Australian Prisoner actress Joy Westmore dies aged 88 following a battle with dementia
Australian actress Joy Westmore (née Grisold) has died aged 88 following a battle with dementia.
Her passing was announced on Channel Seven’s The Morning Show on Friday.
Joy is best known for playing the bespectacled officer Joyce Pringle in the soap Prisoner: Cell Block H from 1979-1986.
Farewell: Australian actress Joy Westmore (née Grisold) has died aged 88 following a battle with dementia
She also appeared in other classic Australian soaps like Neighbours, The Sullivans, and Blue Heelers.
On Prisoner, Joy’s character Joyce was a friendly, somewhat dim-witted officer who was often taken advantage of by the prisoners.
In one memorable scene, she was brutally beaten by villain Eve Wilder.
Claim to fame: Joy is best known for playing the bespectacled officer Joyce Pringle in the soap Prisoner: Cell Block H from 1979-1986
Another storyline saw her kidnapped by prison thug Lou Kelly, who used her to escape from the prison.
Her character eventually married the prison chef, Mervin Pringle.
Before her work on Prisoner, Joy worked with comedian Barry Humphries and was present for one of the first ever sketches featuring his iconic character, Dame Edna Everage.
Iconic: On Prisoner, Joy’s character Joyce (left) was a friendly, somewhat dim-witted officer who was often taken advantage of by the prisoners
She also had regular roles on The Graham Kennedy Show and The Ernie Sigley Show.
Joy got her start in showbusiness in the early 1950s reading commercials for radio.
She’s previously described herself as ‘not very ambitious’, preferring instead to focus on raising her four children.
Working actress: Joy also had a few short roles on the Australian soap Neighbours (pictured with Mark Raffety)