The Thorn Birds ( miniseries ) - wikipedia The Thorn Birds ( miniseries ) The Thorn Birds DVD cover Written by Carmen Culver Lee Stanley Colleen McCullough ( novel ) Directed by Daryl Duke Starring Richard Chamberlain Rachel Ward Barbara Stanwyck Christopher Plummer Jean Simmons Bryan Brown Philip Anglim Richard Kiley Theme music composer Henry Mancini Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of episodes Production Cinematography Bill Butler Editor ( s ) Robert F. Shugrue David Saxon Carroll Timothy O'Meara Running time 467 minutes Release Original network ABC Original release March 27 ( 1983 - 03 - 27 ) -- March 30, 1983 ( 1983 - 03 - 30 ) The Thorn Birds is an American television miniseries broadcast on ABC from March 27 to 30, 1983. It starred Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Christopher Plummer, Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley, Bryan Brown, Mare Winningham and Philip Anglim. It was directed by Daryl Duke and based on a novel by Colleen McCullough. The series was enormously successful and became the United States ' second highest - rated miniseries of all time behind Roots ; both series were produced by television veteran David L. Wolper. Set primarily on Drogheda, a fictional sheep station in the Australian outback named after Drogheda, Ireland, the story focuses on three generations of the Cleary family and spans the years from December 1920 to December 1962. Contents 1 Plot 2 Deviations from the novel 3 Cast 4 Development 5 Filming 6 Awards and nominations 7 VHS and DVD releases and ratings 8 References 9 External links Plot For more details on this topic, see The Thorn Birds § Plot. Deviations from the novel The novel begins in New Zealand on December 8, 1915, Meggie Cleary 's fourth birthday. The miniseries begins in Australia five years later with the Cleary 's newly arrived from New Zealand. In the novel, Meggie Cleary 's `` titian '' ( red ) hair is mentioned frequently, and used as a plot device. Rachel Ward, who played Meggie in the miniseries, had auburn hair which is a reddish brown. In the miniseries, Meggie and Stuart visit Frank in prison only once, where the audience learns in 1954 that Frank had died some time while in prison. In the novel, Ralph acts as a go - between and no one in the Cleary family sees Frank until he is released from prison after 30 years. In the novel, Meggie is totally ignorant of sexual matters until her wedding and has her own childish idea of how babies are made, which is revealed in her dialogue with Ralph. In the corresponding dialogue in the miniseries, Meggie is at least aware that animals copulate. The scene in the novel where Meggie reveals to Ralph that she has begun menstruating has Ralph reacting with anger toward Fee ( although he never confronts Fee about it ), whereas in the miniseries, Ralph is amused and bewildered. Meggie has 8 brothers in the novel. In the miniseries, only 5 appear ( Frank, Bob, Jack, Stuey and Hal ), but Fee mentions to Father Ralph soon after arriving in Australia that she lost two other sons. Justine visits Greece with Dane in the miniseries, while in the novel she stays in London. In the miniseries, Anne and Luddie Mueller attend Dane 's funeral. In the novel, Luddie had died prior to Dane 's funeral and Anne attended alone. Ralph dies while sitting in a chair with Meggie 's head in his lap, recalling the legend of the thorn bird soon after Dane 's funeral. In the novel his heart slowly gives out while the room goes into a blur. The miniseries ends with Ralph 's death. The novel continues with Justine 's and Rainer 's story. Cast Actor Role Richard Chamberlain Ralph de Bricassart Rachel Ward Meggie Cleary ( as an adult ) Sydney Penny Meggie Cleary ( as a child ) Barbara Stanwyck Mary Carson Richard Kiley Paddy Cleary Jean Simmons Fee Cleary Bryan Brown Luke O'Neill Mare Winningham Justine O'Neill Philip Anglim Dane O'Neill Ken Howard Rainer Hartheim John Friedrich Frank Cleary Dwier Brown Stuart Cleary ( as an adult ) Vidal Peterson Stuart Cleary ( as a child ) Piper Laurie Anne Mueller Earl Holliman Luddie Mueller Christopher Plummer Archbishop Vittorio di Contini - Verchese Brett Cullen Bob Cleary Stephen W. Burns Jack Cleary Barry Corbin Pete Holly Palance Miss Carmichael John de Lancie Alastair MacQueen Allyn Ann McLerie Mrs. Smith Richard Venture Harry Gough Stephanie Faracy Judy Antoinette Bower Sarah MacQueen Development The novel was originally developed as a feature film with Ed Lewis