Betty Bobbitt

Betty Ann Bobbitt (February 7, 1939 – November 30, 2020) was an American actress, director, singer, and playwright based in Australia, with a career that spanned over 60 years, encompassing theatre, television, and film.

Betty Bobbitt
Bobbitt in 2019
Born	Betty Ann Bobbitt (1939-02-07)7 February 1939 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	30 November 2020(2020-11-30) (aged 81) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupations	Actress director singer playwright
Years active	1957–2004, 2010–2020
Known for	Prisoner (also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H) (TV series) as Judy Bryant
Notable work	Cameos in Crocodile Dundee II, Crocodile Dundee III and The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee
Spouse	Robin Hill (divorced)
Partner	Mig Dann
Children	Oliver Bobbitt Christopher Hill

Bobbitt was best known for her small screen role in TV series Prisoner (known in the UK and North America as Prisoner: Cell Block H and Caged Woman in Canada) as lesbian mother figure Judy Bryant from 1980 to 1985, through 430 episodes.

Bobbitt was the second major star actress to portray a lesbian character in the series after Carol Burns, who played original character Franky Doyle.

In the series the character of Judy was convicted of smuggling drugs so she could be with her lesbian lover Sharon Gilmore in the fictional Wentworth Detention Centre, whilst inside and out of prison she was raped, survived a murder attempt, broke out on two occasions and discovered she had a long lost daughter.

The actress who portrays Judy Bryant's lover in the series Margot Knight, as inmate Sharon Gilmore, returned to the series for a second stint as Prison Officer Terri Malone, coincidently also a lesbian character, this time to regular character Joan Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick), making Knight the only actress to portray an LGBTQI character as both a prisoner and warden.

On film she had cameo roles appearing opposite Paul Hogan, in several of the Crocodile Dundee series including Crocodile Dundee II (1988), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), and the direct-to-video The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020).

Early life

Bobbitt was born in Manhattan, New York, to nurse Elizabeth Bobbitt née Sprout and Hubert Bobbitt, a steel mill worker and grew up in Norristown, a suburb of Philadelphia. She attended a Catholic school and Norristown High School.

Career

Bobbitt moved to Los Angeles, aged 18, to appear in a theatre production of Auntie Mame, she was approached by an Australian television producer who asked her if she "wanted to come to Australia and be funny". She was contracted for six months and appeared as a regular on a Melbourne television variety show, Daly at Night, as "a female Victor Borge, singing off-key and just plain acting like a dumb brunette". She was known in Australia in the early 1960s as "Betty Bobbitt the dizzy brunette from Big Bear", referencing a fictitious place ostensibly in Pennsylvania.

She subsequently married an Australian artist, Robin Hill, and had a son, Christopher, in England. Returning to Melbourne, Australia, she appeared in many theatre productions with the Melbourne Theatre Company. She also teamed up with future Prisoner stars Anne Phelan and Colette Mann in a 1970s stage show called The Glitter Girls who performed 1940s songs. Notable theatre included in Martin Cripps Cruel and Tender and Jean Cocteau of 'The Human Voice

Bobbitt was a fixture on Australian television from the mid-1960s with guest roles in serials including Matlock Police, Homicide, Cop Shop, A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, All Saints, Marshall Law, and  Blue Heelers.

She became best known for her role in Prisoner for her portrayal of lesbian character Judy Bryant, a series regular. She first appeared in the show in February 1980. After it started to gain a cult status in the US, billed as Prisoner: Cell Block H, an American actress was suggested by producers as a nod to local audiences. Her character was intended only for a short-term 13 episode appearance, but she became immensely popular, and was retained in the series. Bobbitt continued in the role until May 1985, making her the show's second-longest serving actor, at 429 episodes, second only to Elspeth Ballantyne as officer Meg Jackson/Morris, an original who appeared at the series' inception. After Prisoner, she continued in theatre roles and made guest appearance in television and film

During her time in Prisoner Bobbitt performed with fellow Prisoner cast members Jane Clifton and Colette Mann in a three-woman troupe named "The Mini Busettes" in the 1980s. They performed around Australia in RSL and similar clubs.

Bobbitt appeared in a guest role in TV series Neighbours in 2019, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Prisoner, she featured alongside fellow stars Jane Clifton, Jentah Sobott and Jenny Lovell, who arrive in Erinsborough to attend Sheila's Bookclub, in doing so she was reunited with other Prisoner co-stars who now star in the series, Colette Mann, who played regular Sheila Canning and Jackie Woodburne who has long played Susan Kennedy.

She had cameo roles in the Crocodile Dundee franchise starring Paul Hogan including Crocodile Dundee II and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (a.k.a.Crocodile Dundee III) and The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee.

In 2004, Bobbitt made a brief uncredited appearance in the American television remake of the Stephen King classic, Salem's Lot, and in 2010 in a thriller, Torn.

Publication

In 2011, Bobbitt self-published her book From the Outside (ISBN 9780646561332), which documents her life and career playing the role of Judy Bryant on Prisoner.

Death

Bobbitt died on 30 November 2020, aged 81, following a stroke.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	The Clinic	Wilma	Feature film
1988	Crocodile Dundee II	Tourist (Meg)	Feature film
1989	Edens Lost	Mabel	ABC TV miniseries, 1 episode
1992	Survive the Savage Sea	Mrs. Haines	Television film
1997	Doing Time for Patsy Cline	Connie	Feature film
2001	Crocodile Dundee III	American Lady	Feature film
2003	The Cadet	The Addict	Short film
2010	Torn	Daniel's Mother
2020	The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee	Betty	Feature film mockumentary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966, 1975–1976	Homicide	Vicki Franklin, Blossom, Customs Officer	3 episodes
1974	Stopover	Cashier	TV movie
1975	Matlock Police	Mrs. Nelson, Valerie Praitt	2 episodes
1978, 1979	Cop Shop	Helen Walsh, Peggy Morgan	4 episodes
1980–1985	Prisoner	Judy Bryant	Seasons 2–7 (main role, 429 episodes)
1981	Prisoner in Concert	Judy Bryant	Television special
1982	The Saturday Show	Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1984	Special Squad	Daisy	Episode: "Until Death"
1986	A Country Practice	Ellen Dainty	2 episodes
1989	In Melbourne Today	Guest - Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1991	The Flying Doctors	Jo Magee	Episode: "Johnno Be Good"
1991	In Sydney Today	Guest - Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Frankie's House	Surgeon	Miniseries
1994; 1996	Good Morning Australia	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1996; 1999	Good Morning Australia	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1998–1999	All Saints	Olivia McCreadie	2 episodes
1998	Denise	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1999	Good Morning Australia	Herself - Guest	TV series, 1 episode
2000	The Games	Betty, Media Liaison	Episode: "The End"
2002	Marshall Law	Wanda	Episode: "The Samovar"
2000	Blue Heelers	Madge Harcourt	2 episodes
2004	Salem's Lot		Uncredited
2019	Neighbours	Erica King	Season 35 (episode 8048)

External links

• Betty Bobbitt at IMDb
• Hear Betty talk about her life and career on The Soap Show Archived 29 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• Interview with Betty Bobbitt
• Betty Bobbitt official website Archived 18 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine