to Dietrich.

Biography

Little was born in Sydney, Australia.[2] She made her television debut on Network Ten's The Mike Walsh Show in September 1974.[2] Invited on as a guest showcasing designer maternity clothes, Little quickly became a regular, eventually (after a stint at Channel Seven) moving with the Walsh Show to Channel Nine. The Seven Network had attempted two short-lived shows featuring Little's unique talents: Jeanne's Little Show (a variety/chat series) and Cuckoo in the Nest, a situation comedy in which she played a wacky Auntie Mame-type character.[3] As part of The Mike Walsh Show team again, Little wowed and won audiences for the next 15 years.[4]

She was a guest on the Midday with Ray Martin show,[3] and her appearance on the BBC's Michael Parkinson chat show so startled London critics she had the London Evening News saying: "What a woman! With her in the house you wouldn't want a TV."[2] Among the overseas guests she appeared with were US actor/comedians Phyllis Diller and George Burns,[3] and British theatre actor Danny La Rue.[5]

In 1976, Little won a Gold Logie for most popular television personality, and subsequently won two other Logies for her work on the Mike Walsh Show.[6] Before the 2008 Logie Awards, Little reflected on what her Gold Logie win in 1976 meant to her, "Well daaahling, I was in total shock. Absolute shock, I thought, 'What me? Winning a Gold Logie? For heaven's sake this is ridiculous, there's been a mistake.'"[2] During her heyday on television, she released a single entitled "Dahling, Are You Paying Attention?" which was named after her well-known catchcry.[2]

In 1988, she performed at the Royal Command Bicentennial Concert in Sydney before the Prince and Princess of Wales.[7] Her stage career took off with Jerry's Girls, in which American director John Frost teamed Little with well known entertainers Marcia Hines, Debra Byrne and Judi Connelli.[2] She then subsequently appeared in Legends with Kerrie Biddell, Toni Lamond, and Nancye Hayes at the Sydney Opera House.[2]

She appeared in theatre since 1978, including Marlene, Little's one-woman tribute to actress and singer Marlene Dietrich,[2] which toured Australia and the US to critical acclaim, followed by More of a Little, which was filled with songs, chat, and anecdotes, as well as A Tribute to Marilyn Monroe.[1]

In the late 1990s, through to the mid-2000s, Little appeared on the panel discussion show Beauty and the Beast, with "beast" Stan Zemanek.[2][3]

In February 2011, it was announced Little was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which was initially diagnosed in 2009.[8] In August 2014, family members advised that Little's illness had advanced to the stage that she "no longer knows where she is or what's going on around her".[9]

Personal life

Little married interior decorator Barry Little in 1971.[10] Their daughter, Katie Little is a writer, comedienne, music producer and singer under the name Mass Experience with her partner Timothy Poulton. Katie is patron of the Jeanne Little Alzheimer's Research Fund, which has been set up in her mother's honour to raise funds for ongoing research into the disease.[11] In 2019 Katie released a black humour memoir titled Catch a Falling Star.[12]

She was diagnosed with rapid-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2009, and was cared for in a Sydney nursing home, where her husband Barry (1929–2019) also resided.[13][14]

Little died on 7 November 2020 at the age of 82.[15]

Honours
Association Year Award Work Results
Logie Awards 1977 Gold Logie Various Won
Logie Award 1976 Most Popular Female The Mike Walsh Show Won
Australian Government 2001 Centenary Medal Service to the Community Honoured
Australian Government 2001 OAM Honoured

[16][17]

References
  1. "Jeanne Little – The Australian Live Performance Database". AusStage. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. "Flamboyant Australian entertainer and Gold Logie winner Jeanne Little dies aged 82". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "The Wonder and Heartbreak of Jeanne Little". Starts at 60. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. "The heartbreaking note Jeanne Little's daughter found after her diagnosis". 9 Now: Today. 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. "Jeanne Little: Australian TV icon dead at 82". Herald Sun. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. Williams, Glen (28 April 2008). "Jeanne's TV Week Logies frocks rock!". Woman's Day. ACP Magazines. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  7. Hackney, Peter (8 November 2020). "Little Lady, Big Legacy". Sydney Sentinel. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. Jeannie Little's Battle Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  9. Knox, David (26 August 2014). "Jeanne Little's family says her condition has deteriorated". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  10. O'Brien, Siobhan (2006). Hello Darling! the Jeanne Little story. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-74114-802-2.
  11. "Jeanne Little Alzheimer's Research Fund". NeuRA Foundation. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  12. "Catch a Falling Star by Katie Little". QBD Books. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. "Jeanne Little's daughter creates Alzheimer's fund". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  14. "Jeanne Little no longer knows where she is or what's happening around her". 9 News. Nine Digital. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  15. Han, Esther (7 November 2020). "Legendary Australian entertainer Jeanne Little dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  16. "Australian Honours 2001". Australian Government. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  17. "Australia Day 2001 Honours". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977 – 2012). 26 January 2001. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
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