Anne Haddy

Anne Haddy
Haddy as Helen Daniels in Neighbours
Born	(1930-10-05)5 October 1930 Quorn, South Australia, Australia
Died	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–1997
Spouse(s)	Max Dimmitt (divorced) James Condon (1977–1999; her death)
Children	2

Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999) was an Australian actress, who worked in all facets of the industry including radio, stage, television and film, she was best known for her television soap roles as Rosie Andrews on Sons and Daughters and matriarch Helen Daniels in the long-running Australian soap opera, Neighbours.

Early and personal life

Haddy was born an only child in Quorn, South Australia, she attended Adelaide High School. She acted in radio plays and school broadcasts while she was working in Adelaide University's book room. She later attended the Sydney Theatre Company.

She relocated to the United Kingdom in the 1950s to find acting work, but ended up working as a secretary for Kellogg's. She married her first husband, Max Dimmitt, before returning to Australia, where she gave birth to two children. In 1960, Haddy and her family moved to Sydney. Haddy later married actor James Condon after her marriage to Dimmitt was dissolved. They acted alongside each other twice, both during Haddy's tenure on Neighbours.

Career

Anne Haddy became one of the first presenters of Play School, a show that has launched the career of many Australian soap stars. Other programmes in which Haddy appeared include Wandjina! (1966 Australian Television series), Dynasty (the 1970–71 Australian television series), Prisoner, Punishment, and she had a lengthy spell as Rosie Andrews in Sons and Daughters between 1982 and 1985. She also appeared in the film They're a Weird Mob (1966).

In 1985, Reg Watson invited Haddy to join Neighbours as Helen Daniels. During her time with Neighbours, she became the longest-running actress and she remained with the show until 1997.

Health

Haddy was dogged by ill health for the last two decades of her life. She suffered a heart attack in 1979, leading to four bypass operations. Shortly thereafter, she fell and broke a hip, and later learned she had stomach cancer, which was reportedly discovered early and successfully treated surgically. In 1983, she had one of her four heart bypasses unclogged. Further health problems and a broken hip led to kidney trouble, which caused her to retire from acting in 1997. Haddy had remarked that she would like to have her real-life funeral screened as part of the show.

Other

In 1988, Haddy's popularity was honoured when Oxford University undergraduates made her an honorary member of the university's Corpus Christi College.

Death

Anne Haddy died at her home in Melbourne on 6 June 1999. In the UK, the episode of Neighbours that was broadcast on BBC One the following day ended with a dedication to her memory, accompanied by an announcement of her death.

External links

• Anne Haddy at the Internet Movie Database