Tag: Class Of ’74

Obituary: John Hamblin

John Hamblin, actor and long-time presenter on Play School, has died at the age of 87. Born in England, Hamblin had made some early acting appearances on British television and was a “ten pound pom” when he came to Australia in the 1960s. His first Australian TV appearance was a guest role in the adventure …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2022/09/obituary-john-hamblin.html

Obituary: Patrick Ward

Actor Patrick Ward, star of various Australian films and television series, has died at the age of 69. He left school in Sydney at the age of 14 and at the age of 16 began as a dancer before joining the Independent Theatre in Sydney and trained as an actor. He starred as lawyer Mike …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/10/obituary-patrick-ward.html

Obituary: Reg Watson

Reg Watson, the creator of Neighbours and many other successful soaps, has died at the age of 93. Born in Maryborough, Queensland, in 1926, Watson’s career started as a radio actor and announcer and he had also dabbled in theatre. By the mid-1950s, he had moved to the United Kingdom and in 1956 was appointed …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/10/obituary-reg-watson.html

Cop Shop coming soon to DVD

Cop Shop, the popular Crawfords police drama of the 1970s and early ’80s, is coming soon to DVD with a box set of the first 26 episodes. This year marks the 40th anniversary since the show debuted on our screens. The first episode aired on the Seven Network in Sydney and Melbourne on 28 November 1977 and focused …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2017/04/cop-shop-coming-soon-to-dvd.html

The Young Doctors turns 40

The Young Doctors was destined to be one of Australia’s shortest lived serial dramas but in an ironic twist became the longest-running of its time.. Created by the Reg Watson for the Reg Grundy Organisation, The Young Doctors began as the story of five medical interns who had started at the fictional Alfred Memorial Hospital. Playing …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2016/11/the-young-doctors-turns-40.html

Obituary: Reg Grundy

Reg Grundy, the radio announcer who went on to become one of Australia’s most successful television producers, has died at the age of 92. His media career began in the 1950s as a sports commentator on Sydney radio station 2SM. This led to him developing and hosting radio game shows, the most successful being Wheel …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2016/05/obituary-reg-grundy.html

And that was 2014

And so another year has come to an end. The biggest milestone for the year was the 50th anniversary of the launch of what is now Network Ten. We started our 50th anniversary tribute back in January followed by a look at the first test programs in May, and as the official birthday — 1 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/12/and-that-was-2014.html

Top 10 Aussie TV Themes

A little while ago an American TV blog, Comfort TV, ran a series of articles listing its favourite TV themes of each decade from the 1950s to 1980s. Many were of shows very familiar to Australian audiences, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Happy Days, The Love Boat, Cheers, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks and Highway To …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/11/top-10-aussie-tv-themes.html

Homicide: 50 years on

Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first appearance of Homicide on Australian television. The series, produced by Crawford Productions, wasn’t the first drama produced by Australian television but was the first to demonstrate that Australian audiences would watch locally-produced drama in overwhelming numbers. Its success sparked a booming industry of Australian television drama production. But …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/10/homicide-50-years-on.html

Jack Benny and JO’K in 1964 Good Friday Appeal

Legendary American comedian Jack Benny (pictured) was the special guest at the Sporting Globe-3DB-HSV7 Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal in March 1964. Benny, visiting Australia for a series of stage shows in Sydney and Melbourne plus a TV special, appeared on the annual telethon during the afternoon as well as being the star attraction for …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/04/jack-benny-and-jok-in-1964-good-friday-appeal.html