Geoffrey Rush – our Australian of the Year

Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush (pictured) was last night announced as our Australian of the Year in recognition of his contribution to the arts.

The 60-year-old, who this year celebrates 40 years in the industry, gained international fame in 1996 for his portrayal of pianist David Helfgott in the movie Shine which led to him winning the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Despite much of Rush’s acting work being in the theatre and on film, the Queensland-born actor has also worked in television.  He made his TV acting debut in the ABC mini-series Menotti in 1981.

He later appeared in Twisted Tales and played the lead role of newspaper editor Bill Wyatt in the 1996 series Mercury.

Rush also made a guest appearance in Kath And Kim in 2004.

Also on this Australia Day, a number of television identities were among the hundreds recognised in this year’s Australia Day honours list:

Maggie Beer – “For service to the tourism and hospitality industries as a cook, restaurateur and author, and to the promotion of Australian produce and cuisine.”  Beer was a co-presenter on the popular ABC series The Cook And The Chef for five years and has also been a regular guest on MasterChef Australia.

Jamie Durie – “For service to the community as an ambassador and supporter of a range of charitable and environmental organisations, and as a landscape designer.”  Durie came to national fame as the presenter of Backyard Blitz and The Block.  He has more recently appeared on the Seven Network’s The Outdoor Room and gained international fame when he caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey.

Gus Mercurio (posthumously) – “For service to boxing as an administrator and sports commentator, as a film, television and stage actor, and to the community.”  Mercurio appeared in numerous television series over his career, including period dramas Cash And Company, The Sullivans, Power Without Glory, Tandarra, Five Mile Creek and All The Rivers Run, and was a boxing commentator for 12 years.

Oscar Whitbread – “For service to the Australian film and television industry.”  Whitbread has been a television producer since the 1960s, working on ABC dramas including Bellbird, Marion, And The Big Men Fly, Power Without Glory, Rush, Catspaw, The Truckies, Outbreak Of Love and I Can Jump Puddles.  He later worked on The Flying Doctors, Ratbag Hero, Cluedo and Acropolis Now.

Source: ABC, Governor-General of Australia, IMDB, IMDB.

1978: July 8-14

Cover: John Travolta

'Clean-up' TV rebel on the warpath
Mary Whitehouse, the English self-styled guardian of all public morality, is about to embark on a four-week tour of Australia and New Zealand to point out the dangers that TV poses to civilisation. Some of the shows on Ms Whitehouse's radar include Are You Being Served? with its sexual innuendo, including those of a homosexual nature, and crime show The Sweeney which she considers the most violent program on television. But among Ms Whitehouse's more admirable pursuits is the fight against the exploitation of children in the media.

Here's mud in Mike's eye
TV adventurers Mike and Mal Leyland have covered much of Australia to bring the country and its people to our screens. Now, as part of the latest series to air on the Nine Network, Mike Leyland has set his sights further afield, to Niugini, where he spent a month on safari - encountering warring tribes, a sing-song in the Highlands which culminated in the killing of 3000 pigs, and the 'mud men' who wear helmets made of mud, usually on ceremonial occasions, as part of a centuries-old tradition to scare off evil spirits.

Seaspray star sets sail for Cop Shop
Sue Haworth, one of the child stars of the 1960s ABC series Adventures Of The Seaspray, is returning to television after over a decade. The young actress, who gave up her acting career to go to England to marry and start a family, is to appear in Cop Shop as a Greek girl who is promised to marry Detective Mike Georgiou (John Orcsik).

Carry on Trekking!
TV Times reporter Eric Scott does not know the actual airdate of the first Star Trek episode in Australia - but he knows someone that does. Melbourne schoolteacher Diane Marchant (pictured) is Australia's number one fan of the show and a founding member of the US-based Star Trek fan club. Ms Marchant also boasts a growing collection of Star Trek memorabilia, including fan magazines, signed cast photos and video cassettes of all the episodes. On 13 July, Marchant and Star Trek fans all around Australia will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the show's first airing in this country.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"ABC needs smartening up! By removing the following programs, the clean-up will start: Soap, a pathetic, unfunny, vulgar show; The New Avengers, bad enough the first time around let alone repeated; Mastermind, which is boring; Dave Allen At Large, sick to death of constant repeats; Pot Black should be shown later." J. Farrell, NSW

"I had thought that Blankety Blanks was getting low, but I was thoroughly disgusted while watching DDQ10 Darling Downs, on 12 June. Graham Kennedy openly ran his fingers over a married contestant's breast. In my opinion, he would be the lowest blankety blank." L. J. White, NSW

"What on earth do the Brisbane commercial TV stations think they are doing? They spend money producing relatively good sports programs, then hire readers who no doubt know what they are saying, but are hopelessly uneducated." S. Hewitt, QLD.