attached to produce. Ivan Moffat wrote an early draft of the script. Herbert Ross was the first director, and he saw Christopher Reeve about playing the lead. Then Peter Weir became attached to direct ; Robert Redford was the favourite to play the lead. Eventually Weir dropped out Arthur Hiller was going to direct ; Ryan O'Neal was mooted as a star. Eventually it was decided to turn it into a mini series. Filming Although the mini-series is set in Australia it was filmed in the United States. The outback scenes were filmed in southern California and the Queensland scenes were filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Drogheda main house was a set built on the Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California. The mountainous terrain of the southern California `` outback '' filming location does not resemble western New South Wales, which is predominantly level to gently rolling. The mini-series included `` the most dangerous bus in Australia ''. Since filming took place in the US an American bus was used. In Australia, where there is right - hand drive, it would set down its passengers in the middle of the road. In the miniseries, Drogheda, Mary Carson 's sheep station, is said to have been named after the Irish town of Drogheda, by a former resident of that town. However, its name is mispronounced by all characters as `` Drog - ee - da ''. In fact, the g should be silent and the e short. A former resident would pronounce it as Draw - hed - ah or Dro - hed - ah ( with a soft o as in `` drop '' ), or draw - da. A followup was produced in 1996 by CBS, entitled The Thorn Birds : The Missing Years, which tells the story of the 19 years unaccounted for in the original miniseries. New York Jets offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson was named after the character Ralph de Bricassart. Rachel Ward, who was born in 1957, plays the mother of a daughter played by 1959 - born actress Mare Winningham, and a son played by 1953 - born actor Philip Anglim. Rachel Ward met her husband Bryan Brown on the set while filming the series. Brown plays Luke O'Neill, who marries Ward 's character, Meggie Cleary. Actor Bryan Brown, was the only Australian - born cast member hired in a major role. This is not too unusual since although the series takes place in Australia, Luke O'Neill and Meggie 's children were the only major characters who were Australian - born. Father Ralph, Mary Carson, and Paddy Cleary were all Irish - born. Fee and most of the Cleary children were born in New Zealand. During casting, actress Jane Seymour was considered for the role of Meggie Cleary and the role of Mary Carson was originally offered to Audrey Hepburn. Father Terrance Sweeney, an Emmy Award - winning Jesuit priest, was a technical advisor on the mini-series. He left the priesthood in 1986 and married Pamela Susan Shoop, an actress and daughter of actress Julie Bishop in 1987. They co-authored the book `` What God Hath Joined '' that discussed their relationship. The serial has had great success in France. The French title is `` Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir '' ( The birds hide to die ). The series is still regularly repeated on TV channels. The series was also very successful in Brazil, where it was broadcast by SBT. During its first broadcast, in 1985, the miniseries beat Globo TV network in the ratings, which had always been the leader in ratings in Brazil. The series last aired in Brazil from October 2 through October 13, 2006, at 9 : 40 PM ( local time ). Awards and nominations Year Association Nominee ( s ) Result Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Makeup Del Acevedo Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Movie Robert MacKichan, Jerry Adams Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Film Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie Carroll Timothy O'Meara Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Richard Chamberlain Nominated Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Barbara Stanwyck Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Miniseries or Movie The Thorn Birds Nominated Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Bryan Brown Nominated Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Richard Kiley Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Christopher Plummer Nominated Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Piper Laurie Nominated Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Jean