50 Years of Television in Australia

by Nick Place

  > Thursday at One – afternoon housewives program

  > To Market, To Market – a look at the best of the week’s fruit and vegetables

  > Take That – a live-to-air situation comedy set in a classroom

  Young host Bert Newton delivers his best Frank Sinatra routine on Channel 7’s Late Show.

  Variety the spice of TV life

  This has been a landmark year for variety on Australian television, with two major new shows launched within days of each other in May.

  Channel 7 in Melbourne was first to air with an offering called The Late Show, hosted by Noel Ferrier. Just three days later, 3UZ personality Graham Kennedy launched his own variety show called In Melbourne Tonight. Both have followed the unpredictable style of radio’s Happy Gang, with lots of stunts, music and unexpected happenings.

  Kennedy’s program was particularly well received both by viewers and sponsors, even from its very first show, where a hilarious window-cleaning sketch was the highlight. Since then it has attracted a steadily growing band of fans, and Kennedy has been getting great reviews. A recognised star of radio, he made his first TV appearance in the 3UZ–GTV-9 Red Cross Appeal in March, and was chosen by Nine soon afterwards to host the new show.

  The sailing has been less smooth, however, for the Channel 7 offering. Original host Ferrier (right), a 26-year-old whose only previous TV experience was two nights’ viewing, didn’t seem to ‘click’ with audiences as Kennedy has done. He was replaced late in the year by the even younger Bert Newton.

  Television is still a mystery to many Australians, so publications such as this one definitely come in handy.

  Make mine mime

  November: It looks as if the miming of hit tunes is here to stay on Australian television. Channel 7’s Hit Parade was one of the first shows on air last year, and it is now one of the most popular shows on Australian TV. Now Channel 9 is preparing to launch its own show, Juke Box Saturday Night.

  It’s a simple enough concept: take the most popular current tunes, and set them to a visual backdrop of people miming the songs and dancers acting out the ‘story’ of the song. Listener In-TV said it was a concept that was sure to succeed well into the future, because TV had to find a way to make entertainment out of popular song recordings.

  Still, it’s an idea that’s not without problems. Listener In-TV reported that in a recent show, a man miming ‘Walking in the Rain’ strolled across the set in front of the cameras wearing a bone-dry overcoat while flickering studio ‘rain’ behind him disappeared before he’d finished the first verse.

  Hit Parade dancers like Robin Farquhar add colour and glamour to the top tunes of the day.

  New TV magazine launched

  December: A new weekly magazine devoted to happenings in TV and radio has been launched in Melbourne. The first edition of the pocket-sized TV-Radio Week features Geoff Corke and Val Ruff on the cover, and early response to the publication has been encouraging.

  In its welcome to readers, the magazine promises both content and convenience, saying it ‘will rest nicely on your set and always be at hand without getting untidy. And it will fit perfectly into the glove-box of your car if you have a car radio and want the programmes.

  ‘Our purpose is to give you precisely the information you need – a well balanced survey of what’s going on in radio and television, set out in a manner that is clear and convenient.’

  Here’s hoping TV-Radio Week makes a good fist of things.

  Can morning TV work?

  October: Breakfast TV has arrived in Australia with the launch of In Melbourne Today, running from 7.30 to 10.30 on Saturday mornings.

  The program, to be hosted by Geoff Corke, will be an all-live program that will feature a special band. Program manager at GTV-9, Norman Spencer, claimed the program would be Australia’s first TV breakfast session.

  ‘The idea is not as crazy as it might sound to some people,’ he said.

  MEMORIES

  > TV licences come into effect, at the cost of £5, and are being taken out at the rate of 3000 per week. The Commonwealth total was just under 150,000 by the end of the year.

  > Two of TV’s best known stars, Geoff Corke and Val Ruff, marry in the first ‘TV wedding of the year’.

  > Judy Jack, host of HSV-7’s early children’s programs, switches to the ABC.

  > Channel 7 screens a live ballet, Rhapsody in Blue, which causes a stir by having the dancers appear in contemporary dress.

  > More than 120,000 Australian homes are reported to have TV sets by year’s end. The average cost of a set is £175.

  > Channel 9 erects a boxing ring in its own studio to host what it claims is the first Australian telecast of professional boxing.

  > Station transmission times increase, with combined times of around 130 hours per week in both Sydney and Melbourne.

  > GTV-9 produces and screens a hard-hitting TV feature that shows the impact of a possible atom bomb attack on Melbourne.

  > Hit Parade becomes the first Melbourne-produced program to be featured regularly in Sydney, thanks to it being kinescoped.

  > Sir Arthur Warner, Managing Director of Electronic Industries, predicts there will never be any country television stations in Victoria, claiming it would be cheaper to install and operate sub-stations.

  > Channel 9 comes up with an unusual promotion, tagging 100 fish and releasing them into Port Phillip Bay near Brighton, then offering a jackpotting prize to the first person to catch one of the tagged fish. The first one was netted near Portarlington and brought its ‘owner’ £295.

  1958

  All the talk this year is of two of Australia’s brightest stars – Graham and Bert. But it is also a big year for musical programs, for both young and older audiences, and there are major advances in technology and a breathtaking discovery in the world of advertising.

  It’s tough at the top

  Industry watchers are concerned about two of television’s brightest stars as In Melbourne Tonight superstar Graham Kennedy and his Seven rival, Bert Newton, both showed signs of stress after more than one year in the TV hot seat.

  As rumours swirl around the two variety hosts, there’s even talk that Newton has handed in his resignation at Seven. A GTV-9 executive has denied making any offers to the star but admitted such a talented performer would not be out of television for long, if he had quit HSV-7.

  In February, Newton spoke openly of his friendship with and respect and admiration for Kennedy. He also talked about his need to decide his future, as he turned 20.

  It has been a tumultuous year for Newton, including reports that he had suffered a nervous breakdown and been ordered to take time off air, and then scandalous gossip of a love triangle between Bert, his regular Late Show guest and model of the year, Arlene Andrewartha, and Collingwood footballer Murray Weideman.

  On air, In Melbourne Tonight has been a powerhouse, with a March survey declaring that the show was the most popular live program in Australia, beating even major foreign film productions or the westerns that are everywhere in the schedules. A Graham Kennedy fan club was also established in June.

  Despite celebrating one year of hosting IMT on 6 May (a feat marked by a rare front-and-back cover spread in TV Week), Kennedy was forced by doctors to take a break after 300 consecutive performances, a world record for a TV star. Warned that he could suffer a nervous breakdown if he did not recuperate, Kennedy took an eight-week tour of America.

  His departure from IMT was front page news and his ‘farewell’ show attracted his largest-ever ratings. His progress overseas was followed as closely as a Royal tour, including special supplements in TV Week, and his return was hailed by viewers and advertisers alike. He has already become this country’s king of television.

  Surprise! Beautiful women sell things!

  February: In a shock twist, the new medium of television has discovered that beautiful women help sell products. Bambi Shmith is fast becoming a celebrity in her own right for her Beautiful
Girl show and head-turning appearances on I’ve Got a Secret, while Beryl Wright, Joan Bilceaux, Arlene Andrewartha and Bernadette Russell (who recently won Sydney’s ‘Miss Television’ title) are also regular stunners.

  Another model to watch is Panda Lisner, who continues to impress on GTV-9, including her work on In Melbourne Tonight. She’s a princess. Some girls are said to be earning more than £60 each week for their TV work while others are paid almost £9 for a TV parade. The secretary of the Mannequin’s Association, Helen Violaris, said: ‘Producers find trained models helpful, witty and lovely to look at. Some believe models were made for TV.’

  Who wants to be a millionaire?

  February: Nine has launched a fun local show, with everyday Australians dreaming of what it would be like to have one million dollars.

  If You Had A Million does not actually offer participants any money, but simply asks what people would do if they had one million dollars in their bank account. Of course, it’s fanciful stuff, but entertaining nonetheless.

  The late night snooze

  January: Newsreader Eric Pearce has admitted he fell asleep on air recently.

  As the late night news began, viewers were stunned to see the veteran newsreader with his feet on the desk, apparently slumbering. Ever the pro, Pearce woke on cue and carried on as though nothing had happened, but it wasn’t a stunt.

  ‘I really was asleep,’ Pearce said. ‘I’d been out in the sun all day. The laughter of the studio boys woke me. But it was good fun. It’s things like that that make TV human!’

  Ballet is hell

  March: The ABC is taking an innovative approach to the arts with its screening of a new ballet about a couple of Australian diggers.

  Called G’day Digger, the ballet by composer John Antill is a light-hearted fantasy about an Australian soldier and his mate on leave in Sydney after doing their duty overseas. The production features such characters as May the barmaid, her friend Sheila, the Elegant Inebriate (accompanied by a comic ‘waddling’ theme) and the Bodgie.

  TV Week praised the screening, saying: ‘After you got over the initial shock of seeing a pair of dinkum Aussie diggers prancing daintily like a pair of fairies about a shell-hole dug out in Tobruk … the whole thing was jolly good fun.’

  ON DEBUT

  > That’s My Desire (above) – quiz program compered by Danny Webb, where the regular panel has to guess a guest’s secret desire

  > Tonight Show – variety show hosted by Hayes Gordon

  > Smithy – first local feature film on TV

  > What’s Next – panel show on the ABC

  > Astor Show – variety and music show

  > Home and Beauty – lifestyle show for the ladies

  > Any Questions? – panel of four people answering questions posed by the producers and the audience

  > Vincent’s Rhythm Roundup

  > Swallows Juniors – teenage talent show hosted by Brian Naylor

  > Hour of Truth – ABC drama, which, oddly, runs for only 30 minutes

  > Tell the Truth – game show

  > Captain Z-Ro – time travel adventure

  > Long John Silver – pirate adventure series, which commenced production for overseas markets in 1954

  > Women’s World – Channel 7 lifestyle show with help and hints for the lady of the house

  > Aspro Footy Show

  > Handyman – home renovation show with Colin Burns

  > House on the Corner – morality series produced by the Christian Television Association

  > Music Box

  > Life of Riley – comedy series And from overseas comes:

  > Wagon Train

  > Hollywood Movie Parade

  > Laurel and Hardy

  > Zorro

  > Popeye

  > Jack Benny Show

  > Phil Silvers Show

  > Sgt Preston of the Yukon

  Cool For Cats’ host Don Bennetts appears on rival show Bandstand with Brian Henderson.

  Musical youth

  Stations in Sydney and Melbourne have launched a brace of family-friendly music-talent shows this year to cash in on growing interest in popular music.

  The most promising seems to be Sydney’s Bandstand, compered by the suave and bespectacled Brian Henderson. It is based on the successful US show American Bandstand and features up-and-coming and established acts.

  In Melbourne, meanwhile, Brian Naylor is fronting a program called Swallows Juniors, which has a more youthful, talent show focus aimed at giving kids the chance to get their big break on TV.

  Both shows are aimed at teenagers but have so far steered clear of the emerging ‘rock and roll’ sound that is sweeping the world. But HSV-7 is also trying to appeal to the slightly older market by introducing a new show, Cool For Cats.

  Up to 50 teenagers are invited into the studio each week to dance to the latest tunes in what looks like a lounge room. The best dancers each week also receive a prize.

  But early episodes of the show were not well received in all quarters. ‘Those cats need to be hepped up,’ said Listener In-TV. ‘The batch last Thursday were practically squares.’

  It’s not just that newfangled ‘pop’ music that’s proving to be a hit on television, with programs like Channel 7’s The Oxford Show also bringing viewers the best in big band and other musical entertainment every week.

