Peta Rutter
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Born
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Peta
Elizabeth Gurney Rutter
December 31, 1959
South
Wales
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Died
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July
20, 2010
Auckland, New Zealand |
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Cause of Death
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Malignant
Brain Tumor
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Occupation
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Actress,
Dancer
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Years active
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1981-2006
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Known for
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Udonna,
Power Rangers Mystic Force
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Spouse
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Chris
Jannides (? -?)
Carl
Bland (1989/1990 -2010)
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Children
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Milli
Jannides (b.1986)
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Peta Elizabeth Gurney Rutter (December 31, 1959-July 20, 2010)
was a New Zealand actress known most notably for her key role in Power Rangers Mystic Force as Udonna,
the White Ranger. Other television roles included appearances on Away Laughing
(1991-1992), Young Hercules (1998), while film roles included The Footstep Man
(1992) and This is Not a Love Story (2002).
Rutter was
heavily involved in New Zealand theatre along with her second husband, Carl
Bland, and close friend Ben Crowder. Bland and Rutter created the stage company
Nightsong Productions which produced shows such as The Bed Show, The House of
Doors and Camels, and more. Rutter also performed in a wide range of
productions including 4.48 Psychosis (2004) and The Dentist’s Chair (2008).
The daughter
of Lady Mary and Sir Frank Rutter, who was a well-known and respected doctor in
New Zealand. She was one of six daughters that included: Tina, Mandy, Jo,
Nicky, and Maria. Rutter had one daughter, Milli Jannides, who was raised by
Rutter and Bland. She passed away on July 20, 2010 after being diagnosed with a
brain tumor only two weeks prior.
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 Career
- 3 Personal life
- 3.1 Death
- 4 Filmography
- 4.1 Film and Television
- 4.2 Theatre
- 4.3 Music Videos
- 5 References
Early Life
Peta Elizabeth Gurney Rutter was born on December 31, 1959
in South Wales, to parents Lady Mary and doctor Sir Frank Rutter. She was one
of six daughters and grew up with two dogs and a cat. Her sisters were Joanna
“Jo” Beyer (nee Rutter), Mandy Beyer (nee Rutter), Nicola “Nicky” Ling (nee
Rutter), Maria Rutter, and Tina Rutter. Peta, along with the rest of her
family, left South Wales in 1963 to pursue a life in New Zealand. The family
traveled on the ocean liner Canberra
until the ship caught fire on January 4, 1963 following an explosion in the
boiler room. Rutter, her family, and the rest of the passengers were then taken
to their destinations by airplane.
Career
1980’s
Rutter began her acting career in the early 1980’s, playing
one of the dancers at a party in the New Zealand horror mystery Strange
Behavior (1981). In 1985, Rutter starred in the music video of Diamonds On
China, performed by The Narcs. The music video can still be viewed via YouTube here.
Simultaneously in 1981, she began her career as a
dancer and joined the Australian dance group, Darc Swan. Darc Swan had been
formed by Rutter’s first husband, Chris Jannides. The group was created in 1981
and was disbanded in 1997. As stated by Jannides,“The first 2-3 years had a core group of myself,
Kilda Northcott, Kaye Freeman, and the actress Peta Rutter (to whom I was
also married).” Though it is unknown what year Rutter left, she was at least
present in the group in 1984.
1990’s
During the
1990’s, Rutter began to have more television roles. She joined the sketch
comedy series, Away Laughing (1991-1992) and remained on it for its two
year-long run. The series was produced by Dave Gibson and starred late actor
Kevin Smith, as well as other notable theatre talents such as Danny
Mulheron and Carol Smith. She also acted in two
“made for TV movies” for TV One, including Trifecta (1995) as Anne McGuire, the
estranged wife of the main character, and in Home Movie (1997) as Maggie, the
sister of the main character. Rutter’s other TV role was a two-episode stint on
Young Hercules in 1998. She portrayed Iambe, one of Zeus’ lovers and the mother
of their son Lucius played by Craig Parker. In film, Rutter only had one role
and that was of Lucie in The Footstep Man (1992). The film, directed by Leon
Narbey, is about a man who creates sound effects in movies. She had a
supporting role.
