Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre since the 1960s. Although her roles have been almost exclusively in theatre, she has briefly worked in television as a character actress, filling in for Judy Nunn on the soap opera Home and Away.
Early life and education Nancye Hayes was born in 11th January 1943. She grew up in the Sydney suburb of Manly, an only child. At the age of seven, she had an operation to remove a growth in her hip joint, and the recovery included strapping her leg with irons. After her father died in a car crash when Hayes was eleven, her mother became a barmaid at the old Pacific Hotel in Manly. Nancye attended Stella Maris College, Manly, a Catholic school run by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
She began dancing lessons at age nine at Hazel and Violet Meldrum's studio. Hazel had been a choreographer for the leading Australian theatrical firm J. C. Williamson's.
Career
Theatre Hayes, aged eighteen, left a job at a Sydney office to join the chorus of an Australian production of My Fair Lady. From 1963 she understudied or played small roles in productions such as the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, My Fair Lady, Promises Promises, Hello, Dolly! and The Boys from Syracuse for J. C. Williamson's. She also performed in Kiss Me, Kate, Brigadoon, Annie Get Your Gun and Little Me at the Menzies Theatre Restaurant in Sydney.Nancye Hayes OAM 1943 – Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame http://liveperformance.com.au/halloffame/nancyehayes.html
In 1967, Hayes received wide notice playing the title role in the original Australian cast of Sweet Charity.
Over the next thirty years, she performed leading roles in Australian casts of many musicals including Fastrada in Pippin (1974), Lily St. Regis in Annie (1978–1979), Roxie Hart in Chicago (1981–1982), Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls (1986–1987), Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (1987), Liliane La Fleur in Nine (1987–1988) and Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street (1989–1993). She later played supporting roles including Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! (The Production Company, 2005), Mrs Higgins in My Fair Lady (Opera Australia, 2008), Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music (Opera Australia, 2009) and Edith Bouvier Beale in Grey Gardens (The Production Company, 2011).
Since the 1980s Hayes has also appeared in many Australian-written musicals. These include Songs from Sideshow Alley (Classic Corporation, 1980), Variations (Nimrod Theatre, 1982), Summer Rain (Sydney Theatre Company, 1989), Jonah Jones (STCSA, 1991), Eureka! (Essgee, 2004) and Metro Street (STCSA, 2009). She appeared in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television special on Australian musicals Once In A Blue Moon and its soundtrack recording. Hayes appeared in Hayes @ the Hayes (Hayes Theatre, 2019), a biography of her life devised by Tony Sheldon.
Her drama credits for Australia's major theatre companies and commercial producers include Born Yesterday, Danton's Death, Same Time, Next Year, Going Home, Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi, The Glass Menagerie, Steel Magnolias, Stepping Out, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Her cabaret show, Nancye with an E, toured Australia in 1992. In 2006, she performed with Todd McKenney in his first non-musical role in the Ensemble Theatre's production of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at the Playhouse Theatre in the Sydney Opera House. It became the theatre's most successful play ever, and the pair re-united ten years later for another season along with Sandra Bates in her final directorial role.
Film and television Hayes was a fill-in for Judy Nunn, in the series Home and Away, whilst Nunn was unwell, briefly taking over her character of Ailsa Stewart.
Roles in miniseries include Elsie Curtin in The Last Bastion and secretary to Minister Rex Connor in The Dismissal. Roles in TV series include Consider Your Verdict, Carson's Law, Rafferty's Rules, G.P., Blue Heelers and House Husbands.
Personal life Hayes was married to jazz saxophone musician and bandleader Bob Bertles, whom she met when he played in the band of Chicago, in which she starred. Her married name is Nancye Lee Bertles, but she uses her maiden name professionally.
Honours and awards Hayes was granted a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 8 June 1981 "for service to the performing arts".
She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on 26 January 2014 "for significant service to the performing arts, particularly musical theatre, as an actor, choreographer and director".
The Hayes Theatre in Potts Point, Sydney which has a focus on small-scale musical theatre and cabaret is named after her.
Hayes, alongside her showbiz contemporaries Jill Perryman and Toni Lamond, has been named a "Grand Dame of Theatre".