  Seven swings the axe

  August: Channel Seven has dumped Don Bennetts and Maryrose Campbell as hosts of its Young Seven program – and Maryrose (pictured right) isn’t happy about it.

  While Bennetts has got plenty of other jobs at Seven, including a new show called Cool For Cats, Maryrose’s future is more uncertain.

  She told TV Week she’d been made some ‘vague promises’ but said she didn’t want to work for Seven any more. She said although the station blamed poor ratings for the move, ratings had actually been improving in recent months.

  Maryrose and Don have been replaced on Young Seven by Madeleine Burke and Ron Bond.

  Could television run all day?

  June: GTV-9 has taken several significant steps towards offering all-day television. Housewives have been informed that they can now enjoy three hours of uninterrupted music from 9 am every weekday morning, replacing the test patterns and silent commercials that have screened until now.

  In April, Nine introduced a complete afternoon of programming each Thursday, making the dream of television that never stops just that little bit closer.

  The price is wrong

  November: Popular game show The Price Is Right has been unexpectedly axed in Melbourne after problems with the host and arguments over the level of sponsor commitment.

  Nine had been wrestling with financial aspects of the show as the sponsor complained regularly that it was not receiving enough advertising exposure in the course of the show. Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board was equally vocal in complaining that the sponsor received too much airtime.

  When host Geoff Manion (pictured right with hostesses Arlene Andrewartha and Joy Fountain) announced he needed a holiday, Nine threw in the towel. The show is still screening in Sydney, but its long-term future appears shaky.

  MEMORIES

  > TV-Radio Week, which launched in Melbourne late last year, shortens its name to TV Week and expands into Sydney. It also announces it will present annual awards honouring the most popular personalities in Melbourne television.

  > All stations combine to cover the Queen Mother’s Royal Tour of Australia.

  > ABC opens a new 1.2-hectare studio block at Ripponlea, Victoria.

  > An independent survey shows that Leave it to Beaver is the first program to reach a total rating of over one million viewers in the combined Sydney–Melbourne tally.

  > ABC admits it still uses the sound of a pencil on an empty cigar box to provide the sound of bat striking ball at cricket matches, claiming real sounds are ‘too lifelike’.

  > ATN-7 installs Australia’s first videotape machine. The ne
w technology allows ATN-7 to record an entire TV program, sound and vision, on magnetic tape.

  > ATN-7 and GTV-9 establish the first microwave link (with Canberra) to enable coverage of the Queen Mother’s visit.

  > First federal election count is televised.

  > Hollywood westerns on air six nights a week.

  > ABC screens the first Australian telecast of a real appendix operation.

  > The Shell company offers £3000 for the best Australian-written TV play.

  > ABC screens the first Australian feature film ever to be shown on TV, Smithy, based on the exploits of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

  > GTV-9 starts production of the first Australian drama series, Emergency.

  > HSV-7 announces a 40 per cent increase in its advertising charges. As of 1 June, Seven is charging £147 to sponsor a half-hour program between 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm.

  1959

  Local producers and actors finally get to show their talents with our first home-grown drama series. But it’s variety that rules the roost when TV’s first big awards are announced, in a year when one of variety’s biggest names is sacked. And we reveal the truth behind the controversy of what the dancers wore under their skirts.

  Emergency at Nine! But relax, it’s just TV

  January: Australia’s first television drama series, Emergency, is being filmed at GTV-9, with hospital beds and medical equipment filling the studio more used to hosting In Melbourne Tonight.

  The show will be shown on GTV-9 from February, and on ATN-7 in Sydney, and promises to be about more than blood-splattered medical procedures. Writer Roland Strong and director Denzil Howson are determined to inject all manner of emotional undercurrents into the staff and patients of their mythical emergency ward.

  TV Week reports that everybody at Nine is abuzz with the new show. ‘It was the beginning of a new era in Australian TV,’ the magazine said after visiting the studio. ‘Commercial television has started producing its own program series using Australian talent, scripts, technicians and money.’