Jill Perryman

Perryman became a staple of Australian showbusiness, having performed on stage from the age of three in a production of the famed Austrian operetta The White Horse Inn.

Perryman in 1952, then aged 19, joined the company of J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd as a member of the chorus and in the following year was understudying leading roles in stage musicals, under Evie Hayes in a local production of Call Me Madam.[9]

Perryman was strong in voice and personality, and a long series of understudy and small roles eventually led her, through the recommendation of John McCallum (who was then joint managing director of J. C. Williamson Theatres), to take the lead in the key Australian production of Funny Girl, a performance that won her an Erik Award for Best Actress and led to major roles in other productions. These included I Do! I Do! in 1969, and The Two of Us in 1971. No, No, Nanette in 1972 won her another Erik Award for Best Actress for her role as Lucille Early, then in 1973 she starred in A Little Night Music.[10] In 1976 she played Gladys Zilch in Leading Lady, a musical production created especially for her. She also toured during 1977 in Side by Side by Sondheim. She played Miss Hannigan in Annie in 1978.

Perryman won the A.F.I. (Australian Film Institute) Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 1980.[11]

She toured in the musicals Chicago in 1988 and The Boy From Oz in 1998.[1]

Perryman was born in May 1933 in Melbourne, Victoria, into a family of performers. Her father was Melbourne-born actor William Harland-Perryman and her mother was Adelaide-born actress and singer Dorothy Eileen Duval; they had married in 1923.[12]

Perryman is married to choreographer Kevin Johnston, and they have a son and daughter. Their son Tod Johnston is an actor, musician and media personality, and their daughter is actress Trudy Dunn. Trudy's daughter McKenzie Dunn is also an actress.[13][14]

[1]

Film

Television

• Jill Perryman Collection, in the Performing Arts Collection and Arts Centre Melbourne.