AN EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU ALL:

I got this wonderful picture from another fan (thanks Maria!), who had the pleasure to meet Jude some years ago (Jude was out celebrating her birthday).

LET ME WISH JUDE AND ALL HER FANS...

...A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ACMI IS SCREENING "JOURNEY AMONG WOMEN" AGAIN!

Read more about it on ACMI's homepage. God how I wish I could be in Melbourne right now. I guess I'll have to settle for my terrible American copy of the film - until next week when this fabulous movie will be realesed in Australia for the first time!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE...

...in my new poll (to the left).

ANOTHER FAN WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SEND ME THIS WONDERFUL SCREENSHOT:

Fabulous, isn't it?!

PETA TOPPANO ABOUT JUDE:

"When she arrived in The Tunnel for the first time, i thought 'we have a real mad one on our hands here, quite crazy'. And often unpredictable. She was into mime and puppetry. Jude was also a strongly opinionated feminist. She was absolutely hilarious; genuinely funny. Especially in character of that Noeline 'Numbskull'. We had a lot of scenes together. She was often onscreen bludging my cigarettes and a catch phrase amongst the Australian fans began; 'Give us your fags, Karen'. And of course there's that infamous line where I was to ask her how many sugars she took in her coffee to which she ad-libbed '12, I'm a bit of a diabetic'. I think the producers let that line stay. She was a fabulous actress and a true comedian, and also a good friend whilst I was on Prisoner."

ASK EVA ABOUT JUDE

Yeah: It's that time again!


Summer asks: - How old was she when she took on the role as Noeline?

Eva: - I believe she was 31.

Jonas asks: - If Jude had started out as an actress today - which roles do you think she would have been offered?

Eva: - I hope they would have offered her a big part on L Word. She would have changed the American lifestyle forever!

Setter asks: -Have you seen all her movies?

Eva: - No, sadly I havn't. I've been searching for Maybe This Time for many years, but without any luck.

Sten asks: - What are her political views?

Eva: - She's a feminist and a communist.

Lisa asks: - What is your least favourite among her movies?

Eva: - Newsfront. Too little of Jude.

This was the last Ask Eva About Jude. But if You have any questions (or something specific that You want me to bring up) - just send me an email!

ASK EVA ABOUT JUDE

Johanna asks: - Did you see any similarities between Jude and Noeline?

Eva: - Well...I've only talked to Jude over the phone, so it's a bit hard to say. Jude is an extremely intelligent woman, but I actually think that Noeline is pretty intelligent as well (I know that some fans don't agree with me). Jude has a wonderful sense of humour (but so does Noel in her own way). I'd say that the biggest difference between Noel and the actress who plays her, is that Jude is extremely nice.

Soffan asks: - What member of the Bourke family do you like the most?

Eva: - Except for Noeline you mean? Col!

Steve asks: - Do you have any favourite scenes with Noeline?

Eva: - All the scenes from The Silver Height Drama! I also love when Noel "finds" Clara Goddard's mirror! It's always a pleasure seeing Noel and Erica together ("you couldn't run a Fish and Chip Shop"). Her scenes with Jean Vernon are also fabulous! Another big favourite is Noel's come back in episode 121 (especially the scene where she says "well well: the face that sank a thousand ships" to Vera).

Lollo asks: - What do you think is Jude's greatest movie?

Eva: - Prisoner Queen!

David asks: - How do you prefer Noeline's hair?

Eva: - Long!

That's all for now. I hope you'll have some more questions in store for me next week!

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDE?

For the next two weeks, I'm going to have an Ask Eva About Jude session. You can email me, any day of the week, and ask me anything you want (see my email address to the left). I'll then pick out about 5 questions each Friday, and post the answers on this blog. So email me, Folks! Email me!

THE SCREENINGS IN FEBRUARY...

...were a huge succes! Unfortunately, The One And Only couldn't be there - but the fans definitely showed up!

I was only able to attend the second screening, but those who attended the first one told me that they loved Journey Among Women (buy it!).

