VALE ELISABETH KIRKBY OAM
A Life of Service, Advocacy and Cultural Leadership
(26 January 1921 - 20 April 2026)
Elisabeth Kirkby lived a long and remarkable life and became a household name in the 1970s as Lucy Sutcliffe in Cash Harmon’s hugely popular and groundbreaking series Number 96. The former actress who has died at the age of 105 also made her mark in the political arena.
Born in Lancashire, England in 1921, Lis was drawn to the world of theatre from a young age. After attending Nottingham Girls’ High School she became assistant stage manager at Oldham Repertory Company in January 1939 and was also given the opportunity of appearing in minor roles in productions such as JB Priestly’s When We Are Married and Dangerous Corner and Merton Lodge’s The Wind and the Rain. In October of that year she joined Manchester Repertory Company where she continued performing until she was called up for service in early 1942. Starting as a training NCO in Wrexham, Lis was transferred to an Army Records Office in Winchester before joining Stars in Battledress, an entertainment troupe, where she was cast as down-to-earth Maudie Miller in a touring production of Terence Rattigan’s WW2 drama Flare Path. When this tour ended Lis joined a Stars in Battledress repertory company in Salisbury and appeared in plays such as Milestone, Jane Eyre and Fresh Fields.
The end of the war saw Lis join Birmingham Repertory Company in a production of And No Birds Sing alongside Stanley Baker who became one of Britain’s top male film actors of the late 1950s. She performed in several other productions with Birmingham Rep. before joining Liverpool Repertory Company at the end of 1946. Her work at Liverpool saw her perform roles in melodrama, satire and pantomime.
Her screen debut coincided with the BBC’s return to television broadcasting in June 1946 following the end of the war. She played the rebellious Jean in the live-to-air TV adaptation of James Bridie’s dark comedy Mr Bolfry in July of that year then in May 1947 she was among the cast of another live-to-air production for the BBC, Love from a Stranger. Lis said of the experience, “It was a testing time, but very exciting to be part of a production that launched television drama in England.” She continued acting on stage until a life-changing meeting in 1951. Appearing in Manchester in a production of Figures of Fate by playwright CEB Rickards, who was also a gynaecologist, Lis was introduced to Rickards’s registrar Derek Llewellyn-Jones who had come to see the show. Lis and Derek formed a relationship and moved to Singapore where Lis worked with Schools Broadcasting then in 1953 they moved to Kuala Lumpur where she was transferred to the English service of Radio Malaya. During her time there she kept busy writing and directing radio plays and features as well as working with the Malayan Arts Theatre Group (MATG) playing Maria in Twelfth Night, Polly Garter in Under Milkwood, Portia in Julius Caesar, and Lady Macbeth in a production of Macbeth that was presented in Malay dress. She also played in Salome by Oscar Wilde performing a memorable Dance of the Seven Veils. At MATG Lis also gained experience as a director with George Bernard Shaw’s medical ethics satire The Doctor’s Dilemma followed by productions of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The Merry Widow and The Vagabond King.
A move to Australia came in 1965 when Derek was appointed Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Sydney. Lis was able to work freelance for ABC Radio in Sydney as a writer of talks and features, and was also the on-air presenter of the women’s program Morning Call. The features she wrote were mainly on social issues: the high costs of housing, health care, education and dying. She found it to be a great learning experience and met a wide range of Sydneysiders, including civil rights activist Faith Bandler, poet/broadcaster John Thompson and writer/broadcaster Anne Deveson.
Her work in ABC radio continued as the producer of We Sing Your Songs featuring the Jim Gussey Orchestra and she later wrote and produced Learn Indonesian, which was commissioned when the Federal Government decided that Australians should learn Asian languages. It was originally intended to be used by the ABC schools department, but management decided to broadcast the 15 minute program at 7.15pm on Fridays after the news. The program attracted a sizeable audience, ran for two years and was entered for the Japan Prize, which recognised excellence in educational TV and radio broadcasting from around the world. The program didn’t win, but Lis felt honoured to be considered.
Being in Sydney also gave Lis an opportunity to return to acting. She became a proud member of Equity in 1965 and worked in a production of The Devil’s Advocate opposite Alexander Hay at the Independent Theatre as well as appearing in playwright Michael Laurence’s ABC TV play On The Hop and guest roles in TV series such as Hunter, Homicide, Riptide and The Rovers.
In 1971, a guest role as a pregnant mother in Cash Harmon’s sitcom The Group proved fortuitous. It led to her longest-running and most recognisable role as Lucy Sutcliffe in Cash Harmon’s next production, the blockbuster adults-only series, Number 96. As Lucy, Lis was an original cast member alongside James Elliott as husband Alf. They played a pair of Lancashire immigrants who lived on the top floor of the infamous block of flats and endured their share of drama, but also enjoyed lighter comedy moments. Lucy ran the local laundrette and became a beloved character. So much so that when she was suspected of having breast cancer, the episode where her biopsy result was revealed to be benign attracted the highest rating throughout the show’s long run. Lis also worked closely with Jeff Kevin as Arnold Feather who came to live with the Sutcliffes in flat 8 (Lis, Jimmy Elliott and Jeff Kevin enjoyed political discussion and were vocal supporters of Gough Whitlam in the lead up to his 1972 election win). Others in the cast who Lis developed lasting friendships with include Elaine Lee, Sheila Kennelly, Carol Raye, Joe Hasham, Mike Dorsey, Wendy Blacklock and Philippa Baker, as well as producer Bob Huber and series creator David Sale. Lis was union rep. on Number 96 and would sometimes clash with the show’s executive producer Bill Harmon, particularly when fighting for actors’ residuals. Lis stayed with the show for almost four years and also appeared in Number 96: the Movie, one of the most successful Australian films of the 1970s and now a cult classic.
Post-Number 96 there were TV guest roles in Glenview High, Homicide, the Australian-German co-production The Outsiders and the ABC’s award-winning three-part series Players to the Gallery. She also returned to theatre where her work included a successful tour of the satire The Jockey Club Stakes directed by Wilfrid Hyde-White, whom she first met and worked with in the 1940s. Lis received great reviews as Lady Green playing opposite her old friend, Hyde-White as Lord Green, among a cast that included Gordon Chater, Tina Bursill and James Condon. In 1976, for the Hunter Valley Theatre Company, Lis played the domineering, faded Southern belle, Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie and the devoutly religious Dora Strang in Equus. In these productions, directed by Terence Clarke, Lis worked alongside Robert Alexander, Tony Sheldon and Kerry Walker.
Having been an active member of Equity, it was not surprising that a new chapter opened for Lis in 1977 when she joined the recently-formed Australian Democrats. She was elected to Parliament in October 1981 as a Democrats member and State Parliamentary Leader in the NSW Legislative Council. She served in the NSW Parliament until 1998, having been re-elected in 1991. Following her retirement, she remained active as a member of the NSW Judicial Commission before joining the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and later served as a councillor for the Temora Shire Council (where she owned a sheep and wheat property).
Showing no signs of slowing down, in 2004 Lis embarked on an Arts degree at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, and after graduating with First Class Honours in 2009, she embarked on a PhD thesis at Sydney University. In 2012 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the parliament of NSW, to the community of Temora and to the performing arts. In 2014 at the age of 93 she became Australia’s oldest university graduate. Having lived a rich, multi-faceted life Lis leaves a truly inspirational legacy.
Lis is survived by her son Tony Llewellyn-Jones, daughter Deborah Eastwood, son Robert Llewellyn-Jones, their partners, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.