Beloved Australian actress Lorraine Bayly has sadly passed away after experiencing “grueling” health issues for several years. She was 89 years old.
Bayly, commonly known for her starring role in the drama “The Sullivans,” died on Saturday, Feb 28, at a care home in Sydney, according to a Facebook statement shared by her dear friend and journalist Craig Bennett.
Lorraine Bayly Retired 10 Years Before She Passed Away
Bayly’s nephew Brad Connelly and his wife, Janelle, asked that Bennett announce the news of her passing, leading him to share a heartfelt tribute for the actress, who retired from her 60-year career only 10 years before she died.
“She trained at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre in the 50’s, played piano on radio, and made her TV debut on The Bobby Limb Show in 1962,” Bennett wrote of Bayly on his Facebook. “In 1966 she became an original presenter on Play School..and then came an avalanche of stage and screen roles, from Grace in The Sullivans to Jennifer in Carson’s Law, a role Hector Crawford crafted for Lorraine. She worked with Kirk Douglas in The Man From Snowy Rover and Edward Woodward on stage.”
“Little known fact: she hosted her own morning TV show, Clean As You Slim with Lorraine! Her big love was the stage, where she starred in over 50 plays and musicals,” Bennett continued. “Lorraine turned 89 last month. She loved spending time with Brad, Janelle and their kids Laura and Patrick on their macadamia farm at Maclean Ridge.”
Lorraine Bayly Remembered as a ‘Beautiful Person’
Bennett went on to highlight Bayly’s knack for trying new things, noting that she was privy to picking up new hobbies throughout her whole life. “Every decade Lorraine would learn something new, from playing tennis to the saxophone, to ballroom dancing! Vale to a most kind, classy, remarkable and beautiful person,” he wrote. “After years of grueling health issues, she’s now free and off onto her next wild adventure. Big block of chocolate in hand! LB was a self confessed chocoholic!”
Bayly’s last on-screen appearance was in the 2015 documentary “The Jewel of the Mountain.” Throughout her decades-long career, the actress appeared in a plethora of films and TV shows, including “Fatty Finn” (1980), “The Challenge” (1986), “Home Brew” (1989), “Grim Pickings” (1989), “Neighbours” (1991-1992), “Locks of Love” (2014) and many more, according to her IMDb.
In addition to her outstanding acting career, Bayly was also a writer, narrator, puppeteer, stage manager, and director as well as a dancer and pianist, her IMDb reported. As the daughter of a ventriloquist, Bayly learned the unique craft, performing on Michael Parkinson’s talk show in 1983.
May she rest in peace.