It was a very special feeling to watch the Silver Height episode on the big screen together with a bunch of Prisoner fans. We Prisoner fans sure are a special group of people, with our special kind of humor. It was fun to notice how we all laught at the same things.

But the highlight of the afternoon was Prisoner Queen. Seriously: this must be the greatest movie all times! The dialogue is excellent, the acting is fabulous (how could it not be with people like Jude kuring, Tim Burns and Matt thomas!?) and the Prisoner references are hilarious! And I just can't get enough of "the unicorn song"!

A NEW ARTICLE ABOUT THE SCREENINGS:

Timothy Spanos' Prisoner Queen was inspired by the cult serial Prisoner.

"Prisoner's Jude Kuring is an inspiration for many, writes Jake Wilson.
EVEN among the prostitutes, thieves and murderers who comprised the cast of the long-running Channel 10 serial Prisoner, Jude Kuring's hardbitten Noeline Bourke stood apart: a career criminal with a sneering underbite and an undisguised contempt for anyone not related to her by blood. Yet the force of Kuring's personality and larger-than-life acting style made Noeline an icon for a generation of gay men and women.
More than one generation, in fact. The 30-year-old Melbourne filmmaker Timothy Spanos says that when Channel 10 started showing re-runs of Prisoner late at night in the mid 1990s, the show became a cult favourite all over again among many of his friends.
Memories of that period inspired Spanos' film Prisoner Queen (2004), which will screen in a tribute to Kuring that begins at ACMI this weekend as part of the Midsumma Festival. The program also includes a couple of vintage Prisoner episodes, the colonial-themed rarity Journey Among Women (1977), and the pilot for Buck House, billed as the "world's first gay and lesbian sitcom".
One of the most talented Australian filmmakers to emerge in the past decade, Spanos recently completed post-production on his fourth low-budget feature, which involves "two boys from Boronia stealing from hard rubbish", and which he hopes will be screened at festivals later this year.
An unabashed connoisseur of vintage Australian TV, he's worked over the years with a number of Prisoner veterans, less by design than as a natural consequence of his tendency to write roles for older women. "I think every 40-plus actress in Australia appeared in Prisoner at one time or another," he says.
A flamboyant comedy-drama about role playing and the need for escape, Prisoner Queen features Spanos' regular collaborator Tim Burns in the lead role of Alex, who works in a cafe by day and by night goes to gay bars and clubs dressed as a Prisoner warder. In her first screen role for two decades, Kuring plays his dying mother, who appeared on the show many years before.
Spanos cast Kuring after meeting her at a party where they clicked instantly. "She's my Aunty Jude now," he says.
Full of praise for her ability to lose herself in a role, he describes her as a "real lady" who in person couldn't be less like her Prisoner Queen character, a warm-hearted but shameless old biddy whose idea of performance art involves sitting at a Carlton bus stop yelling obscenities at passers-by.

Now retired and living in Tasmania, Kuring made her name as a member of the legendary Australian Performing Group. Spanos ascribes the success of Prisoner in part to "the fact that they used a lot of theatre actors and wrote really meaty parts for them". "Women," he says, "weren't just the mother or the housewife or the sister or the secretary."
He admires the show's sympathy for society's underdogs, and the outrageous storylines that often broke new ground. As far back as 1979, Carol Burns won a best actress Logie for playing the lesbian bikie Frankie Doyle.
With equal relish, he recalls the occasion when Catherine Roberts (Margot McLennan) took instant revenge on the rapist of her 10-year-old daughter. "We see the girl coming out with a torn dress, a broken umbrella, and cuts and bruises," says Spanos. "And then her character runs him over several times, like she keeps reversing."
Alas, that age of innocent excess has seemingly gone for good. Asked if he could imagine running a soap opera of his own, Spanos is surprised by the question. "I think Neighbours would probably boost their ratings if they got me involved somehow." Channel 10, take note."

Tribute to Jude Kuring, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, tomorrow and Saturday, February 14. Prisoner Queen screens on February 14 at 4pm.

