Vale Anne Phelan, actor and activist

Remembered for her integrity and generosity as much as for her long stage and screen career, the actor Anne Phelan has died aged 75.

An accomplished actor, a proud unionist, activist and a champion of the performing arts, Anne Phelan died on Sunday 27 October aged 75 (though some sources put her age as 71).

A popular face on television, her career spanned six decades including roles on such programs as Bellbird (her break-through role), Matlock Police, The Harp in the SouthBlue Heelers and Winners & Losers.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts