Lee Grant (New Zealand actress)

Leonara Elizabeth Grant MBE (3 August 1931 – 22 July 2016), known professionally as Lee Grant or Miss Lee Grant, was an English-born New Zealand actress and singer.

Not to be confused with Lee Grant.

Born in Carshalton, Surrey, England, on 3 August 1931, Grant moved to New Zealand in the 1960s and became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in December 1980.[1][2] She was best known as a stage actress in Auckland from the 1960s onwards—being particularly associated with the Mercury Theatre[3]—but also appeared with Chic Littlewood in cabaret performances,[4] and in New Zealand's first television sitcom, Buck House, in 1974.[5] Her film appearances included Trial Run (1984) starring Annie Whittle, Constance (1984), Arriving Tuesday (1986) and Zilch! (1989).[6]

Grant was also a singer, although she suffered a recurrent throat problem and underwent a minor throat operation in 1969.[7][8] She appeared in musicals at the Mercury including the 1975 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,[9] and as Velma Kelly in Chicago.[10]

As well as singing and acting, Grant pursued a career as a choreographer, and was awarded a grant of $4000 by the Arts Council for a study trip to Canada.[11][12]

In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Grant was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the theatre.[13]

She moved to Perth, Western Australia, in 1994,[2] but returned to New Zealand on a number of occasions to appear on stage or in television productions, including Three Tall Women with the Auckland Theatre Company in 1996,[14] and the television drama, Coalface, in 1997, during which she was injured and subsequently required a hip replacement.[15]

Grant died in Perth on 22 July 2016, aged 84.[5][16][17]

References
  1. "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. Sunday Star Times. 30 October 1994. p. D2.
  3. "Mercury Theatre: records (1966–1992)". Auckland City Libraries. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. "Auckland at night". New Zealand Herald. 27 May 1967.
  5. "Lee Grant". NZ On Screen. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  6. Lee Grant at IMDb
  7. "Satisfactory after minor operation". Auckland Star. 22 December 1969.
  8. "Voice trouble for singer". New Zealand Herald. 13 May 1970.
  9. "Old tale arrayed In sparkling modern guise". New Zealand Herald. 27 January 1975.
  10. De Boni, Dita (21 September 2001). "Sex, sin and all that jazz". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. "Grant Of $4000 for actress". New Zealand Herald. 9 January 1975.
  12. Harris, Roger (30 January 1975). "Singing, acting & choreography". Auckland Star.
  13. "No. 52564". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 15 June 1991. p. 30.
  14. Herrick, Linda (3 March 1996). "Theresa and co's tall order". Sunday Star Times. p. 4.
  15. "Hard-bitten role trips up veteran". Sunday Star Times. 19 October 1997. p. 9.
  16. "Cemetery search". Metropolitan Cemeteries Board. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  17. "Lee Grant death notice". The New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
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