Along
with husband Carl Bland, Peta founded the Auckland theatre company Nightsong
Productions on April 22, 1994. Each took half ownership of the company, getting
500 shares a piece. The company was behind the scenes of many productions
including: The Bed Show, The House of Doors and Camels, Peta and Carl at The
Last Supper, and SOFA Stories. Nightsong Productions would later merge with
Theatre Stampede, another theatre company whose director was Ben Crowder, who
together they had collaborated with later to create both HEAD and 360- A
Theatre of Recollections. She also had a role in Douglas Wright’s Forbidden
Memories (1997.)
2000’s
Into the early
2000’s, Rutter began taking on more acting roles for both on screen and in the
theatre. In 2000, she guest-starred as Pru Simmonds during the first series of
the New Zealand drama, Street Legal. She also had an appearance on Xena:
Warrior Princess in 2000 as one of the original Amazons. The episode in which
she appeared, Lifeblood, was interesting as many of the scenes were recycled
from a scrapped pilot called Amazon High. The series was to take place in the
same universe as Xena and was filmed in late 1997. Rutter’s work was part of
the scenes that had been recycled. She also appeared on the learning program
Korero Mai as Ava. The show teaches the language of Maori. It is unknown how
many episodes or what year she appeared on the program, but the show itself ran
from 2004-2012.
Rutter also had a couple of film roles during this time. In 2000, Rutter
and Leonie Reynolds, who also directed and wrote, lent their voices to the
short film Heaven To Cry. It featured “Forest scenes with poetry seeking the
morning light.” Her final film appearance was a starring role in the movie This
is Not a Love Story (2002), which also starred Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and Stephen
Lovatt. Rutter portrayed Suzanne, the wife of Lovatt’s character who is a
struggling artist in a struggling marriage. Written and directed by Keith Hill,
it was released on July 15 and is estimated to have had a budget of 1,000,000.
Continuing to be a major part of Auckland Theatre, Rutter was involved in numerous productions throughout the
decade. She appeared in two of Shona McCullagh’s works – Flare Up: A Floral
Explosion and The Human Garden. In 2002 she worked with Douglas Wright again
for Inland, as the central character of the Shepard. In 2004 she played the
First Witch in Michael Hurst’s Macbeth. That same year, Rutter and seven other
actors had to play 50 different characters in the show, Wild Cabbage. Rutter
also had a key role in 2004 apart of 4.48 Psychosis, which was written by famed
playwright Sarah Kane who committed suicide in 1999. The play itself is a
detailed look into the mental state of the depressed mind, with Kane having
just completed it prior to her death. On Kane’s work, Rutter stated, “The
play is always going to be informed by the fact that she killed herself, but to
say that is its main impact is to discredit her. She is an amazing playwright.
4.48 Psychosis was two years in the writing. She was reading widely on the
subject in that time and the play works on a lot of other levels as well. Her
work is very layered, and we experimented a lot to get to the essence of it.” Other
theatre performances included Maura in Milo’s Wake (2006), Judy in The
Dentist’s Chair (2008), and as the Deranged Language Teacher in The Wife Who
Spoke Japanese in Her Sleep. (2009). Along with Theatre Stampede, Nightsong
Productions won the Chapman Tripp Award for Most Original Production for the
show HEAD in 2005. 360, which Rutter co-wrote alongside Bland, was originally
performed in 2010 and then brought back posthumously in 2014 where it won The
Hackman Cup.
Power Rangers
Rutter is most known for her role as Udonna,
the White Ranger, on Power Rangers Mystic Force (2006). Appearing in Season
Fourteen of the long-running American show, Rutter played the mentor of the
Power Rangers. Peta Rutter is the oldest actress to have portrayed a ranger
(the only actor to surpass her was Arthur Ranford who portrayed Albert Smith,
the Purple Ranger, in one episode of Power Rangers Dino Charge). She portrayed
the character in all 32 episodes of the series, which was shot in New Zealand. The
series used action footage from Super Sentai Series Mahou Sentai Magiranger.
