When television arrived in Australia in 1956, Mary Parker became an overnight star and a household name.
The young actress had already forged a name in England, where from the age of 21 she had appeared on stage in London's West End and in feature films and television dramas, opposite actors such as Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Boris Karloff and Lloyd Bridges.
Film studios likened her star quality to Debbie Reynolds, and she had fielded offers from Hollywood. But homesick for Australia, she resisted.
In July 1956, the fledgling HSV-7 network, the first television station in Melbourne, began test transmissions. Soon after, it offered her an anchor role, alongside Eric Pearce and Danny Webb.
Parker had gained invaluable live-to-air television experience at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London, working alongside actors like Fairbanks and celebrities such as singer Petula Clark.
Blessed with an extraordinary memory, she later recalled how her stage career made her a natural choice for television. At her BBC audition she memorised two pages of script, then delivered them flawlessly to camera.
On November 4, 1956, HSV-7's opening night, Parker presented the news with Pearce, a ground-breaking achievement.
Women were often considered by male television executives as unsuited to delivering grave or important news; even at the BBC, its first female television news reader was, in 1957, only on a regional network.
As a host, Parker "top and tailed" shows including "Beauty is My Business," "Eric and Mary" (co-hosted with Pearce) and "Guest of the Week."
Soon after, she co-hosted with Tony Charlton the Melbourne Olympic Games.
Her musical talent was also called upon. She sometimes played piano as a prelude to her regular series of interviews and once did a live duet with American Jazz pianist Freddy Cole.
She recalled how once when a segment fell over, she did an impromptu cooking segment using a hurriedly bought raw chicken.
"I didn't really know how to roast a chicken, but I seemed to get away with it."
Regrettably, because all the shows were live to air and not pre-recorded, no footage of her early appearances survives.
"We had a great deal of fun, but it was a lot of hard work for not much pay at all," she mused years later.
Mary Parker was a twin, born two hours earlier than her sister, Sue, in Bath, England in 1930. Their father Charles Avison Parker was a high-ranking officer in the Royal Navy and the Australian Navy.
He had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis while serving in Asia so moved to Australia to aid his health and Mary spent her childhood in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.
Three of her brothers served in the military: Anthony, a Royal Australian Air Force test pilot, was killed in World War II; Peter became an air commodore in the RAAF; and Michael, a commander in the Royal Navy.
A wartime comrade and close friend of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Michael later became his secretary and equerry-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth.
In 1957, Mary Parker married prominent portrait artist Paul Fitzgerald, who had also returned from overseas where his work was gaining international acclaim in England and the United States.
Their engagement and wedding had the social pages buzzing. When the popular television personality gave up her career soon after, HSV-7 was flooded with letters from viewers wanting her back.
Paul and Mary went on to have seven children. His work as a portrait painter meant long absences overseas painting subjects, including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John XXIII and Vivien Leigh.
It allowed little scope, until later years, for Mary to resume her career.
Mary Fitzgerald continued to make appearances in Australian television dramas such as 'Blue Heelers' into her late '70s.
She had a lifelong love of music, an unquenchable love of people and good company, and a wide circle of friends across the globe. She devotedly nursed Paul in his final years, until his death at 94, in 2017.
Mary Fitzgerald (nee Parker) died in hospital in Melbourne at the weekend after a short illness surrounded by her large and loving family. She was alert and witty until the last.
To the final curtain.
ABC Landline reporter, Tim Lee is Mary Fitzgerald's son-in-law.
