Leo McKern In 1983, McKern was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts. He frequently travelled between England and Australia both to visit family and friends, and to appear in various films and plays. As he was frightened of flying, he booked tickets to travel on cargo ships. This gave him time and peace to read scripts and contracts, with the added benefit of feeling he was on holidays. McKern informed his daughter Abigail that he suffered from stage fright, which became harder to control with age. He also worried that his stout frame
A Son Is Born was a 22-year-old radio actor who later moved to England and married Leo McKern. Kitty Bluett was a musical comedy star, the daughter of comedian Fred Bluett. The film was shot in the Supreme Sound System studio in early 1945. Filming was scheduled to allow the actors to take radio and stage jobs, and sometimes would start at midnight. War footage shot by Damien Parer is used in the New Guinea sequences. The movie was shot prior to "Smithy" (1946), also starring Randell and Steinbeck, but its release was held off until after that bigger budget movie to take advantage