Simmons Won 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor -- Miniseries or Television Film Richard Chamberlain Won 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress -- Miniseries or Television Film Rachel Ward Nominated 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Miniseries or Television Film The Thorn Birds Won 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor -- Series, Miniseries or Television Film Bryan Brown Nominated 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor -- Series, Miniseries or Television Film Richard Kiley Won 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress -- Series, Miniseries or Television Film Piper Laurie Nominated 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress -- Series, Miniseries or Television Film Jean Simmons Nominated 1984 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress -- Series, Miniseries or Television Barbara Stanwyck Won 1984 People 's Choice Awards Best TV Miniseries The Thorn Birds Won 1984 Young Artist Awards Best Young Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie Sydney Penny Won VHS and DVD releases and ratings The Thorn Birds was released on VHS in 1991 in the US and Canada ; it was re-released on DVD in the US and Canada on February 3, 2004. Both editions were given a `` Not Rated '' certification. It is rated PG in New Zealand for violence, sexual references, coarse language and nudity. References Jump up ^ Mann, Roderick ( 8 July 1980 ). `` RYAN O'NEAL : HOOKED ON ' THORN BIRDS ' AND FARRAH ''. Los Angeles Times. p. g1. Jump up ^ Mann, Roderick ( 14 Feb 1980 ). `` REDFORD IS READING ' THORN BIRDS ' SCRIPT ''. Los Angeles Times. p. i1. Jump up ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-16/local/me-14246_1_catholic-priests External links Encyclopedia of Television The Thorn Birds on IMDb Films directed by Daryl Duke Children of the Lotus Eater ( 1970 ) Payday ( 1972 ) I Heard the Owl Call My Name ( 1973 ) The President Is Missing ( 1973 ) A Cry for Help ( 1975 ) Griffin and Phoenix ( 1976 ) The Silent Partner ( 1978 ) The Return of Charlie Chan ( 1979 ) Hard Feelings ( 1982 ) The Thorn Birds ( 1983 ) Florence Nightingale ( 1985 ) Tai - Pan ( 1986 ) When We Were Young ( 1989 ) Fatal Memories ( 1992 ) Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film The Snow Goose : A Story of Dunkirk ( 1971 ) That Certain Summer ( 1972 ) The Shadow Box ( 1980 ) Bill ( 1981 ) Brideshead Revisited ( 1982 ) The Thorn Birds ( 1983 ) Something About Amelia ( 1984 ) The Jewel in the Crown ( 1985 ) Promise ( 1986 ) Escape from Sobibor ( 1987 ) War and Remembrance ( 1988 ) Lonesome Dove ( 1989 ) Decoration Day ( 1990 ) One Against the Wind ( 1991 ) Sinatra ( 1992 ) Barbarians at the Gate ( 1993 ) The Burning Season ( 1994 ) Indictment : The McMartin Trial ( 1995 ) Rasputin : Dark Servant of Destiny ( 1996 ) George Wallace ( 1997 ) From the Earth to the Moon ( 1998 ) RKO 281 ( 1999 ) Dirty Pictures ( 2000 ) Band of Brothers ( 2001 ) The Gathering Storm ( 2002 ) Angels in America ( 2003 ) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ( 2004 ) Empire Falls ( 2005 ) Elizabeth I ( 2006 ) Longford ( 2007 ) John Adams ( 2008 ) Grey Gardens ( 2009 ) Carlos ( 2010 ) Downton Abbey, series 1 ( 2011 ) Game Change ( 2012 ) Behind the Candelabra ( 2013 ) Fargo, season 1 ( 2014 ) Wolf Hall ( 2015 ) The People v. O.J. Simpson : American Crime Story ( 2016 ) Big Little Lies ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Thorn_Birds_(miniseries)&oldid=790667486 '' Categories : 1983 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company network shows 1980s American television series 1980s American television miniseries Family saga Television programs based on novels Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in the 1930s Television series set in the 1940s Television series set in the 1950s Television series set in the 1960s Television shows set in Australia Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners Television series by The Wolper Organization Films directed by Daryl Duke Hidden categories : Pages using infobox television with editor parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Čeština Deutsch Euskara Français 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano עברית Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 15 July 2017, at 07 : 50. 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Question: who played the mother in the thorn birds
Answer: Rachel Ward