Sammys golden night out
The fourth annual Australian TV and Film Awards, the Sammys, have been presented at Sydney’s Seymour Centre. Winning the Gold Sammy awards, for excellence in performance during the year, were daytime TV host Mike Walsh and singer and TV presenter Marcia Hines. For Walsh it is his second Gold Sammy and Hines also won a Sammy for Best Variety Performer.
But the biggest hit of the night was the mini-series Against The Wind, taking out four awards including Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a TV series (Gerard Kennedy) and Best Actress in a TV Series (Kerry McGuire).
 1979 Sammy Awards TV category winners
Gold (male): Mike Walsh
Gold (female): Marcia Hines
Chips Rafferty Memorial Award: Stanley Hawes
Best Actor in a Single TV Performance: John Hargreaves (A Good Thing Going)
Best Actress in a Single TV Performance: Belinda Giblin (Say You Want Me)
Best Actor in a TV Series: Gerard Kennedy (Against The Wind)
Best Actress in a TV Series: Kerry McGuire (Against The Wind)
Best Variety Performer: Marcia Hines
Best Drama Series: Against The Wind
Best Comedy Program: Neutral Ground (Tickled Pink)
Best TV Play: The Plumber
Best Variety Program: Hollywood (TV Follies)
Best Documentary: The Last Tasmanians
Best News Coverage: Pentridge Riot (GTV9 Melbourne)
Best Current Affairs Program: 60 Minutes
Best Sports Coverage: Australian Open Golf (Nine Network)
Best Children’s Series: Top Mates
Best Light Entertainment Series: Parkinson In Australia
Best Art Direction: Quentin Hole (Ride On Stranger)
Best Writer (TV Series): Peter Yeldham (Run From The Morning)
Best Writer (TV Play): Peter Weir (The Plumber)
Best Editing: Michael Balson (Mutiny On The Western Front)
Best Costume Design: Clare Griffin (Against The Wind) |
Trapping Lorraine was a piece of cake!
It was Lorraine Bayly’s sweet tooth that led her into being featured on the Seven Network’s This Is Your Life. TV Times reporter Joanna Parsons and photographer David Murray were asked by the show to invite Bayly (pictured) to an interview while she was in Sydney attending the Sammy Awards. The interview was to take place in a hotel restaurant where TIYL host Roger Climpson and camera crew would sneak into the restaurant via the kitchen and quietly set up at a table behind Bayly. The maitre d’hotel would then present Bayly with flowers “sent by the gentleman sitting at the next table.” Then Bayly would turn around to find Climpson to declare “Lorraine Bayly, This Is Your Life.” But the plans for the mock interview almost went awry when Bayly suggested the interview be conducted in her hotel room. It was a quick-thinking Parsons, knowing Bayly’s weakness for chocolate cake, who then responded, “but they have the most wonderful chocolate cake in the restaurant. Wouldn’t you like to try it?” Bayly fell for it and the set-up continued as planned. Bayly then responded, “Do you mean the interview wasn’t really…?” Parsons assured her that it was still a genuine interview, to be published soon in TV Times.
They’re off!
In the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, TV Times talks to four of Australia’s top race callers about the ‘race that stops a nation.’ ATV0 race caller Clem Dimsey (pictured) admitted that when he first called the Melbourne Cup for the 0-10 Network last year, he lost a stone in weight due to the tension. Although Dimsey has called the Melbourne Cup race on a number of prior occasions, last year was the first as part of a nationwide coverage of the race. Dimsey’s tip for the Melbourne Cup is a New Zealand horse, Kankama. ABC race caller Joe Brown will notch up a milestone when he calls the Melbourne Cup for the 32nd time, equalling the record set by the late Ken Howard. “It’s the highlight of the working year,” he says. Brown has tipped Dulcify for the Melbourne Cup. Radio 3UZ caller John Russell, who will also call the race for the Macquarie Radio Network and the Nine Network, has called the Melbourne Cup only twice before now but had been the understudy for veteran caller Bert Bryant for 23 years. Russell is reluctant to give a tip for the big race as he is involved in various phantom race calls involving big prizes, though he does name Dulcify, Kankama and Our Big Gamble as good chances. The Seven Network and radio 3DB’s Bill Collins will be calling the Melbourne Cup for the 26th time this year, but still admits to getting nerves before the race. “I still remember the nerves before I called my first cup and the drama still gets to me these days. The build-up is impossible to resist,” he says. Collins, nicknamed ‘The Accurate One’, was reluctant to give a cup tip too far in advance but did feel that Dulcify and Double Century should do well.
Briefly…
Many of the staff from Riverside were present for the baptism of Cop Shop’s latest addition, Prudence Jane Marion Benjamin, the daughter of Claire (Louise Philip, pictured) and Tony Benjamin (Greg Ross). Prudence, played by a baby boy named Zigi Barrett, took to the filming calmly with only a small cry of protest towards the end of filming. The episode airs this week in Sydney and Melbourne, next week in Brisbane and later in Adelaide.
Three former TV cops, George Mallaby, Leonard Teale and Warwick Randall, have recorded safety messages for Melbourne radio station 3MP.
The Seven Network is negotiating to buy the TV rights to the film Cathy’s Child, the film which won three awards at the recent Sammys. However, it will be some time before the film appears on TV as it has still yet to be released in cinemas in Perth and many country areas.
ATV0 newsreader Bruce Mansfield likes to dress well. His current favourite tie is a classy number with a rose motif. Anyone can buy a similar one, if prepared to pay $75.
