Lynn Bayonas Lynn Bayonas i(A131043 works by) (birth name: Lynette Margaret Bower)
Born: Established: 11 Apr 1943 Melbourne, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 25 Jan 2010
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Born Lynette Margaret Bower, Lynn Bayonas was the first daughter of Helen and Fred Bower. She left Westleigh College at fourteen, and within a few years had secured a position with the Australian Ballet as assistant to the general manager. During the company's European tour, the then eighteen-year-old Bower became increasingly unhappy with her job. While in London, she made a successful application for a job with Hollywood actor/director Orson Welles, who was about to begin filming in Spain. It was while she was working in Spain that she met Luis Bayonas, a writer and filmmaker. Although the couple never married, she later took his surname as hers.

The three years that Bayonas spent working with Welles taught her a great deal about writing drama and provided her with the level of expertise that saw her offered a position as script writer with Crawford Productions (q.v.). Following her return to Australia in the mid-1960s, Bayonas wrote for Crawford's popular drama series Division 4 and The Box, and in 1971 was briefly script editor for the top-rating Homicide. Three years later, she was the associate producer and script editor for the ABC's goldfields drama Rush. The series went on to win thirteen Logies. Bayonas also developed a number of children's dramas at the ABC, including the award-winning Frank and Francesca (1973), while also providing scripts for adult drama series such as The Sullivans.

In 1981, James Davern (q.v.) hired her as script producer for his new series, A Country Practice. Within four years, the show's popularity and Bayonas's growing reputation led to her being appointed head of drama at Channel Nine. Under her management, Nine aired such series as The Flying Doctors, A Fortunate Life, Barlow and Chambers, Ring of Scorpio, The Girl from Tomorrow, Willing and Abel, and All the Way. Despite her success, Bayonas became tired of clashing with the 'Channel Nine boys' club' and finally left the network in 1987 to become a freelance writer and producer. In 1991, she created the raunchy Chances, which featured nudity in prime time. When Nine indicated that it would keep the show going but only in a later timeslot and with more sex, Bayonas and her writing team were given an opportunity to let their imaginations go in any direction they wanted and Chances began building a cult following as the episodes became even raunchier and the stories more absurd.

Between 1994 and 2000, Bayonas lived in Los Angeles, writing for sitcoms and miniseries. During this period, she worked primarily for Paramount Pictures, working on programmes such as Sunset Beach and Prime Time. After returning to Australia, Bayonas began working on the Australian-Canadian co-production The Saddle Club, based on Bonnie Bryant's bestselling books about three twelve-year-old girls and their horses. The show was sold to cable in the US, and has since sold more than 400,000 DVDs. At the same time, she also produced several other children's dramas, including the fantasy Guinevere Jones. As production for the third series of The Saddle Club finished in 2008, Bayonas discovered that she had cancer. Lyn Bayonas died in early 2010, and is survived by her partner, children Daniel and Ilena, and a grandson. She was also the sister of Australian television producer Susan Bower (Neighbours).

A leading figure in Australian drama during the 1970s and 1980s, Lynn Bayonas became Channel Nine's head of drama during the heyday of local mini-series and finished her career with the highly successful children's series The Saddle Club. 'There was no one she fought with, and no one she worked with, who didn't respect her drive and ability and creative energy in the hundreds of hours of Australian television drama that she brought to the screen,' said James Davern, the creator of the long-running rural drama A Country Practice, who credits Bayonas for much of its success.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Further Reference:

    • 'Lyn Bayonas' Friends at Rest - online (sighted 15/09/2010)

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon A Country Practice ( dir. Igor Auzins et. al. )agent Sydney Australia : JNP Films Seven Network , 1981-1993 Z1699739 1981-1994 series - publisher film/TV

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.

1984 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1985 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1986 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1992 nominated Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
form y separately published work icon The Sullivans 1976 Melbourne Australia : Crawford Productions Nine Network , 1976-1983 Z1632899 1976 series - publisher film/TV historical fiction war literature

Set in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell during World War Two, The Sullivans follows the lives of Dave and Grace Sullivan and their children John, Tom, Dave, and Kitty. However, the storylines reach beyond the immediate Sullivan family, allowing viewers to see their extended family, friends, and neighbours also struggle through everyday war-time life.

The series also featured war-action sequences involving various characters. Arguably the most dramatic moment, and the event that effectively became a turning point in the series, was the death of Grace Sullivan in a London air raid. The series finished after a seven-year run, by which point most of the original cast had left the series and the remaining characters had settled into a new life in the post-war era.

1981 winner Logie Awards Special Logie for Sustained Excellence
1980 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1979 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1978 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1977 winner Logie Awards Best New Drama
Last amended 11 Nov 2010 09:21:58
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