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.

Obituary: Carl Bleazby

Actor Carl Bleazby, best known from the long-running ABC series Bellbird, died late last month at the age of 95.

Born in Melbourne in 1916, Bleazby was a radio announcer and actor at Melbourne station 3XY when he enlisted at the break out of World War II in 1939.  He served with the AIF in the Middle East for two-and-a-half years and rose to the rank of captain, but when his radio background was discovered he was transferred to broadcasting duties for the AIF at Radio Jerusalem.

In 1945 he returned to 3XY and furthered his acting career, leading to roles in early TV drama productions including Seagulls Over Sorrento, Consider Your Verdict and Homicide.  In 1967 he was cast as Col. Jim Emerson in ABC’s Bellbird.  It was his first ongoing TV role, but it was a series that he didn’t give much of a chance.  “I gave it about three months,” he told TV Times in 1974.  “It was surprising to me at the time that it took off the way it did but it has developed a lot since then.  I think the very ordinariness of the people helped viewers identify with them and helped its early success.”

Despite the ongoing commitment to Bellbird, production breaks allowed him to make guest appearances in other dramas such as Ryan, Hunter, Matlock Police, The Long Arm, Division 4 and Power Without Glory.

After Bellbird wound up in 1977, he made guest appearances in Skyways, Sons And Daughters, Prisoner, The Flying Doctors and Home And Away.  He also starred in films Country Town (the movie spin-off from Bellbird) and Annie’s Coming Out.

Carl Bleazby died peacefully in a nursing home in Killara, NSW.

Source: TV Times, 18 March 1972.  TV Times, 23 February 1974.  IMDB.  Radio Heritage.  TV Tonight.

ABC to say goodbye to Gordon Street?

ABC is set to expand its premises in inner-city Melbourne with construction of a new television studio.

The new development, which has now been approved by the ABC board, will be built adjacent to the broadcaster’s existing radio and administration complex in Southbank.

The new television studios will be used for both internal productions as well as being made available for external hire.

No timeline for the development has been announced and neither has there been any announcement as to the future of ABC’s existing Melbourne television studios in Gordon Street, Elsternwick, although The Age reports that it appears that the property will be sold off to assist in funding the new development.  In 2009 the Elsternwick site was estimated to be valued at around $25 million.

The Elsternwick studios, located next door to the historic Ripponlea homestead, were opened in May 1958 – eighteen months after ABC’s Melbourne television station ABV2 commenced transmission.  For the previous eighteen months the various functions of the new television station were carried out from makeshift premises scattered around Melbourne.

The studios have hosted various productions for ABC including Bellbird, Adventure Island (pictured), Countdown, Power Without Glory, The Saturday Show, Australia – You’re Standing In It, The Factory, Countdown Revolution, The Big Gig, The Late Show, Phoenix and Seachange. 

Spicks And Specks, The Marngrook Footy Show and Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight are also produced at Elsternwick.

The potential sale of the Elsternwick site comes after the sale of the historic GTV9 studios in Richmond last year – while Seven and Ten have long moved out from their original studio premises in South Melbourne and Nunawading respectively.

Source: The Age, The Australian, ABV, ABC, Real Estate Source

Obituary: Gus Mercurio

Gus Mercurio, actor and boxing identity, has died in Melbourne.

The 82-year-old died from complications arising from an operation for a chest aneurism at a Melbourne hospital.

Born in Wisconsin, USA, Mercurio came to Australia in the 1950s.  A professional boxer, he became deeply involved with the game in Australia as an administrator, referee and commentator.

In the 1970s he made a break into acting, appearing in TV series including The Long Arm, Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police but became probably best known for his roles in historical dramas, including Cash And Company (pictured), Tandarra, Power Without Glory, All The Rivers Run and Five Mile Creek.

Mercurio also featured on the big screen in titles including Crocodile Dundee II, The Man From Snowy River and The Blue Lagoon.

Gus Mercurio is survived by his current partner Rita and six children, including TV presenter and performer Paul Mercurio.

Source: Herald Sun, ABC, IMDB.

1979: September 22-28

Cover: Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy

The Sullivans prepare for peace
As the Nine Network’s The Sullivans moves into its fourth year of production, fans needn’t worry that the end of World War II will mean the end of the show.  “Yes, The Sullivans definitely will go on after the war,” says Crawford Productions chairman Hector Crawford.  “It is a reflection of Australia of that period.  The war has been a vital part of it to date, but the stormy period after will be just as interesting a background when the time comes.  The years just after the war were stormy ones for the economy, politics and everyday life of the country.”  But when asked whether Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bayly) will return to the series, Crawford could say only that “options remain open.”  Bayly has been travelling overseas for several months but her future plans remain a mystery, even for the cast of the show.  As the show passes its third birthday, two of the key characters from the recent spin-off telemovie Jovan: The John Sullivan Story will be joining the series, secret service agent Captain Meg Fulton (Olivia Hamnett) and John Sullivan’s lover Nadia (Vera Plevnik).

