|
|
 | |
 1930 - 2013 |
Home
Search
Print
Login
Add Bookmark
-
| Birth |
c 1930 |
| Gender |
Female |
| Died |
26 Jan 2013 |
Sydney  |
| Person ID |
I0167 |
Forsyth Tanners |
| Last Modified |
10 Jul 2022 |
| Father |
Harold George Parr, b. 1901, Paddington Reg No 15630/1901 , d. 23 Mar 1970, St Leonards Reg No 18648/1970 |
| Mother |
Letitia Evelyn Forsyth, b. 5 Jan 1906, 39 Hayberry St Crows Nest. St Leonards Reg No 7709/1906 , d. 21 Apr 1986, Milsons Point |
| Married |
1927 |
North Sydney. Sydney Reg No 5491/1927 |
| Family ID |
F021 |
Group Sheet |
-
-
| Notes |
- LOVELL,
Patricia AM, MBE.
26 January, 2013.
Film Producer, Actor and Teacher. Mother of Jenny and Simon, proud Grandmother of Maddy and Lauren.
Remembered as a champion of Australian Film, a gifted mentor and inspiration to many.
Family, colleagues and friends are warmly invited to a Celebration of PATS Life at St. Thomas Anglican Church, corner Church and McLaren Streets, North Sydney, on Monday (February 4, 2013) at 11 a.m.
By request no flowers. Please consider a donation to Dementia Research or Hammond Care Dementia Centre. 1300 426 666. www.hammond.com.au
Ann Wilson Funerals
An Australian Company
9971 4224
----------------------------------------------------
Patricia Lovell - From Wikipedia
Patricia Lovell is an Australian film producer whose work within the that country's film industry led her to receive the Longford Life Achievement Award in 2004 from the Australian Film Institute (AFI).[1] One of her productions, Gallipoli, received an AFI Award in 1982 as best film. Two of her other films, Break of Day and Monkey Grip, were AFI Best Film nominees.[1]
Early life and career
Patricia Anna Parr[2][3] was likely born in either Artarmon or Willoughby, the second child and first daughter of Luticia Evelyn nee Forsythe and Harold George Parr.[4] Her childhood was a painful one, marked by the deaths of three of her siblings (one of whom died the day she was born) and the divorce of her parents.[4] She attended Presbyterian Ladies' College, Armidale but "didn't do well in the Leaving at all" and failed to get a university pass.[4]
She began her career in radio and television. She was Miss Pat on ABC TV's Mr. Squiggle.[4] In 1964 she became what she characterized as "one of the minor beauties"[4] on the panel of Beauty and the Beast. When The Today Show began in 1969, she joined that show; it was there as an interviewer where she met Peter Weir, the director with whom she would produce her two best-known films, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli.[4]
Personal life
Lovell met her husband, the actor Nigel Lovell, through the Metropolitan Theatre in Sydney; the two had two children.[4] Because Patricia and Nigel were both well known names in the Australian television and film industry, their divorce became front page news in The Sun.[4]
Filmography
Tosca: A Tale of Love and Torture (a 2000 made-for-television documentary)
The Perfectionist (1987)
Monkey Grip (1982)
Gallipoli (1981)
Summerfield (1977)
Break of Day (1976)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Patricia Lovell (1995). No picnic : an autobiography. Sydney : Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-732-90823-X.
Brian McFarlane, Geoff Mayer, Ina Bertrand (Ed.) (1999). The Oxford companion to Australian film. Melbourne, Australia ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553797-1.
------------------------------------------------------------
Transcript of ABC Talking Heads program
Screened: 24/04/2006 Patricia Lovell
Peter Thompson catches up with Australian Film Producer Patricia Lovell, and talks about her early television career as Miss Pat on ABC's Mr Squiggle, other roles on Beauty and the Beast, and The Today Show, and her experiences Producing the Australian classics, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli.