PRESS RELEASE FROM ACMI

"ACMI tributes Jude Kuring

As part of the 2009 Midsumma Festival, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) presents a special Australian Perspectives program – a tribute to the career of actress Jude Kuring – to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the popular Australian drama series, Prisoner.
Jude Kuring is best known for her role as Noeline Bourke in Prisoner. She joined the show in 1979 and although only appearing in 27 episodes, her portrayal of inmate Bourke won her a loyal fanbase the world over.
Prisoner (Grundy Television), known as Prisoner Cell Block H to UK and US fans, aired in Australia from 1979 to 1987 for 692 episodes. The late night drama rated highly, scooping the ratings in its early years and winning ten Logie awards in its lifetime, including Best New Drama Series (1980), Most Popular Show (1981, 1985), Most Popular Drama Series (1981) and numerous awards for individual actresses.
The series was popular abroad, too. In the UK the series became a late-night hit, even the theme song (On The Inside, written by Allan Caswell) made it to number three on the UK charts in 1989.
In the USA, the show aired to a primetime audience of 39 million, despite being banned in Salt Lake City for being too risqué. After more than 20 years off air, the series remains popular, now a cult-classic internationally.
Set in the modern maximum security Wentworth Detention Centre, a women-only prison, Prisoner was a drama that depicted life ‘on the inside’.
The series followed the lives of the characters, from how they got there to what became of them afterward. It is widely regarded that the success of the series lay in the strong character acting; the innocent and guilty, the hardened (‘Top Dog’) leaders and weakened followers, the bold and the timid, strong personalities constantly clashing, uniting only against the ‘screws’ and ‘the system’.
Often the infighting of the inmates played out alongside their common struggle to adjust to life behind bars and ability to provide each other support and compassion when needed.
For the first time Australia had a production where all the lead roles were played by women, with men in supporting and cameo roles. For many female actors it was just the beginning; now they are household names. For the local television industry, Prisoner also ignited the careers of production staff, including writers and directors, many of whom went onto equally successful productions.
ACMI Film Programmer James Nolen says that while the Australian Perspectives program is a tribute to Jude Kuring’s career, it is as much a nod to Prisoner. “Prisoner is an iconic, uniquely Australian drama still fiercely loved by fans today,” said James.
“And appropriately it is the 30th anniversary of the debut broadcast of the show that plunged Jude Kuring’s Noeline Bourke into the hearts of adoring fans. Throughout her career, Kuring’s portrayal of strong female characters and commitment to gender-political performance has endeared her to a loyal gay and lesbian audience, making the Midsumma celebration of gay and lesbian culture a fitting stage for this tribute.”
ACMI’s tribute to Kuring opens with one of her star turns the series (Prisoner, Episode 122). At the beginning of the episode Kuring’s permanently grimacing Noeline Bourke is on the outside, working as a tea lady in the corporate world, until she learns of the death of her daughter who is doing time within the walls of Wentworth.
Another must-see performance from Kuring (Prisoner, Episode 35) screens in week two of this tribute. The inmates are out of control while celebrations are underway for probationer Clara’s birthday, and Noeline Bourke soon takes centre stage as she gets drunk on the home brew and then is called out to save her brother in a hostage situation.
Both Prisoner episodes screen with the pilot episode of Buck House (1995), billed as the world’s first gay and lesbian sitcom.While fans of Prisoner would instantly recognise Kuring as Bourke, it not was her only time ‘on the inside’.
Before Prisoner, Kuring played Grace, one of a group of female convicts liberated from their British penal colony, in Tom Cowan’s 1977 film, Journey Among Women, also screening in Australian Perspectives this Midsumma Festival. The film, regarded as bi-product of gender politics raging at the time of production, attempts to reinterpret Australian history from a female point of view. At the time of the films release, frequent female nudity assured its box office success.
Kuring’s other notable performances have included appearances in dramas such as Homicide and comedies Alvin Purple and The Gary McDonald Show, however, after Prisoner she did little acting.
After a 20 year hiatus, Kuring returned to feature in the film Prisoner Queen (2004), which remains her most recent appearance. Local film maker Timothy Spanos, a fan of the Prisoner series who has made several films with the Prisoner alumni, directs this low-budget black comedy staring Kuring.
A passionate fan of her performances, Spanos says; “Jude Kuring is a truly original, unique and inimitable Australian actor. She uses all senses to the creation of a character with soul. She doesn't act, she becomes. There has never been anything like her and probably never will be." In Spanos’ film, Kuring plays an actress diagnosed with leukaemia, supported by her son Alex (Tim Burns) who by day is a waiter and by night dresses up as a prison officer, taking his cue from Prisoner. Prisoner Queen also stars Matt Thomas (The Maviss', The Blowwaves) in drag as singer Chrissy Amphelett.
ACMI celebrates Kuring’s enduring performances for the 30th anniversary of Prisoner and the 2009 Midsumma Festival, on Sat 7 Feb and Sat 14 Feb with these specially programmed Australian Perspectives screenings."

