Background
Patricia (Pat) Carmel Stewart Kennedy was born in Queenscliff, Victoria on Street Patrick"s Day, 1916.
Patricia (Pat) Carmel Stewart Kennedy was born in Queenscliff, Victoria on Street Patrick"s Day, 1916.
Many sources give her year of birth as 1917) She was raised, and remained, a practising Catholic. She trained as a school teacher before winning the Colac Amateur Festival around 1938, which sparked a passion for acting. In 1972-1973 she worked as a consultant to the Australia Council for the Arts.
Patricia Kennedy was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 1982 New Year"s Honours, for service to the performing arts
She remained single, very private and very independent. Even in her 80s, although she owned a house in Melbourne, she preferred to live alone in a hut without electricity, on the edge of a state forest near Bega in southern New South Wales.
This was 5–6 hours drive by road from Melbourne, where she would travel for theatre commitments. In the 1990s, she was involved in founding the Four Winds Festival in Bermagui.
Kennedy died on 10 December 2012, aged 96.
A private funeral was held on 19 December. In 1946, Kennedy shared the title role in Crawford Productions" radio drama The Melba Story with singer Glenda Raymond (later to become Hector Crawford"s wife), She played Mission Crump on the long-running American Broadcasting Company radio program The Village Glee Club (1942-1971). She also appeared in episodes of the Caltex.