Farewell, Fiona MacDonald
Thank you for the entertainment, and the inspiration.
“My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building.”
Those were the final words of Brisbane’s Fiona MacDonald, delivered via social media after her death this week.
Like many Australians, I grew up watching Fiona on television, first on the educational and fun children’s show Wombat, and then on the silly game show It’s A Knockout (alongside Billy J Smith, who we lost a few years ago). They were two very different shows that demonstrated her versatility as a performer and ability to engage with audiences of all types.
The girl from Brisbane, via Blackall, became a national star at a young age.
But it was her final act that deserves the greatest applause. Fiona spent her last years of her life raising funds for research into motor neurone disease (MND), the cruel condition that finally took her life at just 67.
That takes courage, and strength, and a dedication to others that few of us could muster under such circumstances.
My thoughts are with Kylie, and Jacki, and the rest of Fiona’s family as they come to terms with this and mourn in their own time and way.
Meantime, there’s some video here from the ABC’s Australian Story about that fundraising trip, along with some tributes from those who knew Fiona best. Here’s some audio from an interview last year with Spencer Howson, and there’s a link here to the Big Lap charity fundraiser.
May you rest in peace, Fiona.
P.S. I’ve been moving this week, so I’ve yet to catch up here on other news, including the latest radio ratings. I’ll post about that soon.