What's On (July 8-14)
On Saturday night, GTV9 presents a 90-minute special, Dave Allen In Australia, featuring guest stars Max Walker, Bunney Brooke, Judy Morris and Carla Hoogeveen (pictured)

On Wednesday night, HSV7 screens Julie Anthony's First Special - a musical tribute to the popular singer's journey from growing up in South Australia to landing the lead role in the stage musical Irene.

ABC screens the final episode of drama series Catspaw (featuring Ken James, pictured) followed later in the evening by a live-via-satellite telecast of the British Open Golf Championship from Scotland.

Sunday night movies are Man About The House (HSV7), Prudence And The Pill (GTV9) and Underground Man (ATV0), while ABC presents the debut of Capriccio! - a variety program hosted by Carol Raye (Blankety Blanks, Number 96) featuring music selected by well-known personalities. The first episode features music chosen by former Number 96 sex kitten Abigail.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 8 July 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: June 3-9

Sonny's rocky road to stardom
Sonny Blake (pictured, with Zoe Bertram) was on the verge of becoming a professional boxer until a change in direction saw the 19-year-old cast in the 0-10 Network series The Restless Years. A self-confessed film buff, Blake boasts a collection of classic films on videotape and a large part of his record collection is made up of movie soundtracks. He is saving up to go to the US for acting lessons: "What I see myself doing in 10 years time is coming home to my room at the YMCA in New York and pulling out a script and sitting down to spend the evening how I'm going to handle the role."

Catspaw set to pounce
In air force jargon a catspaw is a "bunny" - someone left holding the bag. In ABC's new adventure series The Catspaw, it's up to viewers to work out who should be carrying the blame. The seven-part series, featuring familiar names such as Ken James (pictured), Rowena Wallace, Peter Sumner, John Diedrich and John Stanton, revolves around the disappearance of an RAF officer Tim Keppel (Warwick Sims).

Naked Vicar seeks new pastures
The team behind the popular sketch comedy series The Naked Vicar Show is expanding into other areas of showbusiness. RS Productions' Gary Reilly told TV Times, "We're starting to find it hard to write just sketches. We want to start doing something a little more expanded, still comedy but with a bit more length and involvement." The company is producing a new series of radio plays for ABC called RS Playhouse. Meanwhile, The Naked Vicar Show is enjoying massive popularity - particularly in Melbourne and Brisbane and to a lesser extent in Sydney - and has been sold to regional markets.

Gwen Plumb's in a new kind of cast
Hosting a party at her beachside home had dangerous consequences for actress Gwen Plumb. Taking guests to a rock pool near her house at Sydney's Whale Beach saw Plumb knocked over by a big wave but it was when she saw her dog Selina potentially stranded, she was carried out by the undertow when trying to retrieve the pet. Plumb ended up with a leg in a plaster cast, and scriptwriters for The Young Doctors have had to re-write episodes. As for the dog? "The little b---- didn't even get wet!"

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"During a recent Blankety Blanks, Ugly Dave Gray popped up with another one of his 'gems', on the subject of rape. Considering the thousands of children that watch this show, rape is a very unsuitable and tasteless topic to joke about." J. Johnson, NSW.

"I thought the Marcia Hines series on ABC was magnificent. Not only was her singing great, but her clothes and settings were fantastic." Name and address supplied, NSW.

"I am writing in support of Glenview High. I love the show, especially Grigor Taylor, who is a tribute to Australian talent." J. Janson, SA.

What's On (June 3-9):
GTV9 crossed live on Sunday to Oran Park raceway in NSW for six-hour telecast of The Rothmans 500.

ABC's coverage of the soccer World Cup continues with highlights packages at 6.00pm and full match replays at 10.00pm.

Crawford Productions' cop shows get a re-run with GTV9 screening late-night repeats of Division 4, and ATV0 showing Matlock Police on weekday afternoons. HSV7 screens new episodes of Cop Shop on Monday and Thursday nights.

