Jeanne Little
{{Short description|Australian entertainer (1938–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jeanne Little
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|OAM}}
| image = Jeanne little may 2008 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Little in 2008
| years_active = 1969–2011
| birth_name = Jeanne Mitchell
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1938|05|11}}
| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| death_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2020|11|7|1938|5|11}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Television personality|actress|stage performer|singer|deviser|costume designer}}
| known_for = Appearance on The Mike Walsh Show, Midday with Ray Martin, Beauty and the Beast
| spouse = {{marriage|Barry Little|1971|2019}} (his death)
| children = 1, Katie Little
}}
Jeanne Mitchell {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} (11 May 1938{{spnd}}7 November 2020), professionally known as Jeanne Little (pronounced 'Jeanie Little'), was an Australian entertainer, comedienne and television personality who won the Gold Logie award in 1977 (a dual honour that year with Don Lane winning as Best Male Personality). Her first success on television was on The Mike Walsh Show which earned her the Gold Logie plus two other Logies. Other television of appearances include Midday with Ray Martin and GMA with Bert Newton. She became well known for her flamboyant outfits, over-the-top personality and her trademark catch phrase said in a drawling speech of "Oh Dahling".
She was a regular panel member on the talk show Beauty and the Beast, during the tenure of "Beasts" Stan Zemanek and Doug Mulray.
She became known internationally after appearing on Sir Michael Parkinson's eponymous chat show. Her success transferred to cabaret and theatre when she landed roles on Jerry's Girls, Legends and Marlene – A Tribute to Dietrich.
Biography
Little was born in Sydney, Australia.{{cite web|title=Flamboyant Australian entertainer and Gold Logie winner Jeanne Little dies aged 82|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-07/australian-entertainer-jeanne-little-dies/12860638|website=ABC News|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=7 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}} She made her television debut on Network Ten's The Mike Walsh Show in September 1974. Invited on as a guest showcasing designer maternity clothes, Little quickly became a regular, eventually (after a stint at Channel Seven) moving with the Walsh Show to Channel Nine. The Seven Network had attempted two short-lived shows featuring Little's unique talents: Jeanne's Little Show (a variety/chat series) and Cuckoo in the Nest, a situation comedy in which she played a wacky Auntie Mame-type character.{{cite web|title=The Wonder and Heartbreak of Jeanne Little|url= https://startsat60.com/media/opinion/nostalgia/the-wonder-and-heartbreak-of-jeanne-little|date=11 October 2016|website=Starts at 60|access-date=10 November 2020}} As part of The Mike Walsh Show team again, Little wowed and won audiences for the next 15 years.{{cite web|title=The heartbreaking note Jeanne Little's daughter found after her diagnosis|url=https://9now.nine.com.au/today/jeanne-little-alzheimers-daughter-katie-book/a3d73d09-180d-4bd5-aea7-0de19a97862c|website=9 Now: Today|year=2018|access-date=10 November 2020}}
She was a guest on the Midday with Ray Martin show, and her appearance on the BBC's Michael Parkinson chat show so startled London critics she had the London Evening News saying: "What a woman! With her in the house you wouldn't want a TV." Among the overseas guests she appeared with were US actor/comedians Phyllis Diller and George Burns, and British theatre actor Danny La Rue.{{cite web|title=Jeanne Little: Australian TV icon dead at 82|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/australian-television-icon-jeanne-little-dead-at-82/news-story/19490c452f9bc11383d583247050d7c8|website=Herald Sun|date=8 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}}
In 1976, Little won a Gold Logie for most popular television personality, and subsequently won two other Logies for her work on the Mike Walsh Show.{{cite news|first=Glen |last=Williams |title=Jeanne's TV Week Logies frocks rock! |date=28 April 2008 |publisher=ACP Magazines |url=http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=453129 |work=Woman's Day |access-date=5 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503091856/http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=453129 |archive-date= 3 May 2008 |url-status=dead }} Before the 2008 Logie Awards, Little reflected on what her Gold Logie win in 1976 meant to her, "Well daaahling, I was in total shock. Absolute shock, I thought, 'What me? Winning a Gold Logie? For heaven's sake this is ridiculous, there's been a mistake.'" During her heyday on television, she released a single entitled "Dahling, Are You Paying Attention?" which was named after her well-known catchcry.
