Tag: The Magic Circle Club

Obituary: Ralph Baker

Ralph Baker, the TV producer and floor manager who became a late-night favourite as Melbourne’s Deadly Earnest, has died at the age of 80. He was diagnosed with myeloma in 2014. With an early interest in amateur theatre, Baker gained some experience appearing in sketches on GTV9‘s In Melbourne Tonight. He then gained a job …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2020/07/obituary-ralph-baker.html

TV At 60: The Top 60 begins…

Australian television is 60 years old this week. It was on the night on 16 September 1956 that Bruce Gyngell (pictured) declared “Good evening, and welcome to television” to an estimated viewing audience of around 100,000 — whether they be at home watching on television or among the thousands to be viewing from outside shop windows, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2016/09/tv-at-60-the-top-60-begins.html

TV Week Logie Awards: 50 years ago

Gordon Chater (pictured), from sketch comedy series The Mavis Bramston Show, won the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV at the 8th annual TV Week Logie Awards. The presentation was held at Melbourne’s Southern Cross Hotel on Monday, 21 March 1966, though there appears to have been no televised or press coverage …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2016/05/tv-week-logie-awards-50-years-ago-6.html

Ten Brisbane turns 50

Ten Brisbane is 50 years old today. As well as being Brisbane’s third commercial station it was also the third station to launch in the Independent Television System — the network now known as Network Ten. The licence to operate the new channel was awarded to Universal Telecasters (Queensland) Limited in February 1964. But only a few …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/07/ten-brisbane-turns-50.html

ATV0… from Go!! to Ten

This Friday, 1 August, marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first channel in what is now Network Ten. Earlier this year we took a look at the countdown to the launch of this new channel — ATV0 — plus its first test programs. This week we present some special posts in commemorating …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/07/atv0-from-go-to-ten.html

What’s your favourite Ten show?

Network Ten will be celebrating its upcoming 50th anniversary with a special, 50 Years Young. The program will feature an all-star cast of past and present Ten personalities, including Rove McManus, Bert Newton, Dr Chris Brown, Carrie Bickmore, Peter Helliar, Sandra Sully, Johnny Young, Chrissie Swann, Denise Drysdale, Claudia Karvan, Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald, Samuel Johnson, Osher …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/07/whats-your-favourite-ten-show-2.html

Mike Munro among Queen’s Birthday Honours

Newsreader Mike Munro (pictured), TV vet Dr Harry Cooper, sporting commentators Ray Warren and Phil Gould, members of The Seekers and TV presenter Richard Wilkins are among those to be awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2014. OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA Professor Paul Grabowsky — “For distinguished service to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/06/mike-munro-among-queens-birthday-honours.html

Revisiting Video Village

For many of a certain age the mention of Video Village will conjure up some fond memories. Video Village was a popular game show of the 1960s, produced by Crawford Productions for HSV7 in Melbourne and screened on a number of interstate stations. Launched in July 1962, Video Village was hosted by “mayor” Danny Webb, a presenter at …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/01/revisiting-video-village.html

Counting down to Channel 0

Fifty years ago, January 1964, the countdown was on to the launch of Melbourne’s new TV station, ATV Channel 0 (now Ten), scheduled for August that year. Melbourne was to be the first city in Australia to have access to a fourth television station — with new channels still up to a year away in Sydney, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/01/counting-down-to-channel-0.html

Nancy Cato sounds off at supermarket

To any child of the ’60s and early ’70s the name Nancy Cato (pictured) will invoke memories of classic Australian children’s TV. An aspiring actress from Swan Hill, Cato came to fame as the host of children’s program GMV Juniors from GMV6, Shepparton, in the early ’60s. She became a national TV identity in 1964 as …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2013/04/nancy-cato-sounds-off-at-supermarket.html