Helen Findlay has come up with another “Westleigh Girl”.
I don’t remember Valerie Lehman (née
Willis) myself, but I certainly remember Val Lehman from the TV series “Prisoner”.
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As a child (and a redhead) I was greatly impressed by Queen Elizabeth I and the fact one of the greatest nations in the world was ruled by a woman.
My headmistress and favourite teacher Clarice Everard was always saying `when you educate a woman you educate an entire family', I really believe it is so.
Actors like Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin and Bette Davis who fought for actors' rights also inspire me.
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The link to this piece as pictured is
here.
Many thanks for this information,
Helen! Picture below from the larger class photo.
Fantastic stuff!
I have been watching re -runs of this show on Foxtel which has been great!
Val and all the cast are excellent!
Kudos to staff and crew!!
Proud of you,Val!! Very proud!
Not only as as ex-WC girl, but as a human being!
Another Update:
Channel Ten remakes Prisoner
Lehman negotiated royalty payments before the series first aired in 1979 and said yesterday jealousy and in-fighting over her lucrative cut was a factor in her not receiving an invitation to the November event.
Prisoner first ran from 1979 to 1986 on Australia TV, but has been syndicated across the US, UK and other parts of Europe, including Sweden.
The show continues to earn revenue from DVD sales and is a constant re-run on pay-TV.
"There are some cast members who are, perhaps, a bit jealous that I receive royalties from things like DVD sales - something I was smart enough to negotiate into my contract back in 1978," she said.
"But I was the only one smart enough to do it. And there are some that are just pissed off."
Described on the promoter's website as a "gathering of the full Prisoner cast", the reunion - which doubles as an AIDS fundraiser - is to be held in Melbourne on November 11 with tickets at $150 per head.
More than a dozen of the original cast members will attend, including Maggie Millar (Marie Winter), Margot Knight (Sharon Gilmour) and Annie Phelan who played Bea's gritty successor Myra Desmond.
A spokesman for Screen Star Events' Barry Campbell said the firm had intended to invite Lehman - but just have not done so yet.
"We are leaving some of the bigger names ... to be announced in stages to build up interest in the event," Mr Campbell said.
Lehman was unconvinced: "If they do I'll go. But that's very surprising that they've left it this long."
Lehman said the event aimed to raise money for AIDS charity Audacious Dreaming, something close to her heart.
With thanks to The Telegraph
Val Lehman's website.
Val Lehman on IMDB.
According to Val Lehman's 'blog her favourite role was in "A Fortunate Life".
Picture below shows Val as Bert Facey's mother.
Here is a picture of the original soundtrack of "A Fortunate Life".
Music by Mario Millo and title song vocals by Jon English.
I have a whole post on this mini-series on my other 'blog.
And another update:
There are also other articles on copyright issues there as it is a very complex subject; for example my posts on Melanie Safka, Cliff Richard and Led Zeppelin.
Please use the search function if necessary.
Mr Caswell claimed the 1982 tune infringed the copyright of his 1979 hit On The Inside and that Sony had failed to take appropriate steps to protect this copyright with their US counterpart.
If Sony had done so substantial damages would have been recovered, he argued.
But Justice Michael Pembroke today dismissed the songwriter’s claim, saying there was no evidence any copyright infringement claim by Sony Australia would have been successful. During a hearing of the matter last month, the Supreme Court heard from a founding member of the band Alabama, Teddy Gentry.
Gentry “recalled with obvious and detailed affection the circumstances of the creation of Christmas in Dixie on a hot, midsummer day in 1982 at Lookout Mountain in Alabama”, Justice Pembroke said.
“He said that the first time he heard the plaintiff’s song was many years later, in the Nashville office of Sony US, after the plaintiff had made a complaint.”
Gentry lived on a farm and had little exposure to television. “I am satisfied that it is unlikely that he could have heard the plaintiff’s song by picking it up from the theme music of episodes of Prisoner,” Justice Pembroke said.
The court also heard that the central element of both songs is “one of the most basic and common harmonic patterns in all music”.
“There was no failure by Sony to exercise its discretion and, in the circumstances, nothing unreasonable, or lacking in good faith, in the way the discretion was exercised,” Justice Pembroke said, dismissing the claim.
From The Australian - July 3rd, 2014
See also
I have been watching re -runs of this show on Foxtel which has been great!
Val and all the cast are excellent!
Kudos to staff and crew!!
Proud of you,Val!! Very proud!
Not only as as ex-WC girl, but as a human being!
Another Update:
SQUABBLES over DVD
royalties have divided the cast from the cult Aussie series Prisoner and caused
one of the show's stars to claim she has been snubbed from a charity reunion.