Top film role to Sullivans regular
Sydney actor David Cameron has won a key role in the upcoming 0-10 Network mini-series Water Under The Bridge.  The 27-year-old, who graduated from NIDA in 1968, has appeared in Bellbird, Certain Women, Dynasty, Against The Wind, The Truckies and Power Without Glory.  Cameron’s most recent role has been as Russell Hardwicke in The Sullivans.  In Water Under The Bridge, Cameron plays Neil Atkins, an aspiring actor in love with a newspaper columnist.  Cameron’s appointment to Water Under The Bridge follows the recent announcement that Robyn Nevin will play the lead female role of Shasta.

Graham Kennedy: The man and the myth – Part Two
More has been written (true and false) about Graham Kennedy (pictured) than any other Australian celebrity, including sports stars and prime ministers.  So what is the truth about some of the Kennedy myths and idiosyncrasies?  MYTH:  He was jealous of other IMT hosts.  Fact:  There are stories to the contrary.  When Father Michael King guest hosted IMT in 1969, he received a telegram from Kennedy:  “Be good but we don’t want any miracles.”  Then when he retired from IMT he personally recommended Ugly Dave Gray as his successor.  MYTH: Kennedy is disinterested in his huge collection of awards and uses them as door stops.  Fact:  He’s said this as a gag.  He keeps every award he has ever won on a silver tray.  MYTH: Kennedy doesn’t like and doesn’t relate to children.  Fact: He’s been a godfather six times, including to the daughter of his friend and manager, Harry M Miller and also to the daughter of former colleague Joy Westmore.  He also sponsored a Vietnamese war orphan through World Vision.  MYTH: Kennedy is colour blind and cannot tell red from green.  Fact: Kennedy said, “it’s true I do have trouble telling the difference between some greys, greens, blues.  I have to watched about the clothes I wear, or I might turn up in a red shirt with a green jacket which I think is blue.”  MYTH: His nickname is Gra-Gra.  Fact:  It’s Gay-Gay, which dates from when Kennedy was about 11 when a neighbour’s small daughter couldn’t say the word Graham.  “My aunt Nancy still calls me Gay-Gay when she calls,” Kennedy said.  Among Kennedy’s idiosyncrasies:  He is a night person that rarely goes to bed before midnight and has been known to leave messages on Harry M Miller’s phone at 2.30am;  During the IMT era everyone on the show noticed he never worked quite as well on the nights he wore a white suit – he became less extroverted; He’s nervous about every performance, whether it’s his own show or guest appearances;  He has a phenomenal memory.  He can recall a tag of a sketch he did 15 years ago and even whether or not someone fluffed up a line.  Producer Peter Faiman recalls that Kennedy will accept that problems will come up and be rectified.  But if that same mistake is made 12 years later, he’ll remind you that you made that same error 12 years before; Kennedy has a fear of crowds and had declined many offers to be the King of Melbourne’s Moomba festival, but finally relented in the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year.  As to commentary on his private life and relationships with women, Kennedy said in a 1976 interview, “I lead a fairly private life.  It’s my business what I do or don’t do when I close my bedroom door.”  Although he did once admit that he’d seriously considered marriage twice in his life, and there was his engagement to singer Lana Cantrell.

Why Tina’s head is in the clouds
Despite working as an actress on TV, stage and film for over ten years, Tina Bursill still finds that people can’t recall her name when they meet her:  “Then I have to patiently explain that I am not Tina Grenville nor a relative of film-maker Tim Burstall.”  The confusion was not helped when Bursill was cast alongside Grenville in the short-lived series The People Next Door, the sequel to The Godfathers.  The 28-year-old actress hopes that the public will have an easier time of recognising her now that she is starring in the new Seven Network series Skyways as ambitious assistant airport manager Louise Carter. “She is developing nicely now, and I hope the public like her as much as I do.”

Briefly…
Garry Meadows (pictured) was disappointed when his children’s TV show, Meet The Giants, was refused a C classification.  But now the Family Feud producer is re-submitting the show for approval following some modifications to the format.  The pilot, produced earlier this year for the Reg Grundy Organisation, features four schoolchildren aged between 10 and 14 in a panel interview with Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Peacock will be one of the presenters at this year’s Sammy awards presentation to be held on 17 October.  The awards, a joint venture between the Seven Network, TV Times and the Variety Club of Australia, will be hosted by Roger Climpson.

The success of Australian programs Prisoner and Against The Wind in Los Angeles is helping efforts to get The Don Lane Show sold to US television.  Meanwhile, Against The Wind has scored a front cover story on the Los Angeles Times’ TV magazine.