PETER THOMPSON: Film producer Pat Lovell had a painful childhood marked by the deaths of two sisters and a brother, and her parents' divorce. So, what a relief it must've seemed working on TV as Miss Pat on 'Beauty and the Beast' and then the 'Today Show'. There she met film director Peter Weir. She had an idea for a film herself. 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'. Tonight's talking head is Pat Lovell. Patricia, lovely to meet you.
PATRICIA LOVELL: It's great to meet you. Thanks for coming to Talking Heads. When you went to hanging rock for the first time, tell us about that experience.
PATRICIA LOVELL: We had thought that we'd save money by maybe doing the story in the Blue Mountains. I mean, you know, we thought a rock is a rock, you know, a mountain's the same. And it was only when we drove over from Mt Macedon and we drove down and we saw in the valley this extraordinary eruption of rock and trees that's just sitting there. All on its own. And there were no clouds in the sky but there was one tiny cloud just hanging over it. And we, we went completely silent. I was immediately terror struck. But we knew then that we could never film it anywhere else.
PETER THOMPSON: Terror struck?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yeah, it did terrify me.
PETER THOMPSON: Why?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Because it was so alien to the rest of the countryside.
PETER THOMPSON: How much of 'Picnic' is real? How much of Joan Lindsay's story is real?
PATRICIA LOVELL: I think it's half and half. People are always asking, "Did it actually happen?" In her mind, it certainly happened. But she grew up in that area, in the Macedon area, and I think that rock probably haunted her as a child. And there were children who had been found dead. They'd got lost and then found dead. But that was all. So, whether that triggered something in Joan, I don't know. But I really believe it now because I know you could easily disappear up there.
PETER THOMPSON: It's a most amazing story. Let's look at your own early story.
PATRICIA LOVELL: I'm quite unsure as to actually where I first came into the world. I think it was either Artarmon or Willoughby. I never found I discussed it with my parents at all. But then my father, who was an optometrist, moved to the western suburbs. He found a very good practice in Campsie. And they're my first memories, that house, which was a big, old wooden federation house with a magnificent back garden with plum trees to be climbed. And the front garden we weren't allowed in because of my father's practice which was in the two front rooms. My mother's name was Luticia Evelyn Forsythe and she was one of eight children. My father was Harold George, and he was an only child, and hideously spoilt. The first child was Peter, and he died as I was being born. And I do think that shadow was over my head as a child because my father was exceptionally loving towards me, but my mother, I always wondered why she was a little bit offhand about it. Two years after I was born, my brother Timothy was born. And he was born with a huge fat intolerance which, of course, they can now cure. But he died when he was six years old. And, of course, I knew him very well and adored him. Even though my childhood was dogged with tragedy, really, we also had some lovely, happy times because when Tim was alive, and when he was well, he and Jeff and I, we really did have a lot of fun because we used to make up games. And I lived in a sort of, um, other world a lot of the time. 11 years after Jeff was born, my mother had another daughter. My sister Susan. Who was wonderful and healthy. And I was thrilled because I was old enough at 11, to help get cribs ready and to do all of that. And then, 18 months after that, Elizabeth was born. And at that stage I know things were strained between them, because I don't think he wanted the second daughter. And, um, we were packed off to Moree. My mother's eldest sister lived in Moree, who was a darling woman. But, of course, Moree was... I mean, there's this flat land with nothing. And it was so different to anything. The only good thing about it was, I was given a bike and learnt to ride. And I had a thing on the back which I used to carry Susan on. But unfortunately little Elizabeth, um, got very ill. And my mother took her to Sydney, but they couldn't save her. And she had a hole in the heart. So, you know, it was, you know, three out of six survived. I knew always that I had to do better than anybody else if I could to make up for it. I'd become a tremendous tomboy in Moree. I was always climbing up trees. So, I was glad when I was sent off to the Presbyterian Ladies College, PLC Armidale. I didn't do well in the Leaving at all. I didn't get a university pass. But I think it was because of the divorce. I can't say it was a really totally cheerful childhood.
PETER THOMPSON: And that has to be an understatement.
PATRICIA LOVELL: You know, it had magic moments. But the sadness and the mourning that one has to go through is intolerable, you know. It was intolerable.