The series was produced by Bruce Kalish who returned for his second year apart
of Power Rangers. Towards the end of the series, it was revealed that Udonna
was the mother of Red Ranger Nick, portrayed by Firass Dirani. The show became
Rutter’s last screen appearance with the final episode Mystic Fate Part II. Rutter’s
performance and character are often considered a highlight of the series.
Personal Life
Rutter was married twice. Her first marriage with
artist and dancer Chris Jannide produced one daughter, Milli Jannides, who is
also a professional artist. Rutter gave birth to Jannides in Sydney, Australia
1986. The night before her daughter’s birthdays, Rutter would kiss her however
many years old she was turning. Rutter later married Carl Bland between
1989-1990, and the two raised Jannides themselves since she was three years
old. Her father, Sir Frank Rutter, passed away in 2002 at the age of 84. Her
mother, Lady Mary Rutter (nee Milton) is still alive today.
In addition to being heavily involved in theatre works
together, Rutter and Bland also enjoyed traveling across New Zealand to search
through “demolition yards and markets for objects that take their
fancy.” They incorporated their finds into their home.
Death and Posthumous Work
Rutter had gone to an Optometrist because she believed
that she needed new reading glasses. Per Bland, the Optometrist "noticed
she wasn't seeing colours right and two weeks later she was dead". It was revealed
to have been a brain tumor that had formed. During this time, Rutter and Bland
were in the process of selling their house. On the day Rutter passed the two
were due to move out. Despite her sudden death, Bland still had to move out of
the house. A service was held on July 28, 2010 at Saint Andrew’s Church which
was followed by a private cremation. Her grave resides in the Saint Andrew’s
Churchyard. Following her death, Bland was unsure if he’d be able to write another
show without her. He created the “comedy about grief” play, Te Po, in 2016 and
dedicated it to Rutter. He included Rutter in the closing of play, however, by having the
final dialogue be a monologue she had written herself. An interview with Bland
suggested she may always be in his shows with the Q/A segment containing, “And how did Rutter get in? Bland
looks at me and I know what he’s thinking. Why do I even ask? She was going to
get into whatever he wrote. She possibly always will.”
Filmography
Film and Television
Year
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Title
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Role
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Notes
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1981
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Strange Behavior (aka Dead Kids)
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Dancer at Party
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1991-1992
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Away Laughing
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Various Characters
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Sketch Comedy Series
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1992
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The Footstep Man
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Lucie
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1995
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Trifecta
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Anne McGuire
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Television Film
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1997
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Home Movie
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Maggie
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Television Film
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1998
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Young Hercules
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Iambe
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Two Episodes
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2000
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Heaven To Cry
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Narrator
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Voice Role Only
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2000
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Xena: Warrior Princess
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Amazon Extra
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Episode: Lifeblood
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2000
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Street Legal
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Pru Simmonds
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Episode: Possession Is Ten Tenths of the Law
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2002
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This Is Not a Love Story
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Suzanne
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2004-2010*
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Korero Mai
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Ava
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2006
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Power Rangers Mystic Force
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Udonna, White Ranger
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Thirty-Two Episodes, Final onscreen appearance
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*It is unknown what year(s) Rutter was on the show, but the show began in
2004 and Rutter passed away in 2010.
Theatre
Year
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Production
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Role
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Notes
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Unknown
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Flare Up: A Floral Explosion
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Unknown
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Unknown
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The Human Garden
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Unknown
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1997
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Forbidden Memories
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Unknown
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2002
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Inland
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Shepard
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2004
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4.48 Psychosis
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N/A**
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2004
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Macbeth
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First Witch
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2004
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Wild Cabbage
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Multiple Characters
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2006
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Milo’s Wake
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Maura
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2008
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The Dentist’s Chair
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Judy
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2009
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The Wife Who Spoke Japanese in her Sleep
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Language Teacher
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**The show 4.48 Psychosis is not written with characters, instead it is
broken dialogue which is meant to be interpreted differently by all directors
who work on the show.
Music Videos
Year
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Artist
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Title
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Link
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1985
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The Narcs
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Diamonds on China
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https://youtu.be/6ZlUm8wjVt4
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References
TBA!!!