Former ABC newsreader Margaret Throsby, who resigned from the broadcaster to have a baby, is returning on a part-time basis.  Throsby’s first appearance following her comeback is co-hosting the presentation of the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design to be held in Perth.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Congratulations to the Nine Network for showing The John Sullivan Story.  I’m sure a lot of families who don’t watch The Sullivans enjoyed this movie, which was a pleasant change to the usually violent Sunday night movies.”  M. Lewis, NSW.

“Tony Barber (Family Feud, pictured) never fails to irritate me with his idiotic antics and endless drivel, but he really disgusted me when he remarked to a contestant that she was in quite an advanced stage of pregnancy.  It was true, but only a very arrogant man would have deliberately drawn attention to the fact.”  N. Wilson, NSW.

“Why, in an area like the goldfields of Kalgoorlie with its early workers, does VEW8 have Poldark on so late at night – 9.45pm, sometimes later?  Surely it could be put on earlier.”  J. Ware, WA.

What’s On (September 22-28):
On Sunday afternoon, ABC presents the Grand Final of the NSW Rugby League, live from the Sydney Cricket Ground.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the history of running in Australia, from the Stawell Gift to Sydney’s City to Surf run. 

On Monday night Peter Landy hosts HSV7’s telecast of The Brownlow Medal for 1979, live from the Southern Cross Ballroom in Melbourne.  Then on Wednesday night, HSV7 presents Sensational Seventies, a tribute to the decade in VFL including players Ted Whitten, Kevin Murray, Darryl Baldock and the emergence of Michael Roach, Kevin Templeton and Paul Van Der Haar.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), MacFarlane (Tony Bonner) and Elaine (Carmen Duncan) examine their rapidly disintegrating family.  Mandy (Gaynor Martin), unable to cope with the sophisticated crowd at Anne’s (Kathryn Dagher) party, creates an unwanted scene.  Meanwhile, in Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), the West Riverside Bank is robbed and Amanda (Lynda Stoner) goes undercover to solve the case.

In the series final of Patrol Boat (ABC, Thursday), an attractive and tough woman journalist is assigned to HMAS Ambush for a day.  Starring Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby, Danny Adcock, Rob Baxter and Jacki Weaver.

The final lead-up to HSV7’s coverage of the VFL Grand Final starts on Friday afternoon with the lunchtime Football Procession through Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD, featuring the teams that will be playing in the Grand Final.  Then on Friday night, HSV7’s coverage of the The Commodore Cup Grand Final, live from the St Kilda Football Ground.  Leading the coverage are Peter Landy, Lou Richards, Bob Skilton, Doug Wade and Jack Elliott.  Then after a late news bulletin, HSV7 enters another all-night Football Marathon, with Stephen Phillips presenting highlights of past Grand Finals and interviews with team coaches and football personalities.

Also on Friday night, GTV9 presents the Australian Film Industry Awards, live from the Hoyts Entertainment Centre, Sydney.  Nominations for Best Film are Cathy’s Child, In Search Of Anna, Mad Max and My Brilliant Career.  And on the same night, ABC has the Prince Philip Prize For Australian Design, hosted by Stuart Wagstaff and Margaret Throsby in a direct telecast from the Sheraton Hotel, Perth.

Sunday night movies: High Rolling (HSV7), Bite The Bullet (GTV9), White Lightning (ATV0).  ABC presents Man Of Mateship, the fourth instalment of A Place In The World, starring Kerry Francis and Ian Gilmour.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 22 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 25-31

Detective Donovan gets back on the beat
Four years after leaving cop show Division 4, Terry Donovan makes his debut in Cop Shop, taking over the role of officer-in-charge of Riverside police station from George Mallaby.  But, as writer Marie Trevor adds, there are surprises in store for the team at Riverside: “When Terry’s cop arrives they won’t know what has hit them.” Since leaving Division 4, Donovan (pictured, centre, with co-stars Peter Adams and Lynda Stoner) has proved his versatility as an actor – having starred in three movies, including The Money Movers, eight stage productions and guest starred in a number of TV series.  He had a key role in the ABC mini-series Power Without Glory and joins Cop Shop having just finished up work on the movie Breaker Morant. 

$4m budget for two series
Hanna-Barbera is working on two new multi-million dollar TV series aimed at the Australian and overseas market.  The two series, both of 13 one-hour episodes, will have a combined budget of $4 million.  Hal McElroy, director of TV development for H-B in Australia, said that production has gone ahead on both shows following strong interest by two networks.  One of the new series will be a contemporary drama, the other will be a period drama and production is set to start next year.  The international sales success of Australian dramas Prisoner and Against The Wind will mean that the two new shows will be aimed at the international market and one of the series could be a co-production with an English company.

