Maggie Dence
| Maggie Dence | |
|---|---|
 Maggie Dence in January 2013 | |
| Born |
1 February 1942 Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation | Television personality |
| Spouse(s) | Graham Rouse |
Maggie Dence (born 1 February 1942) is an Australian stage, film and television actress. She is best known on television for her early comedy work and soap opera roles.
Professional career
Stage
Dence is well known to Sydney theatre audiences for the very large number of roles she has played, in particular with the Nimrod Theatre Company. She has also appeared in Panto in the UK.
Television
From 1966–1968 she had played various characters in the influential Australian satirical sketch comedy program The Mavis Bramston Show. One of her characters was the title character Mavis Bramston – the joke being that Mavis appeared in only the opening segment of each episode and was not seen again thereafter. She was also a recurring guest in the popular 1980s sitcom Kingswood Country, playing the snobbish Merle Bulpitt.
Her best-known soap opera roles include the sweet Rose Sullivan in The Sullivans between 1976–1978, as evil psychopath and serial killer Bev "The Beast" Baker in Prisoner Cell Block H in 1984, and as school teacher Dorothy Burke in Neighbours in the early 1990s. Dence also had guest roles in A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Heartbreak High.
Film
In 2005 she appeared in the award-winning Australian film Look Both Ways. In 2008 she appeared in the BBC/Southern Cross soap Out of the Blue.
Television & Film Credits
| Years | Program | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008— | Out of the Blue | Olive |
| 2008 | Chad Chucker | Daisy |
| 2006 | Small Claims: The Reunion | Roma |
| 2005 | Look Both Ways | Joan |
| 2003 | Peter Pan | Lady Quiller Couch |
| 1998—2003, 2007 | All Saints | Lyn Brown, June Markham, Maggie Cooper |
| 2003 | Danny Deckchair | Meredith Butcher |
| 2002 | Always Greener | Sister. Stern |
| 2000 | Stingers | Celia Jones |
| 2000 | Grass Roots | Ellen Leonard |
| 2000 | Water Rats | Joy Turner |
| 1998 | Driven Crazy | Granny Rose |
| 1998 | Blue Heelers | Liz Schulz |
| 1995 | Corelli | Maureen Barnes |
| 1990—1993 | Neighbours | Dorothy Burke |
| 1990 | More Winners: The Big Wish | Lady Mikeevil |
| 1989 | Luigi's Ladies | Shandra |
| 1981—1989 recurring cast member | A Country Practice | Jan Hardy, Courtney Fraser, Blanche Mitchell, Victoria Fleming |
| 1988 | Edens Lost | Producer |
| 1988 | Act of Betrayal | Dorothy |
| 1988 | Cherith | |
| 1987 | The Perfectionist | Rosie Peters |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Helen Manning |
| 1985 | Possession | Lady Shannon |
| 1979—1984 | Kingswood Country | Merle Bulpitt |
| 1984 | Prisoner | Bev Baker |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invicible | Italian Woman |
| 1981 | A Town Like Alice | Mrs. O'Connor |
| 1981 | The Best of Friends | Shop Assistant |
| 1980 | Trial by Marriage | |
| 1979 | Doctor Down-Under | Mrs. Peabody |
| 1976 | The Sullivans | Rose Sullivan |
| 1967—1975 recurring cast member | Homicide | Anne, Elaine Flemming |
| 1974 | Silent Number | Janet Kay |
| 1973 | Division 4 | Marion Evans |
| 1973 | Boney | Mrs. Coutts |
| 1972 | Nice Day at the Office | |
| 1971 | Wake in Fright | Receptionist |
| 1970 | The Link Men | Edie Whitman |
| 1968—1969 | I've Married a Bachelor | |
| 1966—1968 | The Mavis Bramston Show | Mavis Bramston |
Awards
Maggie Dence was named (on 29 September) the 2011 recipient of the Equity Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding services to the performing arts – both stage and screen – and her longstanding involvement with the NSW Actors' Benevolent Fund. The award, presented by Foxtel, is from Maggie's peers and members of her union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance Equity (Performers) Section, which Maggie joined in 1962.