Awards Association Award Year Production Result Green Room Awards Green Room Award for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role (Music Theatre) 1986 Guys and Dolls Glugs Theatrical Awards For Contribution to Theatre 1986 Herself Helpmann Awards Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical − 2009My Fair Lady Helpmann Awards JC Williamson Award 2011 Herself Glugs Theatrical Awards Chief Glug's Award for Excellence Behind the Scenes 2011 Herself Helpmann Awards Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical 2012Grey Gardens Sydney Theatre AwardsBest Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical2023A Little Night Music
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleType 1976 The Sentimental Bloke Rose TV film
Television YearTitleRoleType 1963 Consider Your Verdict Rita Grange TV series, 1 episode 1967 Bandstand Guest performer (singing "I'm a Brass Band" from Sweet Charity) TV series, 1 episode 1967 The Mavis Bramston Show Various characters TV series, 1 episode 1968 Anything Goes TV series 1968 Sydney Tonight Guest TV series, 1 episode 1969 A Night of Stars Guest TV special 1970 The Mike Walsh Show Guest TV series, 1 episode 1971 Nancye Herself TV special 1972 Kamahl Guest TV series, 1 episode 1972 The Spoiler Guest lead role TV series, 1 episode 1973 The True Blue Show Various characters TV series, 1 episode 1975 Something Special Guest TV series, 1 episode 1976 The Celebrity Game Contestant TV series, 1 episode 1978 Father, Dear Father In Australia Helen Randall TV series, episode 2: "A Home from Home" 1978 The Sullivans Nance TV series, 1 episode 1980 Don Dunstan's Australia Guest TV series, 1 season 1981 The Mike Walsh Show Guest performer (singing "My Own Best Friend" from Chicagowith Geraldine Turner) TV series, 1 episode 1981 Menotti Ruth TV series, 1 episode 1981 The Mike Walsh Show Guest performer (singing "Roxie" from Chicago) TV series, 1 episode 1982 MPSIB Guest role TV series, 1 episode 1982 Parkinson In Australia Guest TV series, 1 episode 1982 The Mike Walsh Show Guest performer (singing "Big Spender" with Natalie Mosco, Robyn Moase, Olga Tamara & Tina Bursill) TV series, 1 episode 1982 What It's Like in a Theatre Narrator Film documentary 1983 Carson's Law Dorothy Nesbitt TV series, 2 episodes 1983 Court House TV pilot 1983; 1984 The Mike Walsh Show Guest TV series, 3 episodes 1983 The Dismissal Connor's Secretary TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1984 The Last Bastion Elsie Curtin TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1985 After Noon Guest TV series, 1 episode 1986 Eleven A.M. Guest TV series, 1 episode 1986 Midday at the Movies with Stuart Wagstaff Guest TV series, 1 episode 1988 Australia Day Live Concert Guest TV special 1989 Rafferty's Rules Sheree Martin TV series, 1 episode 1989 Turn Onto Tap Herself Video 1989 The Bert Newton Show Guest performer (with Leonie Page & Todd McKenney - 42nd Street) TV series, 1 episode 1989; 1994; 1996 The Midday Show Guest TV series, 3 episodes 1989 Graham Kennedy Coast to Coast Guest performer (singing You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me) TV series, 1 episode 1990 Tonight Live with Steve Vizard Guest TV series, 1 episode 1991 G.P. Anna Abrahams TV series, 1 episode 1991 Til Ten Guest TV series, 1 episode 1991 In Sydney Today Guest TV series, 1 episode 1992 The Girl From Tomorrow II: Tomorrow's End Maeve TV series, 4 episodes 1992 Six Pack Mrs Zweig TV miniseries, episode 4: "Death Duties" 1993; 1994 Ernie and Denise Guest TV series, 2 episodes 1993 What's Cooking? Guest TV series, 1 episode 1993–2005 Good Morning Australia Guest TV series 1993 Review Guest presenter TV series, 1 episode 1994 At Home Guest TV series, 2 episodes 1994 Once in a Blue Moon: A Celebration of Australian Musicals Herself TV special 1994 Nancye Hayes - At the School of Arts Cafe Herself TV special 1994 Carols in the Domain Performer TV special 1995 Music Theatre Herself TV series 1996 Sale of the Century Contestant TV series, 1 episode 1997 Monday to Friday Guest TV series, 1 episode 1997 Today Guest TV series, 1 episode 1998 This Is Your Life Special guest TV series, 1 episode "Nancye Hayes" 1998, 1999 Denise Guest TV series, 2 episodes 1999 Blue Heelers Audrey Ropers TV series, 1 episode 2000 Home and Away Ailsa Stewart (stand-in for Judy Nunn) TV series, 15 episodes 2000 In the First Person Guest TV series, 1 episode 2003; 2005; 2007 Mornings with Kerri-Anne Guest TV series, 3 episodes 2006 Studio A with Simon Burke Guest TV series, 1 episode 2006; 2012 Dancing with the Stars Audience member TV series, 2 episodes 2007 Spicks and Specks Guest TV series, 1 episode 2007 Talking Heads Guest TV series, 1 episode 2008 The Pacific Jeanne Sledge TV miniseries 2011 Helpmann Awards Winner – JC Williamson Award for Lifetime Achievement to The Arts sector and Theatre (with Toni Lamond & Jill Perryman) TV special 2012 Helpmann Awards Winner – Best Female Actor in Support Role for Grey Gardens TV special 2014 Mornings Guest TV series, 1 episode 2014 The Morning Show Guest TV series, 1 episode 2016; 2019 The Daily Edition Guest TV series, 2 episodes 2016; 2017; 2019; 2023 Today Extra Guest TV series, 4 episodes 2017 House Husbands Liz TV series, 3 episodes
Theatre
As actor