In 1988, she performed at the Royal Command Bicentennial Concert in Sydney before the Prince and Princess of Wales.{{cite web|title=Little Lady, Big Legacy|date=8 November 2020|last=Hackney|first=Peter|url=https://sydneysentinel.com.au/2020/11/little-lady-big-legacy/|website=Sydney Sentinel|access-date=10 November 2020}} Her stage career took off with Jerry's Girls, in which American director John Frost teamed Little with well known entertainers Marcia Hines, Debra Byrne and Judi Connelli. She then subsequently appeared in Legends with Kerrie Biddell, Toni Lamond, and Nancye Hayes at the Sydney Opera House.
She appeared in theatre since 1978, including Marlene, Little's one-woman tribute to actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, which toured Australia and the US to critical acclaim, followed by More of a Little, which was filled with songs, chat, and anecdotes, as well as A Tribute to Marilyn Monroe.{{cite web|url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/230060|title=Jeanne Little – The Australian Live Performance Database|publisher=AusStage|access-date=10 November 2020}}
In the late 1990s, through to the mid-2000s, Little appeared on the panel discussion show Beauty and the Beast, with "beast" Stan Zemanek.
In February 2011, it was announced Little was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which was initially diagnosed in 2009.[http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/factsheets/article/-/article/8787086/jeanne-littles-alzheimers-fund/ Jeannie Little's Battle] Retrieved 6 February 2011. In August 2014, family members advised that Little's illness had advanced to the stage that she "no longer knows where she is or what's going on around her".{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2014/08/jeanne-littles-family-says-her-condition-has-deteriorated.html|title=Jeanne Little's family says her condition has deteriorated|last1=Knox|first1=David|date=26 August 2014|website=TV Tonight|access-date=26 August 2014}}
Personal life
Little married interior decorator Barry Little in 1971.{{cite book|last=O'Brien|first=Siobhan|title=Hello Darling! the Jeanne Little story|publisher=Allen & Unwin|year=2006|location=Sydney, NSW|pages=102|isbn=978-1-74114-802-2}} Their daughter, Katie Little is a writer, comedienne, music producer and singer. Katie is patron of the Jeanne Little Alzheimer's Research Fund, which has been set up in her mother's honour to raise funds for ongoing research into the disease.{{cite web|url=https://foundation.neura.edu.au/appeal/jeanne-little/|title=Jeanne Little Alzheimer's Research Fund|website=NeuRA Foundation|access-date=10 November 2020}} In 2019 Katie released a black humour memoir titled Catch a Falling Star - A Story About Growing Up With Jeanne Little.{{cite web|title=Catch a Falling Star by Katie Little|url=https://www.qbd.com.au/catch-a-falling-star/katie-little/9781760790578/|website=QBD Books|access-date=10 November 2020}}
She was diagnosed with rapid-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2009, and was cared for in a Sydney nursing home, where her husband Barry (1929–2019) also resided.{{cite web |title=Jeanne Little's daughter creates Alzheimer's fund |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-08/jeanne-littles-daughter-creates-alzheimers-fund/1934040 |website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=4 August 2018 |date=8 February 2011}}{{cite web |title=Jeanne Little no longer knows where she is or what's happening around her |url=https://www.9news.com.au/9stories/2016/09/30/12/09/jeanne-little-no-longer-knows-where-she-is-or-whats-happening-around-her |website=9 News |publisher=Nine Digital |access-date=4 August 2018 |date=25 August 2014}}
Little died on 7 November 2020 at the age of 82.{{Cite web|date=7 November 2020|title=Legendary Australian entertainer Jeanne Little dies|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/legendary-australian-entertainer-jeanne-little-dies-20201107-p56cgs.html|access-date=7 November 2020|last=Han|first=Esther|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}
Honours
| class="wikitable" />
| Association | Year | Award | Work | Results |
| Logie Awards
| 1977 | Various | {{Won}} |
| Logie Award
| 1976 | Most Popular Female | {{Won}} |
| Australian Government
| 2001 | Service to the Community | {{Honoured}} |
| Australian Government
| 2001 | | {{Honoured}} {{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1128162|title=Australian Honours 2001|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=3 June 2008}}{{Cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240295534 |title=Australia Day 2001 Honours|date=26 January 2001|work=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977 – 2012)|access-date=6 October 2019|pages=1}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|0514590}}
- {{Discogs artist|Jeanne Little}}
- [http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/people/Transcripts/s943749.htm Transcript of interview with Jeanne Little] on ABC show George Negus Tonight
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101111095328/http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/people/Transcripts/s943749.htm Transcript of interview with Jeanne Little] on ABC show Talking Heads
{{Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Jeanne}}
Category:Australian stage actresses
Category:Australian television personalities
Category:Australian women television personalities
Category:Australian women singers