Tarax Show

Last updated

Tarax Show
Genre Children's
Created byDenzil Howson
Presented by
Starring
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Original release
Network GTV-9
Release21 January 1957 (1957-01-21) –
1969 (1969)

The Tarax Show was an early Australian children's TV program on GTV-9 in Melbourne running from 1957 to 1969.

Contents

Synopsis

Denzil Howson who was then Assistant Program Manager at GTV9, was asked by Norman Spencer to develop a daily children's program. A pilot of the show was kinescope recorded onto film. The program started on Melbourne's GTV-9 on 21 January 1957 [1] (only two days after the official opening of GTV9), debuting from the Myer Emporium Lonsdale St store window, as the GTV9 studios in Bendigo Street, Richmond were still under construction. Normally the program was produced from GTV-9, but some editions were taped at ATN-7 in Sydney to help build the audience there.

Beginning under the name The Happy Show, the first host was Happy Hammond, who had come to television from radio. The program was sponsored by Tarax Drinks from April 1957, with the name changing to The Tarax Happy Show. [2] The show was co-hosted by Princess Panda (Panda Lisner}. After Happy Hammond and Princess Panda departed to HSV-7, the program was simply The Tarax Show, hosted by Geoff Corke [3] (King Corky, King of the Kids) and later by Norman Swain [3] (known as Uncle Norman on the Tarax Show) ... he too had come from radio (known as "Billy Bouncer on 3KZ's 'Children's Hour' show each morning before school).

Melbourne ventriloquist Ron Blaskett and his mischievous doll, Gerry Gee, [3] named for GTV-9, were featured for several years. Gerry was very popular, spawning a variety of merchandise, including a range of "Gerry Gee Junior" dolls. Ron Blaskett's ventriloquist act was the first variety act to appear on the channel. [4] [5] He also starred in spin-off programs The Adventures of Gerry Gee and Do You Trust Your Wife. In 2009, a retrospective DVD was released "You, Me and Gerry Gee", following on from the book of the same name.

The most popular segment in the early years of the show was Girl Next Door, where Gerry would talk over the fence to a girl from his class, originally Elaine McKenna, [3] later Patti McGrath (Patti Newton). Other segments included Banjo Club, Pura Prize Time, Speaking of Animals, TV Stars of Tomorrow, TV Gym, Stan Stafford's Bunkhouse, Friends in Blue, How It Works, Dog Shop and Tiny's Story. [6]

Musical accompaniments were provided by Margot Sheridan (piano) and Laurie Wilson (organ).

Cast

Over time, the show's cast included Susan-Gaye Anderson, [3] Bernard The Magician (Alf Gertler), [7] Joffa Boy (Joff Ellen [3] ), Professor Nitwitty (Denzil Howson), Professor Ratbaggy (Ernie Carroll [3] ), Gael Dixon, Prince Philip (Philip Brady), Daisy the Cow and Freddo Frog. Ron Barassi gave instruction on Australian Rules Football.

Ossie Ostrich (Ernie Carroll) went on to star in Hey Hey It's Saturday , appearing with Daryl Somers for 24 years on TV. Ernie Carroll also drew the cartoon character Joy-belle and worked as producer.

Uncle Norman joined the show after a long radio career at 3KZ. His very first appearance on the TV show involved arriving down a slide, but he broke his leg in the process; Joffa improvised a little ditty about Uncle Norman breaking his leg, but when it became clear that it was not a joke, he was rushed to hospital. It was two months before he was well enough to appear again.

The TV Dentist caused some consternation with management, by suggesting that it did not matter which brand of toothpaste was used, and saying soft drink will rot your teeth - the program was sponsored by a soft drink company, and included ads for toothpaste.

Freddo Frog appeared both as a cartoon and a costume character at different times. The animated version was one of the first Australian produced cartoon series on TV. [8]

Young performers who later went on to become stars include Denise Drysdale, Roma Egan, Wendy Stapleton and Marty Rhone.

Due to budget cuts, the show was replaced by Uncle Norman and Joffa Boy hosting cartoons with the occasional brief comedy sketch. After the duo left GTV-9, that format was used for the successor program Cartoon Corner.

Related Research Articles

GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands.