GREAT NEWS!!!!

In February, The Australian Centre for the Moving Image celebrates the career of The One And Only Jude Kuring. They're going to screen some of the highlights from her career at the Midsumma Festival in Melbourne:

7 FEBRUARY

2pm: Prisoner Episode 122 + Buck House Pilot Episode

4pm: Journey Among Women

14 FEBRUARY

2pm: Prisoner Episode 35 + Buck House Pilot Episode

4pm: Prisoner Queen

Prisoner and Journey Among Women are both easy to find on DVD, but Prisoner Queen and Buck House havn't been released on DVD or Blu-ray yet (although they've reached cult status). So this is a very rare opportunity!!!

LET ME WISH JUDE KURING...

...A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LET ME WISH JUDE...

...A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

LET ME WISH JUDE...

...A VERY HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

MY DAY HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!

Today it finally arrived: The situation comedy Alvin Purple, written by no other than Prisoner's Alan Hopggod. Jude plays a woman who's searching for great looking bums.

I can't say I was impressed by the show itself, but I was (as always) extremely impressed by The One And Only Jude Kuring. I don't have to tell You People that Jude is an extraordinary acting talent. But in this show, she also lets us TV viewers see how good she can look: This woman is hot!

I'VE JUST BOUGHT ALVIN PURPLE!

"This extremely rare Australian sex comedy caused a sensation in Australia when it was released. It followed two successful Movies and for a time was banned from Australian TV. It brought sex and nudity to the TV screen in abundance for the very first time. The movies and the famous TV series really showed the sexual revolution occuring in Australia at that time."

I don't know if I dare to watch this series. But I really have to, since Australia's Thespian Goddess is in one of the episodes.

There are 3 more copies available on ioffer.com! Just search for "Jude Kuring" and buy it! Buy it now!

A FABULOUS SCENE IN THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE:

AND MORE...

MORE CANDY FROM PRISONER QUEEN:

PRISONER QUEEN: SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG FOR A FILM TO BECOME A CLASSIC!

AMANDA MUGGLETON HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU ABOUT JUDE:

NOELINE GOT MOVES!

LET ME WISH JUDE AND ALL HER FANS...

...A VERY HAPPY EASTER!!!

A CLIP...

...from Journey Among Women!

http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/journey-among-women/clip1/

Poem "Noelene Bourke" by William (Bill) Thomas:

Ok: He could have spelled her first name right. And he really shouldn't have called her "ugly". Still...this is beautiful...

"There’s an ugly obnoxious, vicious, fiercely independent

Corrupt, wise cracking jerk prisoner named Noelene Bourke.

Who’s in charge of her criminal family the Bourkes

Who commit different crimes to support themselves through difficult times

Because tragically they refuse financial aid

They regard as charitable perks."

AN ARTICLE FROM 1979:

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Haha: "won't have one funny line to say in Prisoner". I guess someone made a mistake there...

