Ruth Cracknell
| Ruth Cracknell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 July 1925 Maitland, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 13 May 2002 (aged 76) Sydney, Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Eric Phillips† (3 children) |
Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character actress and author, her career encompassing many genres including radio, television, film, and especially theatre. She appeared in many dramatic as well as comedy roles throughout a career spanning some 56 years.
Cracknell was born in 1925 in Maitland, New South Wales to Charles and Winifred Cracknell. When she was four years old, the family moved to Sydney. She was educated at North Sydney Girls High School and, after graduating, worked at the Ku-ring-gai Council as a clerk. At 17 she was taken to the theatre by a friend. She immediately wanted to become an actress and joined the Modern Theatre Players drama school.
Cracknell's first acting jobs were in radio. By 1946, she was performing five episodes of radio plays a week. She also performed on stage with the Independent Theatre Company and the Mercury Theatre. In 1948, she joined the John Alden Company and had roles in King Lear, Measure for Measure and The Tempest. In 1952, at the age of 27, she left Australia to work in London for two years.
Cracknell appeared in many Australian film and TV productions, including the 1973 award-winning ABC-TV dramatisation of Ethel Turner's Australian children's classic Seven Little Australians. One of her first TV roles was in Reflections in Dark Glasses, a one-off drama broadcast in 1960.
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