Grace Gibson
Grace Isabel Gibson AO, (17 June 1905 – 10 July 1989), also known as Grace Atchison and Grace Parr was an American Australian radio entrepreneur, executive and producer. She was best known for her long-running serials Dr. Paul and the local version of NBC hit Portia Faces Life.
Grace Gibson AO | |
|---|---|
 Grace Gibson, c.1947 | |
| Born | Grace Isabel Gibson 17 June 1905 |
| Died | 10 July 1989 (aged 84) |
| Other names | Grace Atchison, Grace Parr |
| Occupation(s) | Radio executive, producer, entrepreneur |
Biography
Gibson was born in El Paso, Texas, USA, in 1905 to Calvin Newton Gibson and Mexican Margaret Escobara (Schultz) and finished her schooling in California. She started her career in her native US working for the Radio Transcription Company of America, as a distributor of radio programs, when recruited by Alfred Bennett, general manager of Sydney radio station 2GB, who was visiting the United States. Together they set up American Radio Transcription Agencies (later Artransa Pty Ltd), which sold American recorded radio programs throughout Australia, and Gibson moved to Sydney, Australia in 1934.
Gibson was on a buying trip in the US in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and as a result she was prevented from returning to Australia for several years. Whilst stranded she became manager of her former company, Radio Transcription Company of America.[1]
She later set up her own company, Grace Gibson Radio Productions Pty Ltd, which became one of the biggest producers of radio drama with broadcast productions that would air in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Canada.[2] Her company produced over 30,000 programs for Australian radio.[3]
Gibson continued to produce radio dramas from her Australian headquarters for the South African market until as late as 1971, long after television had replaced radio as the main place to hear drama in the home in most countries. This was because South Africa was virtually the last place in the English-speaking world to introduce television.[4]
Gibson was three times married, she retired in 1978 and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1987 in recognition of her services to radio in Australia. She died in 1989 in Potts Point, aged 84.
Select Shows - Producer
References
- Lane, Richard and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, 1994, The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama 1923-1960: A History Through Biography, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Vic
- Murphy, Lynne, 'Gibson, Grace Isabel (1905–1989)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University accessed 5 February 2012
- "Yanks Down Under (film)". Australian Screen: An NFSA Website. 1983. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- "The history of television in SA". 4 December 2014.
- "Grace Gibson Productions". AustLit. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
External links
- Website for Grace Gibson Productions Online Retail Store
- Read more about Grace Gibson, and listen to an oral history interview done with her on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's website.
- For more information about women in early radio in Australia visit the National Film and Sound Archive's Women in Early Radio collection.
- Grace Gibson Productions at National Film and Sound Archive.
- Moran, Albert ‘Some beginnings for Australian television’, Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture, 1991, Vol 4 No 2
- Gibson, Grace Isabel at The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia