Britain Raye won her first stage role in
No, No, Nanette in 1938, and was discovered the following year by Australian-born choreographer and producer Freddie Carpenter, then operating a dance academy in
Soho, who further trained her in dance. and
Strawberry Roan (1945) by
Maurice Elvey. However it was 1945 musical romance
Waltz Time by
Paul Stein, as Empress Maria that launched her international screen career. That year in April, she toured the United States with the lead role in a stage production of
Bonanza Bound!. She turned down a multi-year Hollywood contract, deciding return to London, where she subsequently appeared in features including
Spring Song (1946) directed by
Montgomery Tully and two films directed by
John Harlow,
Green Fingers (1947) and
While I Live (1947) as well as several telemovies for the BBC.
Dear Miss Phoebe Kenya Raye having remarried in 1951, and with her husband being offered by the British Government, the opportunity to run a 1000-acre farm in the overseas Kenya Colony, the family settled in
Navaisha Town, in the West of
Mombasa. Whilst in
Kenya, two filmmakers offered Raye the lead role in their film
No Rain in Timbura, which would be the first feature produced in that country.
Australia After the family emigrated to Australia in 1964, Raye was introduced to the ABC's
Charles Moses, who in turn recommended her to
Seven Network CEO James Oswin at Sydney station
ATN-7, where she took a job as network assistant to the General Manager. She devised the concept of a satirical television series, based on
Phillip Street Theatre revues and British TV series
The Week That Was. In November 1964, the network gave the green light for
The Mavis Bramston Show, in which Raye starred as one of three originals, along with
Gordon Chater and
Barry Creyton. She also produced the pilot episode and co-produced the series (with
Michael Plant), until her departure from the show in late 1965. She resumed work on the series for the 1967 and 1968 final seasons. In the 1970s, Raye played the ongoing comedy role of much-married British socialite and baroness Amanda von Pappenburg, aunt of Don Finlayson (played by
Joe Hasham) whom she visits from
Heidelberg, Germany, in the top-rated soap opera
Number 96.
The Duke of Bedford and his wife appeared as guests on the show. After two substantial stints with the series between 1973 and 1974, Amanda was permanently written out of the serial, but Raye remained on as creative director, casting regular characters, and reviewing scripts and storylines. She appeared in many Australian theatre productions, including
California Suite,
The Pleasure of His Company,
Travelling North,
The Merry Wives of Windsor, ''
You Can't Take It With You, Noises Off, and Hay Fever. as the mother of Sigrid Thornton’s character. although in a DVD release of 32 episodes of Number 96'', she provided an audio commentary alongside co-star
Elisabeth Kirkby, film and TV critic Andrew Mercado and
The Honourable Michael Kirby. ==Personal life and death==