VALE LILY CONNERS 1931 – 2018

It is with great sadness that we notify the ALVA Membership of the passing of Lily Conners. Lily was born in Cessnock in 1931. At Age 11 she discovered she could yodel and won a heat of Australia’s Amateur Hour. In  1946 she went on to sin the Radio 2KY competition which led her to perform in may variety shows touring the country.

In 1948, Lily her mother and sister Bonnie travel to America to visit her mother’s family. Whilst she was there, Lily got her own half hour show on KFI Television in Los Angles billed as “The Girl From Australia”. She then joined a government sponsored touring show called “Nations in Review” representing Australia. She was offered a Hollywood 5 year starlet contract but turned it down because she felt she would be controlled too much by the studio.

In 1950, Lily returned to Australia and was soon a regular on shows organised by Ted Quigg and Tim McNamara. It was her version of “Chime Bells” that became her signature song. Lily was a regular on the 2GB radion program “Bonnington’s Bunkhouse” for 5 years, and she was a frequent guest on Bandstand and Reg Lindsay’s Country Television Program.

In 1962, she gave birth to her son Alan and it was here that she slowly cut back on her performing career. In 1972, she embarked on a short tour with Slim Dusty and it was to be her last major performance. In 1978, she was inducted into the “Hands of Fame” in Tamworth

She peacefully passed away on Wednesday 10th October, 2018, age 87. The details about her funeral will be passed on by Judy Stone at a later date. These details will be sent via email.