Carol Raye

Carol Raye
AM
Born
Kathleen Mary Corkrey

(1923-01-17)17 January 1923
Rotherhithe, London, Middlesex, England
Died18 June 2022(2022-06-18) (aged 99)
Macleay Valley,[1] New South Wales, Australia
Other namesCarole Raye
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
  • comedian
  • radio and television producer
  • radio and television director
  • series creator
  • television executive
  • media personality
Years active1938–2000
Known forFilms –

Television – The Mavis Bramston Show as actress and producer
Number 96 As Baroness Amanda Von Pappenburg[2]
Spouse(s)1-Clark Spencer married 1945-?
2-Robert Ayre Smith married 1951-2006
Children3

Carol Raye[3] AM (17 January 1923 – 18 June 2022[2] as Kathleen Mary Corkrey and also billed as Carole Raye) was a British-born actress of film, television, radio, theatre and revue, comedian, singer, dancer, and radio and television creator, producer and director, she worked in her native England as well as internationally in Kenya and then Australia, where she was one of the first female television executives at a time when the industry was dominated by male counterparts.[1]

She was known for her career, spanning some seven decades from the late 1930s, firstly as a film star and theatre performer in the United Kingdom in which she would star, and often dance and sing, in such movies as Song of Romance, Strawberry Roan and Waltz Time, after which she briefly worked in Kenya, before immigrating to Australia, where she became notable for her small screen roles.[4]

Raye was best known as the producer and original star of the iconic TV satire The Mavis Bramston Show alongside Gordon Chater and Barry Creyton, as well as a semi-regular star of soap opera Number 96 as Baroness Amanda von Pappenburg, a wealthy socialite from Heidelberg, Germany, who regularly arrives at the iconic "96" to visit her nephew Don Finlayson, portrayed by Joe Hasham.[2]

As a notable media personality, she often appeared as herself on programs like The Mike Walsh Show and was a regular panellist on the game show Blankety Blanks and as a honoured guest on This Is Your Life.[2]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference smh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Vale: Carol Raye
  3. ^ "Spencer". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. 29 January 1946. p. 30. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).