Val Lehman, who played famed ringleader Bea Smith in Prisoner,
believes she was deliberately left off the guest list by the Scotland-based
company Screen Star Events.Channel Ten remakes Prisoner
Lehman negotiated royalty payments before the series first aired in 1979 and said yesterday jealousy and in-fighting over her lucrative cut was a factor in her not receiving an invitation to the November event.
Prisoner first ran from 1979 to 1986 on Australia TV, but has been syndicated across the US, UK and other parts of Europe, including Sweden.
The show continues to earn revenue from DVD sales and is a constant re-run on pay-TV.
"There are some cast members who are, perhaps, a bit jealous that I receive royalties from things like DVD sales - something I was smart enough to negotiate into my contract back in 1978," she said.
"But I was the only one smart enough to do it. And there are some that are just pissed off."
Described on the promoter's website as a "gathering of the full Prisoner cast", the reunion - which doubles as an AIDS fundraiser - is to be held in Melbourne on November 11 with tickets at $150 per head.
More than a dozen of the original cast members will attend, including Maggie Millar (Marie Winter), Margot Knight (Sharon Gilmour) and Annie Phelan who played Bea's gritty successor Myra Desmond.
A spokesman for Screen Star Events' Barry Campbell said the firm had intended to invite Lehman - but just have not done so yet.
"We are leaving some of the bigger names ... to be announced in stages to build up interest in the event," Mr Campbell said.
Lehman was unconvinced: "If they do I'll go. But that's very surprising that they've left it this long."
Lehman said the event aimed to raise money for AIDS charity Audacious Dreaming, something close to her heart.
With thanks to The Telegraph
Val Lehman's website.
Val Lehman on IMDB.
According to Val Lehman's 'blog her favourite role was in "A Fortunate Life".
Picture below shows Val as Bert Facey's mother.
Here is a picture of the original soundtrack of "A Fortunate Life".
Music by Mario Millo and title song vocals by Jon English.
I have a whole post on this mini-series on my other 'blog.
And another update:
There are also other articles on copyright issues there as it is a very complex subject; for example my posts on Melanie Safka, Cliff Richard and Led Zeppelin.
Please use the search function if necessary.
Australian Allan Caswell fails in Prisoner theme song copyright claim against Sony
THE writer of the theme song to the hit TV series Prisoner has
failed in his bid to sue Sony after claiming he was ripped off by the
publication of a similar composition.
Singer Allan Caswell launched legal action against Sony Australia
after hearing Christmas in Dixie by the American country rock band Alabama in
2003.Mr Caswell claimed the 1982 tune infringed the copyright of his 1979 hit On The Inside and that Sony had failed to take appropriate steps to protect this copyright with their US counterpart.
If Sony had done so substantial damages would have been recovered, he argued.
But Justice Michael Pembroke today dismissed the songwriter’s claim, saying there was no evidence any copyright infringement claim by Sony Australia would have been successful. During a hearing of the matter last month, the Supreme Court heard from a founding member of the band Alabama, Teddy Gentry.
Gentry “recalled with obvious and detailed affection the circumstances of the creation of Christmas in Dixie on a hot, midsummer day in 1982 at Lookout Mountain in Alabama”, Justice Pembroke said.
“He said that the first time he heard the plaintiff’s song was many years later, in the Nashville office of Sony US, after the plaintiff had made a complaint.”
Gentry lived on a farm and had little exposure to television. “I am satisfied that it is unlikely that he could have heard the plaintiff’s song by picking it up from the theme music of episodes of Prisoner,” Justice Pembroke said.
The court also heard that the central element of both songs is “one of the most basic and common harmonic patterns in all music”.
“There was no failure by Sony to exercise its discretion and, in the circumstances, nothing unreasonable, or lacking in good faith, in the way the discretion was exercised,” Justice Pembroke said, dismissing the claim.
From The Australian - July 3rd, 2014
See also
I've just been given a booklet on the history of Westleigh College published by Trevor Batrouney, which seems to have been published in 1991. Any interest out there?
ReplyDeleteHarry just emailed me and will send more info - hopefully - about obtaining this book.
ReplyDeleteMany, many thanks, Harry!!
Most appreciative of this information.
http://westleighcollegenorthcote.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/speech-night.html
ReplyDeleteI mentioned a Mr Batrouney at the above link. I am assuming Trevor Batrouney is his son.
I may be wrong.
If you like to purchase a copy of the privately published "Westleigh College, Northcote" by Trevor Batrouney, published in 1991, then get in touch directly with Trevor at trevorb[at]planet.net.au.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Harry!!
ReplyDeleteAgain, many,many thanks!