The drama of a lifetime
Enid Lorimer, 91 years of age and an actress for over 70 years, has some simple advice for aspiring young actresses if they offered roles only on the condition they be ‘nice’ to the producer: “When you’re told you won’t get the job unless you do, take it as an insult and refuse the job.  Many years ago I was offered a role by a producer who said ‘if you get the role, you will be nice to me, won’t you?’  So I hit him.  Oddly enough, I didn’t get the job.”  An English-born former Shakespearean actress who also worked at London’s legendary Old Vic theatre, Lorimer has appeared in many Australian TV productions, including Motel, Spyforce, Homicide, Division 4 and Cop Shop, and nominates TV and film work as her favourite: “because I love variety.  I nearly died of boredom in Passage From India during its West End run.  I hated going on stage doing the same thing night after night for a perishing year.  It’s such a joy for me to see the TV and film industries booming here today.  Years ago I’d have to tell young actors ‘you’ll have to go overseas if you want to get anywhere.’  Now there’s an industry here to support them.”  Lorimer (not her real name) admits she is a compulsive TV viewer:  “I love watching the performances of all the wonderful young Australian talent – although to me anyone under 70 is just a chicken.  The Young Doctors is bags of fun.  Cop Shop is the right balance between crime and the natural gaiety of the characters in their private lives.”

Five men at crisis point
The stories of five middle-aged men, worried about their future and each facing a life in crisis, are depicted in a series of ABC plays titled A Place In The World.   The first five self-contained plays will each depict one of the central characters.  The final play will see the culmination of all five characters’ dilemmas as their gather for a school reunion.  A Place In The World is written by Michael Cove and stars John Gregg (The Oracle), John Gaden, Nick Tate, Paul Mason and Kerry Francis as the main characters.

Briefly…
ABC’s Earthwatch host, 23-year-old Peter Cousens has landed a key role in the upcoming mini-series The Timeless Land.  Cousens will play Patrick, the son of ruthless landowner Stephen Manion (Michael Craig).  The series also stars Rod Mullinar, Chris Haywood and Angela Punch.

Theatrical producer Peter Williams is planning to make a TV soap opera, based on a setting ‘that’s never been exploited before’, for the 6-7pm timeslot.   The idea hasn’t been presented to any of the networks as yet.

John Ewart is returning to The Young Doctors in his role of Horrie Jamison, father of medical orderly Dennis (Chris King).

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Does ABC have a horse lover in its programming department?  How otherwise can anyone account for the network putting to air Ride On Stranger right after the excellent A Horseman Riding By?” G. Morris, NSW.

“John Michael Howson’s cruel, offensive and downright stupid remarks on The Mike Walsh Show about so many fine and accomplished actors and actresses, some who happen to be dead, are a disgrace.” E. Melville, NSW.

“I have recently read a book, The Plug-In Drug, by Marie Winn.  She believes that TV is an addictive, sedative drug which reduces children’s ability to think and talk.  A child’s mind, I have heard, is virtually inactive when watching TV.  It is also said to reduce a child’s perception and creativity.  Since reading the book I have found it difficult to give up TV, which seems to support the description ‘addictive.’  TV could be a marvellous educational aid if the viewing time of children was properly monitored.” E. Hutson, NSW.

What’s On (August 25-31):
Sound Unlimited (HSV7, Saturday morning) with Donnie Sutherland (pictured) pays tribute to the super hits of the last five years.

In Chopper Squad (ATV0, Sunday), a rock climber is almost hung by the neck.  Starring Dennis Grosvenor, Eric Oldfield, Robert Coleby, John Clayton, Tony Hughes, Kerri Eichhorn and Lannie Dalziel.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at eighty years of Australian politics – including Australia’s first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, and the battle between Gough Whitlam and Sir John Kerr.

Vic Cameron (Terry Donovan), the new head of CI at Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), is not the efficient, disciplinarian everyone was expecting and the atmosphere is very tense, with Johnson (Peter Adams) caught in the middle, acting as a buffer to the others’ anger.

Country singer Reg Lindsay and British comedians The Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, are among the guests this week on The Don Lane Show (GTV9, Monday and Thursday).

ATV0 presents its annual telethon for the Deafness Foundation of Victoria.  Newsreader Bruce Mansfield introduces the telethon at 7.30pm Friday, with Annette Allison in the phone room.  The telethon continues overnight, with movies Road To Hong Kong, Help! and Keep On Rockin’ filling the hours between 2.00am and 8.00am Saturday morning.  The telethon continues through until midnight Saturday night.  The telephone number for donations is (03) 234 0011.

Sunday night movies: The Summer Of My German Soldier (HSV7), Living Free (GTV9), Night Chase (ATV0).  ABC presents A Man Of Ideas, the first play in the series A Place In The World, starring John Gregg.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 25 August 1979.  ABC/ACP