Sunday night movies are Escape Of The Birdmen (HSV7), Time For Loving (GTV9) and Night Moves (ATV0). The final episode of The Duchess Of Duke Street screens on ABC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 3 June 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: February 4-10

Cover Story: Inside the Game Show business:
TV Times talks to producer Reg Grundy, the radio game show host of the 1950s that went on to head a TV production empire worth around $6 million (in 1978 dollars) turnover a year. Famous for taking US game show formats and franchising them for local audiences, Grundy had launched over 50 game show titles since he launched Wheel Of Fortune in 1959. Despite his longevity in the game show business, his latest venture, the top-rating Blankety Blanks almost never got to air after being offered and refused by the other networks but eventually picked up by the 0-10 Network where it became a huge ratings hit (Cover photo: Noelene Brown and Ugly Dave Gray, two of the resident panellists on Blankety Blanks)

The Year's New Shows:
TV Times' preview of new shows for 1978 was already covered in our blog post on New Year's Day. New shows to launch during the year included drama series Catspaw, Twenty Good Years and Truckies - all on ABC. ABC also promises a new series of Marcia Hines Music and an Australian version of the British quiz Mastermind.

The Seven Network was preparing an Australian version of the British comedy Father Dear Father, and Nine had announced a series of Australian-made telemovies. Heading the 0-10 Network's new season line-up was the action drama Chopper Squad.

Sammy Davis for Don Lane show:
Entertainer Sammy Davis Jnr is reportedly to be planning a trip to Australia to appear on Nine's The Don Lane Show. Don Lane is a fan of Davis and had arranged the visit while staying with him at his Nevada property. Meanwhile, The Don Lane Show is about to launch its 1978 season and producer Peter Faiman is promising changes to the show including a $1 million revamp of the show's studio and as many as 15 international celebrity appearances via satellite over the first few months of the year.

Wind of a new career:
Rock star Jon English is announced as heading the lineup for the upcoming Seven Network/Pegasus Productions mini-series Against The Wind, about to commence production. English is signed up to play convict Jonathon Garrett in the historical drama that has a $1 million budget for 13 episodes. English's only prior acting experience was as a rock star involved in a murder case in the police drama Homicide.

Price rise:
TV Times announced that "increased production and paper costs have regretably caused us to raise the cover price of TV Times from 30 to 40 cents. It is our first price rise in two-and-a-half years".

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:

"Blankety Blanks' panel spends most of its time sniggering at (Graham Kennedy's) lavatory wall innuendos. Most of us ceased to be impressed by this daring wit at the age of 10." T.Martin, VIC.

"At least five times in the last month, TV Times has printed one thing and a TV station has shown another. If the stations tell TV Times their programs for the week, then they should stick to it and not change it whenever they feel like it." M.Turnbull, VIC.

"I would like to thank ABC for that brilliant English comedy Are You Being Served? and the repeat of the Rush series. In these days of endless movie repeats, excessive sports broadcasts and mediocre American cop dramas, programs of historical value and entertainment quality such as Rush, Are You Being Served?, Warship, South Riding and The Pallisers have become all too few and far between." S.Cass, NSW

What's On (February 4-10):

The Don Lane Show (GTV9) returns for its fourth year, up against ATV0's new Monday-to-Thursday night variety show Peter Couchman Tonight.

On Wednesday night ABC launches a new music series The Real Thing hosted by radio identity Ron E Sparx. The first show includes appearances by Little River Band, Radio Birdman, Renee Geyer and Dragon. On the weekend, Countdown is still continuing its review of the top 100 albums of 1977.

After-school TV programming is mostly dominated by imported product with Sesame Street, The Partridge Family, The Flintstones, Get Smart, Nanny And The Professor, Family Affair and My Friend Flicka shown across the networks. The only local content to be found between 4.00pm and 6.00pm is Play School (ABC) and GTV9's Cartoon Corner which only served to introduce US cartoon series Valley Of The Dinosaurs and Josie And The Pussycats.

Sunday night movies for the week are Trader Horn (HSV7), Charlie's Angels feature in Angels In Paradise (GTV9) and ATV0 screens The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean. All are TV premieres. Following the movie on ATV0 is the current affairs/interview program Firing Line with Maxwell Grant, Alan Ramsey, Mickie de Stoop and Jeremy Cornford.

Source: TV Times, 4 February 1978 (Melbourne edition) ABC/ACP