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Judith Lucy

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Judith Lucy
AM
Lucy in 2022
Born
Judith Mary Lucy

(1968-03-25) 25 March 1968 (age 56)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actress
  • author
  • television presenter
  • radio presenter
Years active1982–present
TelevisionThe Weekly with Charlie Pickering
RelativesNiall Lucy (1956–2014) (brother)
Comedy career
MediumStand-up
Years active1989–present

Judith Mary Lucy AM (born 25 March 1968) is an Australian comedian and actress, known primarily for her stand-up comedy. Lucy joined the team of the ABC's The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in 2019.

Early life

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Lucy's adoptive parents emigrated from Ireland to Perth in the early 1950s,[1] and she was born and raised in Perth. She is the sister of Australian writer and scholar Niall Lucy. Lucy attended Curtin University and studied theatre, moving to Melbourne at the age of 20.[1]

At 25, she discovered she was adopted and later made contact with her biological mother. Lucy is quoted as saying they have a good relationship.[2]

Career

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Live comedy

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After arriving in Melbourne, Lucy embarked on a career as a stand-up comedian, leading to a series of highly successful one-woman shows, including No Waiter I Ordered the Avocado (1991), King Of The Road (1995), An Impossible Dream (1996), The Show (1998), The Show 2 (1999), Colour Me Judith (2000),[1] I'm Going to Learn How to Fly (2001), I Failed! (2006) (based on her short-lived career on the 2Day FM breakfast show),[3] and Judith Lucy's Not Getting Any Younger (2009).

Her 1998 comedy album King of the Road was nominated for an ARIA Award.[1]

Lucy also co-starred with Denise Scott and Lynda Gibson in the award-winning stage spectaculars Comedy Is Not Pretty (1999) and Comedy Is Still Not Pretty (2003). Lucy toured nationally in 2009 with her ninth one-woman show, Judith Lucy's Not Getting Any Younger.[4] The tour visited Sydney twice for the return season along with Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide, Perth and regional cities Albury, Warragul and Ballarat. That tour marked 20 years in stand up comedy since she performed her first gig in Melbourne at Le Joke in 1989.[citation needed]

In 2012, Lucy took her new show Nothing Fancy to Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and regional NSW. In 2013, Lucy and Denise Scott teamed up for a new live show The Spiral which made its debut at the Melbourne Comedy Festival before touring nationally.[5]

In 2015, Lucy performed a solo show Ask No Questions of the Moth which won the award for best live comedy at the 2015 Helpmann Awards.[6] The show toured nationally in 2015-2016.[7][8] The show was inspired by her memories of 2014 which she described as "the worst year of my life", a year which included the death of her brother Niall.[9]

In 2017, Lucy teamed up with Denise Scott again for a new live show entitled Disappointments which commenced touring Australia in March 2017.[10] The show was performed in Melbourne in April 2017 as part of that city's annual International Comedy Festival.[11]

In February 2019, Lucy was appointed one of three Fringe Ambassadors for the Adelaide Fringe, and presented her show Judith Lucy Vs Men there.[12][13]

Film and television

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Lucy has appeared on The Mick Molloy Show, Rove, Saturday Night Rove, Studio 10, The Project and Hughesy, We Have a Problem.

In 1993, Lucy joined the cast of the live ABC TV comedy The Late Show.[2] She has since co-starred with Mick Molloy in two movies, Crackerjack (2002) and Bad Eggs (2003),[2] the latter directed by Tony Martin (both Martin & Molloy were fellow cast-members on The Late Show). Lucy also appeared on the short-lived and controversial The Mick Molloy Show.[citation needed]

In August 2009, Lucy began appearing on Rove, replacing Dave Hughes after he left the show,[14] remaining a regular cast member until the program ended three months later in November 2009.[15] In 2011, she appeared in a series Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey on ABC Television,[16] directed by her old friend and Late Show colleague Tony Martin.[citation needed]

In 2012, Lucy was the patron of Perth's annual Revelation Film Festival,[17] and had a small role in the film The Sapphires.[2] In July 2013, Lucy teamed up with film critic Jason Di Rosso to serve as temporary hosts for ABC TV's At the Movies.[18]

In 2015, the series Judith Lucy Is All Woman, a look at the role of women in present-day Australian society, aired on ABC Television.[19]

In 2019, Lucy joined the cast of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in series 5, replacing Kitty Flanagan and cast as a "wellness expert" to look at some of the products offered by the booming wellness industry.[20][21]