ANOTHER STORY FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PERFORMING GROUP AT THE PRAM FACTORY:

"Then there was the rehearsal for He Can Swagger Sitting Down (1973). Max once again. Playing George Wallace with Jude Kuring playing a character called Miss Pussy (!) Costumes by Laurel Frank (I think). The actors were wearing whatever bits of costume were available at the time. The bottom half of Miss Pussy's costume was finished so Jude slipped into it. The two actors were standing at either end of the space facing away from each other. The action required that they turn to face each other accompanied by Max's line: "Why, Miss Pussy!" Max spun around to be confronted with Jude wearing only the bottom half of her costume. "Why! Miss Pussy!" never sounded so committed again. And while Laurel kept saying that the costume was not finished, Jude kept insisting that she loved it just as it was. In the office one night after a show had come down, Jude needed one of those going overseas-type injections and Jack, as resident doctor, obliged. But when he asked for a bare arm, Jude stripped down to the waist. Jack's retort was typically Hibberdian!"

FOUND THIS REVIEW FROM A MARDI GRAS FESTVAL IN 2004:

(The picture is from a Mardi Gras Festval in 2000, and the guy in the picture is Simon Hall).

"PRISONER QUEEN on Friday afternoon was an absolute riot(pardon the pun)! It brought back so many fond memories of Prisoner and it would have to be one of the funniest Australian queer films ever. Thought the acting was spot on and fantastic. The lead actor was cute and definitley a talent to look out for. The scenes were he is dressed as the prison officer were fully hilare! Especially the scenes on a tram where he threatens to put the ticket officer in the pound or whatever. The dying mother was excellent and the script was very subtle and moved along at a good pace, which is something quite uncommon for a low budget queer film. If you want a good laugh and cry with a film filled with cute melbourne boys, ex-Prisoner stars, Chrissy Amphlett drag queens, midgets and fine acting watch out for this movie."

A RECORD!

Apparently this is a fabulous record = Jude Kuring sings (or talks) on it!

I guess I don't have to tell you that I want it - now!

HOW DARE THEY?!

"Thursday, January 10, 2008

Former 'Prisoner' star guilty on gun charges

A former star of the television series Prisoner has appeared in court charged with firearms offences. The Hobart Magistrates Court heard that 59-year-old Jude Olive Kuring intended to use the gun as a prop in productions of the musicals Oklahoma and Annie Get Your Gun. Kuring, from Ellendale in the Derwent Valley, pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered firearm without a licence and failing to ensure its safekeeping. Police did not proceed with a charge of using abusive language to a police officer. The court was told that a police officer found a .22 ladies' rifle at Kuring's house while responding to her call for an ambulance. Defence lawyer Steven Chopping said Kuring had been practising twirling the gun for theatrical productions and had unwittingly fallen foul of the law. Magistrate Chris Webster did not record a conviction."

Seriously: You don't force Australia's Thespian Goddess to appear in court! You just don't!

WOW!

"Jude Kuring
As remembered by Soosie Adshead

Jude Kuring banged on my front door (very loudly as was her want). "Soos, you want to design a play at the Pram?" she said. Having plotted many design projects with Kuring and having realised that the conceptual component meant a great deal more to us than the actualisation, on account of nothing ever materialised, this question was a bit of a challenge. Did I want to design a play again? ever? Did I want to take up drinking at the Albion? Did I want to hang about at the Pram Factory? Maybe/maybe not. "Come and see Graham then okay? At least talk to him." So I did.

And without really giving it too much thought, I gave up a perfectly satisfactory social life, sleep, good food, clean living, and began working on A Night in Rio and Other Bummers. I had around three and six to do the whole thing.

And of course there was a cast of thousands, lots of costumes and a multi purpose set. I did it. It worked. It was the most challenging, exciting thing I had ever done at that point and so I kept on giving up sleep, food, real life, and kept at it. At various stages I hated that place, and the people - passionately. Usually when I was about to collapse from exhaustion. At other times it was so exciting, so fulfilling, so meaningful, you couldn't imagine it not being that way forever. But it changed. I changed. We all changed. Some stayed, some went. Now it doesn't exist. As is the way of a great idea that got too great.

