Stuart Wagstaff was an English-born Australian entertainer who was active in all genres of the industry including theatre, television and film, and music and stage management.
Autumn Affair is an Australian television series made by and aired by Network Seven station ATN-7, and also shown in Melbourne on Nine Network station GTV-9. Television in Australia had only been broadcasting since 1956 and Seven was the first commercial station to make drama a priority. It premiered 24 October 1958 and continued until 1959. The series was the first ever Australian television soap opera. It was also the second regular Australian-produced dramatic television series of any kind, with previous locally produced drama consisting of religious series The House on the Corner, and one-off plays largely aired on ABC.
The Story of Peter Grey was an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network and first broadcast in July 1962. James Condon starred in the title role as a church minister.
Pick a Box was an Australian game shows that first aired on radio in 1948 until the early 1960s; subsequently, the concept transferred to TV and was broadcast from 1957 and 1971. The program was hosted by the husband and wife duo Bob and Dolly Dyer
Eric Ehrenfried Baume OBE was a New Zealand-born Australian based journalist, novelist, radio presenter, actor and television talk show host.
Jonah is an Australian television drama series which aired for 20 episodes starting from 15 October 1962 on the Seven Network. Produced during an era when commercial television in Australia produced few dramatic series, Jonah was a period drama, and was inspired by the success of ABC's period drama mini-series like Stormy Petrel.
Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.
The Purple Jacaranda was an Australian television mini-series which aired on ABC in 1964 based on a novel by Nancy Graham. Cast included James Condon, Margo Lee, Ronald Morse, Diana Perryman, Walter Sullivan and John Unicomb.
The Toppanos is a 15-minute Australian television series which aired from 1958 to 1959 on Sydney station ATN-7. It starred Enzo and Peggy Toppano, and combined music with ab-libbed comedy, along with a dog puppet named Jazza.
State Your Case was an Australian television program which aired from May to July 1957 on Sydney station ATN-7.
In Melbourne Today was an early Australian television series, which aired in two versions in the 1950s, on Melbourne station GTV-9. It was Australia's first breakfast television series.
"Reflections in Dark Glasses" is an Australian television film, or rather a television play, which aired in 1960. It aired as part of Shell Presents, which consisted of monthly presentations of stand-alone television dramas. It was written by Sydney writer James Workman, and is notable as an early example of Australian-written television drama. It was broadcast live in Sydney on 6 February 1960, then recorded and shown in Melbourne.
"No Picnic Tomorrow" is an Australian television drama one-off which aired in 1960 on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne. Part of the Shell Presents series of one-off television dramas and comedies, it was produced in Melbourne, but first shown in Sydney on 9 January 1960, and on 23 January 1960 Melbourne.
Telestory is an Australian television series which aired 1961–1962. Produced by Artransa Park and aired on ATN-7, it was a 15-minute series in which an actor would read from a book. The first season consisted of Leonard Teale reading The Sundowners, while the second season consisted of Gordon Glenwright reading from They're a Weird Mob. Very basic television, it aired towards the end of the day's schedule, at time slots such as 10:10PM on Monday and 11:35PM on Friday. Additional episodes were planned but do not seem to have been produced.
Off the Peg is an Australian television series that aired in 1965. Starring Colin Croft, it was a variety series on ABC. It was announced as having "little, if any, talking" and as being "all songs, music and dancing". It aired during July and August. In Sydney the episode telecast 16 July 1965 aired at 9:30PM, and aired against Double Your Dollars on TCN-9, a film on ATN-7 and a film on TEN-10. It was announced that eight episodes would air, but according to TV guides, only seven were actually scheduled.
Adventure Unlimited is a 1965 Australian anthology TV series. It was produced by Lee Robinson and associate produced by Joy Cavill. The directors included Ken Hannam. It was made by Waratah Film Productions a short lived company that came out of an unsuccessful attempt to gain a third commercial television licence.
"Johnny Belinda" was a 1959 Australian TV adaptation of the 1940 play by Elmer Harris which had been filmed in 1948. It was the first "live" one hour drama on commercial television in Australia.
"Other People's Houses" is the second episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. It was based on a play by Tad Mosel and starred Diana Perryman and was directed by David Cahill. It aired on 2 May 1959 in Sydney and on 3 October 1959 in Melbourne.
"Thunder of Silence" is an episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents, and the fourth made in Sydney. It was based on an American play by Stewart Stern which had been produced in the U.S. with Paul Newman and Inger Stevens. It aired live on 22 August 1959 in Sydney with a recorded version airing on 28 November 1959 in Melbourne.
"A Tongue of Silver" is an episode of the 1959 Australian TV drama anthology Shell Presents. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. It starred John Meillon, who had been in Thunder of Silence in the same series.
