Anne Charleston - Early Career

Early Career

Anne Charleston first became widely recognisable in Australia in the early 1970s on television, taking various guest roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police. Other appearances included guest roles in other Crawford's adventure series Hunter (1967) and Ryan (1973), and in Network Ten-produced police drama The Long Arm (1971).

She had continuing roles in soap operas Bellbird and Class of '75, and appeared in Number 96 as a deranged woman who kidnapped Alf and Lucy's baby in late 1975. She had also appeared in the feature film version of Bellbird, Country Town (1971), playing a different character from that which she had played in the series. In the late 1970s and the 1980s she had several small roles in soap opera Prisoner. Having briefly played the brusque daughter of released prisoner "Mum" Brooks in 1979, Charleston returned for several appearances in the serial as policewomen through the early 1980s before taking the larger recurring role of Deidre Kean, mother of prison toughie Reb Kean (Janet Andrewartha), in 1984. In 1985 she took a leading regular role in new soap opera Possession; however, the series was cancelled by the network later that same year due to lower than desired ratings.

Charleston had also enjoyed a busy career acting in the Australian theatre. With St. Martin's Theatre she acted in Wrong Side of the Park, The Irregular Verb, To Love, Angels in Love, A Far Country, The Anniversary, Invitation to a March, Eden House, The Cavern, Have you Any Dirty Washing Mother Dear, Blithe Spirit and Children's Day.

She also appeared in J C Williamson's Woman in a Dressing Gown starring Googie Withers, Juggler's Three for the Melbourne Theatre Company Workshop, and The Secretary Bird starring Patrick Macnee. Other theatre includes Busybody, Port Wine, Night of the Ding Dong, Burst of Summer, Murder in the Cathedral, The Rivals, The Tower, Everyman, Antigone, The Man of Destiny, Otherwise Engaged and The Shifting Heart.