PETER THOMPSON: What's it like to lose a brother? Because Tim was a playmate.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yeah. And my mother told me, I was sent off when he got very ill to friends of theirs in Chatswood, and she actually told me on the electric train going back to Campsie. And I just was numb. I couldn't, you know, as a child, I just couldn't cope with it at all. But I didn't want to show feelings. I think I got this from my grandmother, from Gran Pat. She very rarely, you know, she always was in control. But it just stayed with me for so long.
PETER THOMPSON: One of the things you learned, much, much later, as an adult, was how close to your birth was the death of your older brother Peter.
PATRICIA LOVELL: It was actually when my father died, the day that we were going to his funeral, and it was my birthday. And my mother said, "Yes, this is the anniversary of Peter's death." I mean, I just went... You know, the hair... just telling you, I can feel... ..because I had no idea. I'd always been told as a child that he died before I was born. But not on the day I was born. I can't imagine. I mean, I understood more of my mother after that and because of the distance she put between us.
PETER THOMPSON: You used the word there, offhanded, that she...she was somewhat offhanded with you.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, yes. It was, "Patricia," you know, "You must learn this or you must learn that." She wasn't as tough on Jeff and Sue as she was on me - ever. I always had to take the blame for everything. But, yet she used to read to us every night. I mean, we were so lucky as children.
PETER THOMPSON: What about your dad? How did he cope with these terrible losses?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Well, he was a sweet guy, and I loved him. How he coped, I don't know. It must've been shockingly hard for him to lose two sons. I mean, he didn't know his baby daughter. But to lose two sons, I think he didn't ever recover.
PETER THOMPSON: It's not surprising, really, even though it was unusual in those days, that they were ultimately to separate and effectively, divorce.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yeah. It was very divisive, and one just had to keep one's cool. And I'd spend some holidays with my mother in Moree and then going to Sydney and staying with my father. And because he was courting another woman and wanted me out of the way, I went to the movies all the time.
PETER THOMPSON: And that no doubt was very significant for your later love of movies and how things were to turn out.
PATRICIA LOVELL: I think so. I didn't think so at the time, you know, but I guess it was. I always...I did grow up with movies.
PETER THOMPSON: Well, as you say, your matriculation result, well, a bit of a disaster really.
PATRICIA LOVELL: My father...my father was furious. Absolutely furious. "She's seen too many movies."
PETER THOMPSON: But how does that fit with that thing you also said about you felt like you needed to do things better than anyone else?
PATRICIA LOVELL: I know. And I was very...
PETER THOMPSON: Must've been terrible pressure.
PATRICIA LOVELL: It was a terrible situation to be in. But I think the minute I did leave school, that was when I really thought, "I've got to do something better than any other, you know, child. "I must actually do things."
PETER THOMPSON: And it was your mother who, in a sense behind the scenes, managed to get you a job at the ABC.
PATRICIA LOVELL: She did. And my father was absolutely furious.
PETER THOMPSON: Again.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Again. He was furious. But, of course, he was quite happy once I started to do the radio show, and then when television came, "My daughter is on television." He was very proud.
PETER THOMPSON: It was also through the ABC that you met your husband, Nigel.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yes, yes. Although, it was more through theatre that I met him. There was a little theatre in Sydney in those years called the 'Metropolitan Theatre'. He also was recording at the ABC when I was working in sound effects there.
PETER THOMPSON: As it turned out, it was an odd little man from the moon that helped make you famous. We should have a look at that.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Now, listen...
PETER THOMPSON: Hurry up.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, Mr Blackboard.
MR SQUIGGLE: You heard that, Miss Pat?
PATRICIA LOVELL: I heard it alright.
MR SQUIGGLE: So did I.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Dick rang me, Dick Parry rang me and said, "Look, could you come in and try." I said, "I've had no training. They've all had training. "I don't know anything about television." And the only instructions I was given, "Pat, there are two cameras. "When the light goes on, you know, look at that one." And that was it. Um, it's not an octopus, is it?
MR SQUIGGLE: You're right, Miss Pat.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Mr Squiggle.