Actress Penny Ramsey has made a return to work, after seven years as a full-time housewife and mother of two, as the wife of deputy governor Jim Fletcher (Gerard Maguire) in Prisoner. The daughter of actress Lois Ramsey has had a varied career, including appearing on The Mavis Bramston Show as a teenager in the ‘60s, hosting a children’s show and appearing in the stage musical Hair.
Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”After more than 10 years of journalists using the word “charisma” I have a vague notion of what it means. Could you ask ABC journalists in Canberra if I have to wait as long to crack on to ‘hiatus’?” W. Murphy, NSW.
“I would like to express my extreme disappointment at the way ABC deprived us of the presentation of the awards at both the State of Origin Australian Rules carnival and the 1979 grand final in Western Australia. On 6 and 8 October, ABC were good enough to televise the State of Origin matches. This included something like nine hours of top-class football, and surely, if this was possible an extra half-hour at the conclusion was possible. When they returned to the studio it was only to show an absolutely pathetic cartoon, The White Seal, or, on the weekend of the WA grand final, a repeat of Countdown. Remember that country viewers are, unfortunately, stuck with only this one annoying channel.” L. Beaton, WA.
“Lately, I don’t think Prisoner has had its usual quick humour and zest. This seems to have come about only since the character of Noelene Bourke (Jude Kuring) left the series. Although she was unpopular, I believe she put the finishing touches to the show. She and her daughter, Leanne (Tracey-Jo Riley), should be reintroduced. Having a youngster in the program is a good idea, as it keeps us in contact with the difficulties of the young.” D. Harvey, NSW.
What’s On (November 3-9):
Weekend sport includes the NSW Open Championship Golf, from The Lakes in Sydney, live on ABC. ATV0’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off on Saturday with Michael Williamson hosting the Derby Day Sportsman’s Breakfast, followed by Phil Gibbs and Clem Dimsey’s preview of the Derby Day races and then ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours of live coverage of all the day’s races.
GTV9 presents the first in a series of Australian-made specials featuring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies. The special features guest stars Pamela Gibbons, Chris Kirby and June Bronhill.
ATV0’s Melbourne Cup coverage starts with a half-hour special on Monday night followed by a 90-minute preview on Tuesday morning. At midday, ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours coverage of all the day’s races for Melbourne Cup Day. Phil Gibbs and Michael Schilberger head the coverage, with Annette Allison providing interviews with special guests during the day. Clem Dimsey calls the day’s races.
Motoring expert Peter Wherrett, host of popular shows Torque and Marque, returns to TV to present a 40-minute special, Torque About A Crisis, on ABC. Wherrett examines the Federal Government’s campaign to educate drivers about improving the efficiency of their vehicles with proper treatment and improved driving style.
ATV0 presents a repeat of the documentary, The Last Tasmanian, a recent winner at the Sammy Awards.
GTV9’s Friday night movies is ABBA The Movie, the 1977 production featuring the story of a radio disc jockey (played by Robert Hughes) following the pop group on their Australian tour in order to get an interview with them. The movie also features Tom Oliver, formerly of Number 96 fame.
Sunday night movies: The Hindenburg (HSV7), Nightmare In Badham County (GTV9), Holocaust 2000 (ATV0). ABC presents the latest in its series of Australian plays, Money In The Bank, starring Tom Richards (Matlock Police), Barbara Stephens and Max Meldrum.
Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 3 November 1979. ABC/ACP
The Sunrise team earlier this week posted a picture via their 
In its early years the Epping complex hosted many Australian television firsts – the first ‘tonight’ show, Sydney Tonight with Keith Walshe, the first breakfast news show, Today with Ray Taylor, the first current affairs show, Seven On 7, and the first soap operas, Autumn Affair and The Story Of Peter Grey. ATN7 was the first TV station in Australia to install videotape equipment in the late 1950s. The station also partnered with Melbourne’s GTV9 to complete the first ever transmission between Sydney and Melbourne via a series of microwave links.
Other shows to have emanated from Epping include Revue ‘61, Startime, Sing Sing Sing (The Johnny O’Keefe Show), Beauty And The Beast, Captain Fortune, Pick-A-Box, The Mavis Bramston Show (pictured), My Name’s McGooley What’s Yours?, Great Temptation, Sydney Today, Eleven AM, The Naked Vicar Show, Kingswood Country, Romper Room, Sounds, Cartoon Connection, Saturday Morning Live, Sportsworld, Terry Willesee Tonight, Wheel Of Fortune, Hey Dad!, Real Life, Sunrise and The Main Event.
Some of TVs most famous names have also spent time at Epping. Roger Climpson was ATN7’s principal newsreader for many years and also hosted This Is Your Life and Australia’s Most Wanted. Mike Willesee, Graham Kennedy, Clive Robertson, Rex Mossop, Paul Hogan (pictured), Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald), Peter Luck, Bill Collins, Maggie Tabberer, Jana Wendt and Andrew Denton have also worked at the Epping studios. And of course the many actors and actresses that passed through the various dramas to have come from Epping – series including Jonah, Motel, Catwalk, Class Of ‘74, Glenview High, A Country Practice, Sons And Daughters, Rafferty’s Rules, Home And Away, All Saints and Packed To The Rafters.
ATN7 has now moved to new facilities at the Australian Technology Park (pictured) in the Sydney suburb of Redfern – while news production facilities, including Sunrise, Seven News, Today Tonight and The Morning Show, are based at Martin Place in the Sydney CBD.
