Barbara Stanwyck appeared in The Thorn Birds (1983), a highly successful TV miniseries based on the novel by Colleen McCullough. The series, which aired on ABC, became one of the most-watched television events of its time.Stanwyck played Mary Carson, the wealthy, sharp-tongued, and manipulative matriarch of the Drogheda estate in the Australian Outback. Mary is a commanding presence and holds significant power over the Cleary family, especially Father Ralph de Bricassart (played by Richard Chamb