MR SQUIGGLE: You're very good today.
(Pat sings on 'Children's TV Club') # As I was going to Strawberry Fair... #
PATRICIA LOVELL: And from then on, I did do television. In '64, I was asked by the divine Graham McPherson to come onto the panel of 'Beauty and the Beast', as one of the minor beauties, I have to say.
ELLIS BLAIN: And, on my extreme right, in red and black and white spots...
PATRICIA LOVELL: They're actually blue and white spots. You're slightly colourblind...
ELLIS BLAIN: I know, love.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Hello, everybody. And I'm terribly pleased to see you, colourblind or not.
ELLIS BLAIN: Haven't said who you are yet.
PATRICIA LOVELL: I beg your pardon.
ELLIS BLAIN: Pat Lovell.
PATRICIA LOVELL: When the 'Today Show' began in '69 I also worked on that. The absolute turning point in my career was being in front of camera on the 'Today Show' to knowing how exciting it could be behind the camera. Interviewing all those people, seeing what was going on, was how I met Peter Weir. He'd made a short film called 'Homesdale'. And it was because of 'Homesdale' that I gave him 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' to read.
PETER WEIR, 1975: Reading the book for the first time, it was irresistible reading. It was the unease, the tremendous unease that the book created. It's in my line of work. The sort of films I've done in the past deal with this sort of thing. And so I began to look for what caused that unease. I couldn't wait to get to the rock to see if it was as good as it read. And I tried to get some of that feeling into the film.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Then, of course, Peter came back to me and said, "Look, I'd like to do this... "I've always had this in the back of my mind "to do this film on Gallipoli." And that was the prize present of all time. 'Gallipoli' was the highlight. And working with Peter Weir, we've remained very good friends. Actually producers and directors don't often do that. And I remember that one night on location, I think we were above the beach, which was then in South Australia, our Gallipoli beach, and Mark came to me and he said, "You don't remember me, do you?" And I said, "Yes, I do, you're starring in the film." And he said, "No. Don't you remember? I was your son when I was eight in a cheese commercial." And I thought, I said, "I wish you hadn't said that." We still laugh about it and, of course, we are great friends and we do see one another every so often. And David knows where all the bodies are buried and where the footage is. Producing is one of the most difficult...and so much responsibility is on the producer for the film. You wear it on your head. And I do think you've got to be awfully strong to do it. The producer must have that creative urge to really create something and then bring everybody along with them.
PETER THOMPSON: Let's talk about your producing roles in a moment, but firstly, Miss Pat, on 'Beauty and the Beast', as a presenter on the 'Today Show', that's quite a lot.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Often all in one day. I'd be up at 4:30 in the morning and ready to get out and get there and read the newspapers at 6:00 in the morning. Because we only had one journalist on that program.
PETER THOMPSON: That's a lot.
PATRICIA LOVELL: So we really did work damn hard.
PETER THOMPSON: Now there can be minor drawbacks with this public face that you've got. Like the fact that your divorce becomes front page of the newspapers.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was. We had our photos on the front page of 'The Sun', I think.
PETER THOMPSON: With your address.
PATRICIA LOVELL: It was absolutely horrible. Because, you know, neither of us wanted that to happen. And I didn't want to do that to Nigel either. I mean, you know, he'd fathered these two gorgeous kids and I'd adored him. And you don't want that to happen, but it did. That's the problem.
PETER THOMPSON: This crossover point where you decide what's going on behind the cameras is very exciting. Was it inevitable, given your love of theatre?
PATRICIA LOVELL: You know, I think if I hadn't read 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', if I hadn't picked it up at the newsagent's, wasn't given to me, and read it...
PETER THOMPSON: You did a book of it on television, didn't you?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yeah, and I was suggesting to the viewers that this would make a marvellous film. And then I started to think about it and then, because of Peter, I thought, "This is very Weir." So, I did actually say to him, you know, I took it around and said, "Pete, would you please read this?" And he was so busy working on 'Cars That Ate Paris' I think he left it for about three to four months. And then suddenly he rang me, screaming on the phone, "I've got to do this. What do we do? What do we do next?" I said, "Right, I will fly us economy to Melbourne and we will stay with friends overnight and we're going to try and meet Joan Lindsay and we will also go to the rock." So, we did this el cheapo thing, I'm very ashamed of it now. It wasn't what big Hollywood producers would do.
