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Rosalind Speirs

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Rosalind Speirs
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Sydney, Australia
Other namesRos Spiers
Occupation(s)Film and television actress
Years active1974–1981
AwardsLogie Award for Most Popular Australian Lead Actress
1977 Power Without Glory

Rosalind Speirs (born 1951) is an Australian former film and television actress. She starred on several television series during the 1970s, including Silent Number, Heidi [de] and the television miniseries Power Without Glory. It was her role as Nellie Moran, wife of the main character John West (Martin Vaughan), that earned her a Logie Award for "Most Popular Australian Lead Actress" in 1977. Speirs was also a guest star in a storyline of Prisoner in 1980.

Career

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Rosalind Speirs made her acting debut in the 1974 film Stone where she had a minor role as a prostitute. In her next film, The Man from Hong Kong (1975), she had a more substantial role playing the lead female Caroline Thorne.[1] That same year, Speirs played herself in the exploitation documentary film The Love Epidemic (1975). She also began a successful career in television appearing on Silent Number[2][3][4] and Power Without Glory. At the 1977 Logie Awards, she won a Logie Award for "Most Popular Australian Lead Actress" for her portrayal of Nellie Moran in Power Without Glory.

She also appeared on The Restless Years and Heidi [de], playing a recurring character Aunt Dete in the latter series. In 1980, Speirs was cast as Caroline Simpson in the series Prisoner.[5][6][7] She portrayed a young woman who, with her mother Vivienne Williams (Bernadette Gibson), were charged with the murder of her alcoholic and abusive father. Although she appeared in the series for a brief time, her character was involved in a number of significant storylines. These included their initial introduction at the original halfway house[8] and becoming romantically involved with prison officer Deputy Governor Jim Fletcher (Gerard Maguire).[9] She eventually left the series to become an agent[10] appearing in her final role in the horror film Alison's Birthday (1981).[11][12][13][14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Type
1974 Stone Whore (as Ros Spiers) Feature film
1975 The Love Epidemic Various Characters (as Ros Spiers) Feature film documentary
1975 The Man from Hong Kong Caroline Thorne (as Ros Spiers) Feature film
1979 Alison's Birthday Maggie Carlyle Feature film (released 1981)

Television

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Year Title Role Type
1974 This Love Affair Guest role TV series, 1 episode
1974-1975 Silent Number Regular lead role: Pat Casey / Janet (as Ros Speirs) TV series, 34 episodes
1976 Power Without Glory Lead role: Nellie Moran / Nellie West TV miniseries, 25 episodes
1977 19th Annual TV Week Logie Awards Herself TV special
1977 End of Summer Lead role ABC Teleplay
1977-1978 The Restless Years Recurring role: Gillian Vaughan TV series, 9 episodes
1978 Heidi Recurring role: Aunt Dete TV series (Switzerland / West Germany / Australia), 4 episodes
1980 Celebrity Tattletales Herself & Martin Vaughan TV series, 2 episodes
1980 Prisoner Recurring role: Caroline Simpson (as Rosalind Spiers) TV series, 26 episodes
1980 Cop Shop Guest role: Jocelyn Knowles (as Ros Spiers) TV series, 2 episodes
2004 The Man From Hong Kong: Jimmy Wang Yu In Australia Self as actress in The Man From Hong Kong (as Ros Spiers) Video

Theatre

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Year Title Role Type
1971 Murder in the Cathedral NIDA Theatre, Sydney
1978 Spokesong Daisy Bell Ensemble Theatre, Sydney
1979 The Chairman Veronica Marian Street Theatre, Sydney

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References

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  1. ^ Armstead, Christopher (2006). "The Man from Hong Kong". FilmCriticsUnited.com. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Four decades of Aussie cop shows". TV & Radio. Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  3. ^ Storey, Don (2008). "Silent Number". ClassicAustralianTV.com. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  4. ^ Storey, Don (2008). "Silent No Episode Details". ClassicAustralianTV.com. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Prisoner (1979–1987?)". OZTV Credits. 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  6. ^ Terrace, Vincent. Television, 1970–1980. San Diego: A.S. Barnes, 1981. (pg. 161) ISBN 0-498-02539-X
  7. ^ Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots & Specials: 1974–1984. Vol. 2. New York: Zoetrope, 1985. (pg. 333) ISBN 0-918432-61-8
  8. ^ "1980". Prisoner: Eight Years Inside. Aussie Soap Archives. 1996. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  9. ^ "PCBH Characters, Section 06". WWWentworth.co.uk. 3 March 2001. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  10. ^ Bourke, Terry (8 March 1998). "Chapter 7: The First Inmates". Prisoner Cell Block H: behind the scenes. WWWentworth.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Rosalind Speirs Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  12. ^ Variety's Film Reviews: 1978–1980. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1983. ISBN 0-8352-2795-2
  13. ^ Lentz, Harris M. Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1983. (pg. 737) ISBN 0-89950-070-6
  14. ^ Lentz, Harris M. Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2000. (pg. 844) ISBN 0-7864-0951-7
  15. ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/12083
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