Lisa McCune

Infobox actor
name = Lisa McCune


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birthdate = birth date and age|1971|2|19|df=yes
location = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
occupation = Actress
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spouse = Tim Disney (2000 - present)
children = Archer James (born 2001)
Oliver Timothy (born 2003)
Remy Elise (born 2005)
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Lisa McCune (born 19 February 1971 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), is a four time Gold Logie Award winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Constable Maggie Doyle in "Blue Heelers".

Early career (1988–1993)

After graduating from Carine Senior High School as just age 16, she was immediately accepted into both the Classical Singing and Musical Theatre courses at the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She embarked on the Musical Theatre course, and graduated with a BA in Music Theatre in 1990, becoming one of WAAPA's youngest ever graduates. Upon graduation, Lisa immediately secured a distinguished agent in Robyn Gardiner Management (RGM Associates) and took on various jobs in Sydney and Melbourne.

In February 1991 she won a twelve-month contract with Coles Supermarkets, for a series of print and TV advertisements in which she played 'Lisa' the girl-next-door checkout-chick.

McCune performed in a state-wide tour of Victorian high schools in the educational John Romeril play about work experience, called 'Working Out', was in the chorus for a Sydney musical version of 'Great Expectations' starring Philip Gould, and starred as the hilarious aspiring ballerina postulant, Sister Mary Leo, in the short-lived sequel to the Dan Goggin musical 'Nunsense'.

She had a brief appearance in a re-enactment about an alien-sighting in Bass Strait for the American series 'Unsolved Mysteries' and a role in the unforgettable horror movie 'Body Melt,' in which her heavily-pregnant character was attacked by a ferocious placenta before dying from an exploding stomach. McCune also spent time singing in a couple of bands including George Kapiniaris' 'Flares' and 'Choice'.

In 1991 she filmed a promising pilot for a Steve Vizard/Artist Services comedy called 'Turn it Up' (aka 'Radio Waves'). In 1993, Lisa won the lead part of Allie Carter in the pilot of 'Newlyweds' before being replaced by Annie Jones for the series. Being rejected, though, allowed her to star in something that would last until 2000.

Blue Heelers (1994–2000)

McCune shot to fame in January 1994 when, at just 22 she was cast as Constable Maggie Doyle in "Blue Heelers". She played the role until the seventh season, during which time she won the Gold Logie Award For Most Popular Television Personality four times. When her character was killed in 2000, the "Who Shot Maggie Doyle?" story arc was the most watched in the series history, and her departure is attributed as one of the major factors in the ratings slump that followed.

Throughout her "Blue Heelers" era, she also took time off here and there to star in many other productions. In 1996 Lisa shot a part opposite her "Blue Heelers" on-screen brother, Brett Climo, in a friend's film, 'The Inner Sanctuary'. In early 1997 her performance of the notoriously difficult role of Anne in the Melbourne Theatre Company's "A Little Night Music" In 1998, McCune played Cinderella in another Sondheim musical, "Into the Woods". She also managed to do two short seasons of the classic two-hander "Love Letters".

In early 1999 she took six weeks off "Blue Heelers" to play one of the leads, Mary Abacus, in the miniseries adaptation of Bryce Courtenay's "The Potato Factory". In July 1999, a couple of months before finishing on "Blue Heelers" she starred alongside John Wood in "She Loves Me".

Later career (2000–present)

Immediately after finishing "Blue Heelers", she went on and starred alongside John Waters (later Rob Guest) in a stage version of The Sound of Music, as the one and only Maria von Trapp.

Her next project, a "comeback" role in 2002, (after being away for a year to be a stay-at-home-mother to her first child) was the television series "Marshall Law" with Alison Whyte and former "Blue Heelers" cast member William McInnes. The series was critically panned, and ratings dropped significantly to ensure that it was cancelled after one season.

In 2004, after another year off from giving birth to her second child, McCune slowly began to return to television–first once-again becoming the advertising face of Coles Supermarkets like she did back in 1993, then hosting Seven Network shows such as "The World Around Us" and "Forensic Investigators". McCune also starred alongside Matt Day in the ABC telemovie "Hell Has Harbour Views".

In September 2005, McCune guest starred in a four-episode storyline on "MDA" alongside her former "Blue Heelers" co-star Paul Bishop.

Also in 2005 she has narrated a second season of Forensic Investigators and was the Australian film Little Fish starring alongside Cate Blanchett and Sam Neill in the early stages of her third pregnancy.

She has also appeared in a number of musicals and other stage productions around Australia, notably as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret", Hope Cladwell in "Urinetown", and Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

McCune is in the ensemble cast for the Nine Network drama series, Sea Patrol, currently showing in 2007. Her character is the Executive Officer (second in command) Lieutenant Kate McGregor, of a fictional Royal Australian Navy patrol boat.

On 5 April 2008, she began her role of Sarah Brown in the major stage production Guys & Dolls, currently playing at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne.

Personal life

McCune is married to Tim Disney, a film technician who was once part of the "Blue Heelers" crew. They began dating in 1996, and married on 18 February 2000. They have three children: sons Archer James (born 31 May 2001) and Oliver Timothy (born early October 2003), and daughter Remy Elise (born 15 June 2005).

External links

* [http://www.lisamccune.net LisaMcCune.net]