Su Cruickshank

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Su Cruickshank
Birth nameSusan Cruickshank
Born(1946-08-31)31 August 1946
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Died8 December 2009(2009-12-08) (aged 63)
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • actress
  • writer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1970s–2009

Susan Cruickshank (31 August 1946 – 8 December 2009), commonly known as Su Cruickshank, was an Australian jazz singer, actress and writer. She was regarded as one of the finest female jazz singers in Australian history.[1]

Early life

Cruickshank was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, the eldest of four children. She grew up in the suburb of Adamstown in a musical family. Her father played double bass and her paternal grandmother had been a singer.[1]

Career

"In the 1970s Cruickshank moved to London and worked as a singer in a variety of low-end jazz clubs. She returned to Australia in 1979 and began to rise to public prominence, notably through successfully hosting a string of Sydney's annual Jazz in the Domain summer outdoor concerts.[2]

She subsequently appeared in many Australian film and television roles and was especially well known for her role in the 1988 surprise hit (in Australia) film

Good Morning Australia.[3]

In 1993-4 she hosted her own talk show on ABC TV called In Company with Su Cruickshank and she continued to make frequent guest appearances in a wide variety of Australian drama, comedy and light entertainment programs for the rest of the decade, as well as appearing in a number of TV commercials.[2] She maintained a long-running fortnightly radio spot on the nationally broadcast ABC Local Radio Overnights program and is often remembered for her appearances on the nationally televised World Series Debates that were a gala event of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in the early 1990s.[2]

A large woman, Cruickshank briefly co-owned a Portuguese themed restaurant in Newtown, New South Wales in the late 1990s[1] and often made use of her size in her on-stage and on-screen personas and it became a signature part of her public image.[4]

Death

Cruickshank suffered from a long-term illness in her last years and she died on 8 December 2009. A memorial concert was held to celebrate her life in her home town of Newcastle a week after her death.[5]

Personal life

Cruickshank married and divorced in the 1970s and then never remarried. She had two stepchildren, Effie and Saabeah Theos, to her Ghanaian partner of eight years.[1]

Acting roles

Film

Television

Publications

  • Cruickshank, Su, Bring A Plate to The Mortdale Scout Hall – The Autobiography of a Fat Tart Complete with Recipes, Sun Books, 1992,

References

  1. ^ a b c d Washingmachine, George (14 December 2009). "Talent came in huge servings, too". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Vale Su Cruickshank". ABC Local Radio Overnights. ABC. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  3. ^ Wingate-Pearse, Gabriel (10 December 2009). "Newcastle jazz diva Su Cruickshank dies at age 63". theherald.com.au. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  4. .
  5. ^ Carr, Matt (16 December 2009). "Musical farewell for Su Cruickshank". theherald.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2010.

External links