PETER THOMPSON: This is very much the Australian film industry.
PATRICIA LOVELL: This is, yeah, the Australian film industry. And it was all done on the cheap.
PETER THOMPSON: So, there you are, you find yourself as a producer.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Mmm, which was quite horrifying at night when I'd wake up and think about it. Because, I knew all the basics. That one gets the rights to something and then one gets a screenwriter, I knew that much. But I didn't know much else. And I learnt on the job as it were.
PETER THOMPSON: Ultimately, success in these things, because I've always thought films are made against all the odds, success in these things requires someone with a belief. And you and Peter Weir obviously had that joint... that joint belief about this film.
PATRICIA LOVELL: The more people said, "Don't do it and you can't do it," the more passionate I became. And I do think that a producer needs to be passionate because you have to live with the darn thing for so long. If it's a success, you live with it for the rest of your life. But also, so you can't be ashamed of it. But also, I mean, the whole process of filming takes such a long time.
PETER THOMPSON: Well, if 'Picnic' was important for the industry, then 'Gallipoli' was important for the whole of Australia, really, because it's the central myth, isn't it? It's sacred territory you're getting yourself into there.
PATRICIA LOVELL: It was sacred territory. And, you know, when I met some of the... some of the survivors of Gallipoli were still alive, and there were two wonderful guys in South Australia and they thought the film was a load of rubbish. They said to me it wasn't like that at all. But there was one guy who'd been in Canberra all his life and he was, I think he was 86 when I met him, and he came out and he gave me a huge hug at the Canberra screening. He said, "Pat, Peter and you have captured it perfectly."
PETER THOMPSON: It's true too that you really had to fight every inch of the way for recognition.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, absolutely.
PETER THOMPSON: Not a pretty story.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Still do. I mean, I still do. You know, to get in the door anywhere, I still do. It's tough. Each time you have to go back to scratch, "Oh, you know, can she still do it?" You know.
PETER THOMPSON: Initially it's could you do it, now it's can you still do it.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yes, can you still do it? And I think I'm determined now. I've had, sort of, two bad years thinking about it, but I've now got a huge determination to actually make another film. And a really tough one. But I'm hoping to do it in Europe.
PETER THOMPSON: Let's fast-forward and have a look at how things are happening right now.
PATRICIA LOVELL: I'm feeling full of energy, hopefully, this is going to last. I did lose it a bit a couple of years ago. But I've slowly built up that energy again. At the moment there seems to be a lot going on, and, er, I'm trying to get a documentary off the ground. I have been for the last nine months. I'm just looking forward to doing a bit of part-time teaching and trying to inspire another group, um, to get on with it. And because we do need good producers in this country. Good, creative producers. Being able to buy this house was a real plus. Because I suddenly felt settled probably for the first time in my life. And it's a huge comfort. Just looking out at the gum trees and the water, and the boats occasionally. And the birds around here are magnificent. Absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, if I don't get another feature film, I will possibly have to sell it and I'll worry about that when it happens. Uh-uh, don't pull me over. Don't pull me over. To relax, I take the dogs for a walk, or play with them. I listen to a tremendous amount of music. I do go to the movies a lot. I go to the theatre when I can. I'm in the State Theatre in Market Street, and it is truly a magical place still for me all these years later. I was first brought here by my grandmother when I was quite small, er, to the movies. And at present I'm standing in the mezzanine, which is the best part of this marvellous theatre come cinema. And she always felt she needed the best seats, so I feel very much at home in this area. KG Hall. Ken Hall. It was KG who encouraged me immensely. I have notes that he sent me which I will keep to my heart for the rest of my life because he encouraged me.
(Reads) "My dear Pat. I often think of you, the great battle you've had, and the success you have enjoyed. Bless you. You were one of the real and few McCoys. Sincerely, Ken Hall. June, 1990."