In August 2019, Lucy resumed her role as the "voice of reason" on Rove McManus' new comedy show on Network Ten Saturday Night Rove.[22] The show was cancelled on 31 August 2019.[23]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2023 Thank God You’re Here Judge (herself) 1 episode
2023 Crazy Fun Park Ms West 7 episodes
2022 One Plus One Self 1 episode-Guest
2019–22 Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery[24] Self 2 episodes-Guest
2018–21 How to Stay Married Audrey Price 10 episodes
2021 Only the Shit You Love Self 6 episodes
2021 Broad Radio Self Podcast Series 1 episode
2020 Combat Wombat CeCe
2015 Judith Lucy All is Woman[25] Self 6 episodes
2013 Being Brendo Brandi Abbott 3 episodes
2012 The Sapphires (film) Merle
2005 Da Kath & Kim Code Santa's Helper TV Movie
2003 Kath & Kim Bettina 1 episode
2003 Bad Eggs Julie Bale
2002 Crackerjack Nancy Brown
1995 Gorgeous Hermione Short
1993 Bargearse Ann Bourke
1992–93 The Late Show Various 21 episodes

Radio

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Lucy was a regular on Mick Molloy and Tony Martin's radio show Martin/Molloy (1995–1998), and over the following decade she co-hosted several popular radio programmes, including Triple J's The Ladies Lounge (with Helen Razer) (1997) and the Today Network's Foxy Ladies (with Kaz Cooke) (1998), The Friday Shout (with Peter Rowsthorn) (2003), The Judith Lucy Show (with Peter Helliar) (2004) and The Arvo (with Peter Helliar) (2005).

Books

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In May 2008, Lucy's first book The Lucy Family Alphabet was published. Lucy wrote the book about life with her Irish-born adoptive parents and not knowing she was adopted until age 25. The book has been described as "a riotous take on Lucy's childhood [and] the lunatics who made her who she is today".[26]

In October 2012, her second book (and follow-up to her earlier memoir) Drink, Smoke, Pass Out was published.[27] One reviewer called it both funny and sad but "worth it ... because like a true champion Judith finds a way through her self-absorbed mire. Not in a righteous religious way but in an honest way."[28]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Details
King of the Road
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Grudge (UMD73150)
  • Note: Recorded live in October 1997 at The Continental, Melbourne.
The Lucy Family Alphabet

Awards and nominations

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Lucy was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the performing arts as an entertainer".[29]

ARIA Music Awards

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The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
1999 King of the Road Best Comedy Release Nominated [30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Elliot, Tim (3 May 2008). "Judith Lucy's alphabetical disorder". The Age. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Purdon, Fiona (7 July 2012). "Peace at last for spirited Judith Lucy". Courier Mail. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Judith Lucy". Conversations with Richard Fidler. ABC. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  4. ^ Pepper, Daile (16 April 2009). "Judith Lucy's Not Getting Any Younger". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  5. ^ Woodhead, Cameron (6 April 2013). "Judith Lucy & Denise Scott: The Spiral". The Age. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. ^ Rugendyke, Louise (27 July 2015). "Helpmann Awards 2015: Bogan-gate no barrier for Leo Schofield as Sydney sweeps pool". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  7. ^ Low, Lenny Ann (6 January 2016). "Judith Lucy's Helpmann-winning Ask No Questions of the Moth returns with a Sydney Opera House season". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. ^ Bemrose, Lee. "Ask No Questions Of The Moth Judith Lucy -Melbourne Reviews". Australian Stage. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. ^ Lallo, Michael (4 February 2015). "Judith Lucy wrestles with jelly and gender stereotypes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  10. ^ Moore, Tony (3 December 2016). "Judith Lucy's disappointments: 'I've been called the Yoko Ono of television'". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  11. ^ Dolan, Joe (16 April 2017). "Judith Lucy & Denise Scott: Disappointments (MICF)". The Music. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  12. ^ Byrne, Jordan (4 October 2018). "2019 Adelaide Fringe Ambassadors Announced". Glam Adelaide. Glam Digital Pty Ltd. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. ^ Christi, AA (3 October 2018). "Diverse Trio of Artists Announced As 2019 Adelaide Fringe Ambassadors". Broadway World. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  14. ^ David Knox, 11 August 2009. "Judith Lucy joins Rove". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  15. ^ Millar, Paul (15 November 2009). "Rove calls it quits". The Age. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey". ABC. 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Revelation Film Festival announces 2012 program". IF Magazine. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  18. ^ Hardie, Giles (21 June 2013). "Margaret and David take a break from At The Movies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Judith Lucy Takes a Look at the Ladies…and Gentlemen". About the ABC. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  20. ^ Knox, David (20 March 2019). "Judith Lucy joins The Weekly". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  21. ^ Knox, David (27 March 2019). "Judith Lucy serious about singledom". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Rove McManus Returns to Screens for A Wild Night of Variety". NowToLove.com.au. Now to Love. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Ten's Saturday Night Rove TV show is axed after two episodes". News.com.au. News Corp. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Returning: Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery | TV Tonight". 19 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Cameras roll on Judith Lucy is All Woman | TV Tonight". 5 February 2014.
  26. ^ "Lucy's book an alphabet of dysfunctional hilarity". The Age. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  27. ^ "Judith Lucy talks about her new book - Drink Smoke Pass Out". ABC. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  28. ^ Martell, Ally (4 May 2013). "Book review: Drink Smoke Pass Out". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Ms Judith Lucy". Australian Honours Search Facility. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  30. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
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