Doris Goddard owned the iconic Sydney hotel called Hotel Hollywood. The publican who started her career as a cabaret performer is no more. She died yesterday 29 July 2019 at the age of 89.

Doris Goddard and her death

The gorgeous and multi-talented Doris Goddard was lovingly called Queen of Surry Hills, Sydney. Doris who owned the Hotel Hollywood in Sydney died on Monday 29 July 2019 night.

She was 89 years old. The announcement of her death was made on her Facebook page. It read:

“It is with great sadness to announce that one of Sydney best-loved identities, Doris Goddard has passed away,”

“She continued to sing to the end.”

Not many knew that she was living with dementia for the past 10 years of her life, her Hollywood Hotel licensee and manager Mark Simons revealed. She spent the final hours of her life on Sunday listening to old-time music and singing.

About Doris Goddard and her career

Doris was born in 1930 in Forest Lodge, Sydney, NSW, Australia. She traveled throughout Europe and Asia and performed as a cabaret dancer. In the 1950s she took to acting. She appeared in films such as  Wee Geordie (1955), Hostage (1983), The Iron Petticoat, and Tim(1979).

She returned to Sydney and purchased pubs in Newtown and Balmain. In 1977, she purchased the Surry Hills pub with her husband Charles Bishop who died in 2004.

Doris Goddard and her Surry Hills pub

Doris moved upstairs to the Surry Hills property called Hotel Hollywood. She used to pull out her guitar and sing for the crowd at the pub. She became a Sydney icon and would charm people with her presence, her tales of travel, and Old Hollywood celebrity gossip. Mark recalled:

“Some of the stories were a bit stretched, but people loved it. She would just call everyone ‘darling’, so she didn’t need to know their names. And She hid it so well.”

She was the heart and soul of the bar. Mark said:

“She was a diva. I said, ‘you don’t need to be behind the bar, Doris. You need to be out here, to look after the punters’.

Doris was, generous and would open her doors to the homeless. This annoyed the neighbors. She had wonderful relations with the artists of the town.

Click to read more about The infamous Chateau Marmont Hotel of Hollywood-has witnessed sex scandals, drug overdoses, rude behaviors, and even deaths!

Doris Goddard – the last days

Last 18 months, she was in full-time care. Her last wish was to be carried in a pine box from the hotel which was her home for 40 years. She was at the Keep Sydney Open lockout protests last February. She was cast in light on the facade of the hotel at this year’s Vivid Festival.

Tributes for Doris Goddard

Sydney’s deputy lord mayor, Linda Scott paid tribute to Doris and called her a beloved icon of the city and a star always. Richard Cooke tweeted:

“The legendary Doris Goddard, proprietress of the Hollywood Hotel, and its longest-serving barfly, has passed away. ‘She continued to sing to the end’.”

The legendary Doris Goddard, proprietress of the Hollywood Hotel, and its longest-serving barfly, has passed away. "She continued to sing to the end". pic.twitter.com/NnhKT0RjLH

— Richard Cooke (@rgcooke) July 29, 2019

Source: The Guardian, IMDb, the Sunday Morning Herald