PATRICIA LOVELL: One needs to enjoy life with all its difficulties. because, otherwise, you know, it overwhelms. And I refuse to be overwhelmed.
PETER THOMPSON: That letter from Ken Hall, did he help you get that determination to carry through?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Well, he did, because KG was a remarkable man. I mean, there he was in the '30s, he made all these films. All made money except one but that one broke even. I mean, I think 'Picnic' was having an opening screening at the State Theatre, and I was being treated like an also-ran. You know, there were people saying, "She's a television person." You could just feel it. And suddenly, this very tall man loomed above me, but he said, "I'm Ken Hall." And I said, "I know." And he said, "Listen, my dear, I know who made this film and you must keep going." He said, "Congratulations, and I'll always be there for you."
PETER THOMPSON: But there was plenty of money around, in those days particularly in the film industry, but it's pretty obvious, you're not rich.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, no. I've got the house, thank heaven.
PETER THOMPSON: The image is if you've got properties, if you like, like 'Picnic' and like 'Gallipoli' you should've done very, very well out of it.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, no. But I had to, I mean... You know, in bad times, when you're going to have to sell your house, you actually have to hive those off. You know, the interest you have in those has to be given to somebody else for money so you save your house.
PETER THOMPSON: Your house is your one serious asset. And at times you've really felt you've gone close to the wind with it, haven't you?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, yeah, I'm close to the wind now. But I try not to think about it, I'm very good at that. I'm very good at putting the bad things behind me, on the best days, and actually thinking, "OK, now I'm going to do this, this and this."
PETER THOMPSON: That's the grown-up Patricia dealing with some of the stuff that's was still left over as a child, isn't it?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Yep. I don't think you can ever completely lose your childhood. I think it does stay with you. And, you know, I think that the reason I keep trying to do things, is probably, you know, the thought of those kids that didn't get a chance. It was wonderful working, I worked at film school teaching, and that, that was heaven. And they, I think, some of my graduates are really going to come up with some good stuff. They already have. While at the school, four of them were nominated for Academy Awards for Short Film or Animation. And, I mean, that's really something. I mean, I was so proud, you know. Terribly proud.
PETER THOMPSON: So, you see there's no lack of talent.
PATRICIA LOVELL: No.
PETER THOMPSON: Is there a lack of money? Is there a lack of passion?
PATRICIA LOVELL: There's a lack of passion, in a way, and it's not recognised sometimes by people putting up the money. They don't understand what it means. That if you have passion, real passion for something, it'll work. If you don't, or if you back off, it won't.
PETER THOMPSON: Now, you can have passion but you can't teach it, can you?
PATRICIA LOVELL: No. You can inspire.
PETER THOMPSON: What inspires you now?
PATRICIA LOVELL: Well, a proper...a book, a property. If I read it and I can see it and I can visualise it, and I am drawn to the characters, that inspires me. And I think that should maybe be done.
PETER THOMPSON: This flame's still shining bright.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Oh, shining brightly, yeah.
PETER THOMPSON: Your life looks pretty good these days.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Do you think so?
PETER THOMPSON: Yeah.
PATRICIA LOVELL: I do feel...I am beginning to feel very positive. I had some really dark days over the past two years, but I am getting that positiveness back and every time I feel really down, I look at those two dogs and I think, "Yes, I've got to keep feeding you and I've got to keep walking you, "so, let's go."
PETER THOMPSON: Patricia, your life has been so amazing, it's encompassed so much. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
PATRICIA LOVELL: Thank you, Peter.
PETER THOMPSON: And that's Patricia Lovell. But we'll be back again next week with another program.
|
|
|
Find
Surnames
Bookmarks
Places
Dates
Cemeteries
Search People
Search Families
Photos
Documents
Histories
Recordings
Videos
Albums
All Media
What's New
Most Wanted
Reports
Statistics
Notes
Sources
Repositories
Contact Us
Home
Search
Print
Login
Add Bookmark
Individual
Ancestors
Descendants
Relationship
Timeline