But right through it all Jude, well Jude just kept knitting. She knitted her way through collective meetings - vast unwieldy meetings where some said nothing, some said very little, and some got exactly what they wanted.

What I wanted was a scarf - just a warm throw around the neck scarf. But the knitting grew and grew until it became dangerous.

Then there was Dimboola. Well Dimboola was a nightmare for some of us, we were bored to distraction and it went on and on and on... Lozza (Laurel Frank)and I took turns with the lighting and sound. We'd sit in the box occasionally twiddling a bit of equipment and talking in a whisper although there really was no need because the cast and audience were mostly raucous. But you could get caught - you never knew when a pall of silence would suddenly overcome the audience so we whispered our way through six weeks. And Jude kept knitting (she was the mother of the bride ) and knitting.

Occasionally Lozza and I would note that Jude was asleep - onstage - in the middle of it all. Eventually someone would give her a nudge. She was an extremely skilled sleeper. She could do it anytime, anywhere, no matter the noise or the chaos around her. I really envied her that skill.

She unnerved people, even some of the Pram Factory people. She would make loud, raucous statements in the dressing room - announcing people's sexual bias, (while never verbalising her own) who was doing what with who.

She would shriek and yell, performing offstage and on.

And when at rest had a beautiful deep rich voice. She was tall and handsome and had beautiful hands. She could make anything she put her mind to with those hands. Tiny intricate things. Big complex things. And she had an extraordinary collection of bits and pieces. For any occasion, for any idea that might manifest at any time. And she had dress ups, lots of dress ups.

She was a wonderful person to be around. She was wild, exceptionally bright, alarming and loved attention, lots of it.

Sometimes we would go to Jimmy Watson’s on warm Saturday mornings and it would be packed. Jude would be dressed in immaculate from head to toe. She would sit on the floor of the courtyard, long legs stretched out. Getting in everyone's way, getting abused and ignoring it all. She drank claret in those days and she was skilled at that too. A look of horror would cross someone's face (some poor innocent person having a wine, carting the shopping, enjoying the Saturday camaraderie that was Watson’s) everyone would strain to look through the crowd trying to see what was happening.

And there was the death scene.

Slowly, very slowly, a thin red trickle would slide down her chin. And it kept coming, and coming, until it reached the crotch of her trousers. She could hold a lot of wine in her mouth. She would keep it up until a whole mouthful had been dribbled down her front.

Quick get some help. A terrible, terrible injury. Horror at Watson’s. Oh my god, look at that. The first time it worked. After the third or time people got bored. After the fifth time people were not impressed.

A bleed out at eleven every Saturday. She never tired of doing it.

Claude (as some people called her then) got thru a lot of clothes, quite a lot.

When she was good she was very, very good, a brilliant actor, a raconteur, so clever, so talented. So fragile. Why didn't you stop me doing that, why didn't you? she would say to me after a particularly tacky piece of behaviour, why didn't you? But she was unstoppable. And she was my best friend and I loved her. But I couldn't stop her."

JUDE KURING!

Welcome to this fabulous blogsite!

Jude Kuring is most famed for playing Noeline Bourke on Prisoner, but she's also appeared in series such as Homicide, Wollongong the Brave, Alvin Purple, The Gary McDonald Show, The Off Show and Waterloo Station. In the late 70s she hosted a documentary called Witches, Faggots, Dykes and Poofters. She also appeared in the gay made-for-video sitcom Buck House. She's starred in movies such as The Singer and the Dancer, Journey Among Women and The Journalist. In 1980 she was nominated for an AFI Award for her role in the movie Maybe This Time. In the 80s she moved away from acting, but returned to her former career in 2003 to play a prominent role in the movie Prisoner Queen, which centred around an obsessed fan of Prisoner - the series Jude had starred in herself over twenty years previously!

Today it's 29 years since Prisoner first aired in Australia. It's also 4 years since I talked to The One and Only Miss Kuring over the phone! But I still remember the conversation as if it was yesterday! I'll treasure it for the rest of my life!