3AK is the call sign of SEN 1116, and the earlier on-air name of a former Melbourne talk-back radio and music station, which, in 2003, leased its licence to sports network SEN 1116. A number of unusual events and precedents throughout the station's history make its story of unusual interest. These events include :

In Melbourne Tonight, also known as IMT, was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ossie Ostrich</span> Australian television puppet character

Oswald Q. Ostrich, better known simply as Ossie Ostrich, is an Australian television puppet character in the form of a pink ostrich, created, performed and voiced by Ernie Carroll who appeared firstly on the Tarax Show, and then opposite Daryl Somers as the co-host on the long-running Nine Network program Hey Hey It's Saturday which started as a Saturday morning cartoon show for children in 1971. In 1984, he also hosted an after-school children's show called The Ossie Ostrich Video Show, with co-host Jacki MacDonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carols by Candlelight</span> Annual Christmas song event in Australia

Carols by Candlelight is an annual Australian Christmas tradition that was popularised in Melbourne in 1938. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by candlelight, featuring live performances by both national and international celebrities accompanied by a symphony orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise Drysdale</span> Australian television personality, actress and comedian

Denise Anne Christina Drysdale is an Australian television presenter, variety entertainer, actress, singer, dancer and comedian. She is often affectionately known as Ding Dong, a nickname invented by fellow performer Ernie Sigley. She is currently a co-host of the morning show Studio 10.

Peter Philip Smith OAM is a retired Australian radio and television voice-over artist. He is primarily known for his work with GTV-9 Melbourne as their chief staff announcer, including being the announcer on the nationally screened quiz show Sale of the Century for 21 years.

Harry Montague Hammond, professionally known as Happy Hammond, was an Australian comedian, radio host, children's television show host, and television producer.

Adventure Island is an Australian television series for children which screened on the ABC from 11 September 1967 to 22 December 1972. It was jointly created by Godfrey Philipp, who produced the series, and actor-writer John-Michael Howson, who also co-starred in the show. It typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.

Joff Ellen, was an Australian entertainer, TV pioneer, actor and comedian.

Ernest Carroll was an Australian puppeteer, entertainer, radio and television personality, comic writer, television producer and comic strip writer, most recognised for his role as the sidekick opposite Daryl Somers, as the man behind Ossie Ostrich on Hey Hey It's Saturday, Cartoon Corner and The Daryl and Ossie Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Pearce (broadcaster)</span>

Sir Eric Herbert Pearce, OBE was an English-born broadcaster and television pioneer in Australia.

The 1st Annual TV Week Logie Awards were the first awards ever to be awarded for work within the Australian television industry. Television had begun production in Australia only three years earlier, in 1956.

The Super Flying Fun Show was a live weekday morning television programme aimed at children. It was made at TCN 9 in Sydney, Australia, and shown on relay in Melbourne on GTV 9.

Bongo is an Australian television series for which little information is available. Hosted by Russell Stubbings, it was a music show aimed at teenagers. It ran from 18 August 1960 to 17 November of the same year. It was a half-hour series, aired on Melbourne station GTV-9. The series was preceded on the schedule by Gerry Gee's Happy Show and followed by the evening news. An issue of The Age newspaper features a picture of Stubbings and lists the series as being live.

Road Safety is a 1957 Australian television series aired on GTV-9 in Melbourne. Each episode aired in a 10-minute time-slot on Mondays. Like most early Australian series, it aired in a single city only.

Elaine McKenna Evans, was an Australian singer and actress. She is known for her television appearances from the late 1950s to the 1960s, particularly on GTV-9's Tarax Show and In Melbourne Tonight. For her TV work, McKenna won the Logie Award for Best Singer in 1961. McKenna relocated to the United States in late 1961. She appeared on The Bob Newhart Show in that year. By February 1968 she had returned to Melbourne.

Panda Lisner was an Australian model and television presenter, most notable for her work during the early days of Australian television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Corke</span> Australian radio and television presenter (1934–1993)

Cuthbert Geoffrey Corke was an Australian radio and television presenter.

References

  1. ↑ Blaskett 2001, p. 88.
  2. ↑ "Record television contract to GTV-9". The Age . 6 April 1957. p. 3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Coming Soon - The Happy/Tarax Show Website". tgdq.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Blaskett 2001, p. 84.
  5. ↑ "Gee, An Old Tv Character Is Going, Going ..." Transmitter.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Unknown title". TV Week . 26 June 1958. pp. 8–21.
  7. ↑ "Gertler, Alfred 'Bernard The Magician'". Arts Centre Melbourne . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Hopping back in time". The Age . 13 June 2002. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.

Bibliography

National Film & Sound Archive

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.