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Syd Heylen
Harold Charles Sydney Heylen (25 May 1922 – 4 December 1996), credited variously as Syd Heylen, Sid Heylen and Sydney Heylen, was an Australian character actor of radio, stage, television and film, comedian, and variety performer and soldier, he often performed in a traditional vaudeville style in the vein of Roy Rene. He was best known for his role in ''A Country Practice'', as the RSL club manager, barman and chef Vernon "Cookie" Locke, alongside Gordon Piper as his mate Bob Hatfield. Cookie and Bob were styled as a version of The Odd Couple, with Cookie as the slob and Bob as the neat one. In the series he was briefly engaged to town gossip Esme Watson ( Joyce Jacobs) He went into vaudeville after World War II and in 1956 starred in the variety show "The Show of Stars" with straight man Hal Lashwood and John Ewart. Heylen became popular during the 1960s on television as a regular performer on the HSV-7 variety show '' Sunnyside Up'' for 10 years, appearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shtick
A shtick ( yi, שטיק) is a comic theme or gimmick. The word entered the English language from the Yiddish ''shtik'' (שטיק), in turn derived from German ''Stück'' and Polish ''sztuka'' (both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *''stukkiją''), all meaning "piece", "thing" or "theatre play"; note that "Theaterstück" is the German word for play (and is a synonym of "Schauspiel", literally "viewing play" in contrast to the "Singspiel"). The English word "piece" is sometimes used in a similar context (for example, a musical piece). In stand-up comedy context a near equivalent term is a "bit". Another variant is "bits of business" or just "bits". ''Shtick'' may refer to an adopted persona, usually for comedy performances, that is maintained consistently (though not necessarily exclusively) across the performer's career. In this usage, the recurring personalities adopted by Laurel and Hardy through all of their many comedy films (although they often played characters with differe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorrae Desmond
Lorrae Desmond (2 October 1929 – 23 May 2021) born as Beryl Hunt, was an Australian Gold Logie-award-winning singer, recording artist, radio and television presenter, character actor, and playwright, with a career that spanned over 55 years both locally and the United Kingdom. She started her career in England, in the vein of entertainer Cicely Courtneidge. She carved out a career as a variety performer, as a singer and radio/television presenter, primarily at the BBC, where she had her own shows during the years of World War II. Returning to Australia she became a popular presenter and remains best known to early local television audiences as hostess of the musical variety program ''The Lorrae Desmond Show'' from 1960 until 1964, while as a variety entertainer and vocalist she made numerous cabaret and TV appearances including ''In Melbourne Tonight'', ''The Graham Kennedy Show'', '' The Kamahl Show'', ''The Ted Hamilton Show'' and appeared on ''Parkinson in Australia'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arcade (TV Series)
''Arcade'' was an Australian television soap opera shown in 1980 that was one of the least successful in the history of Australian television. Sydney Morning Herald, 3 December 2004. ''"others, such as Arcade... rank among the biggest turkeys ever."'' It aired on Network Ten with the premiere (76-minute) episode shown on 20 January 1980. The series then ran five nights a week, Mondays to Fridays, as a 25-minute serial. It was produced solely by Network Ten (as an in-house production) with a start-up budget of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Davern
James Edmund Davern, OAM, is an Australian television director, writer, script editor and producer, and founder of production company JNP Productions. Professional career Davern was employed as a writer and script editor with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television branch in the 1960s. He worked as a producer and director in drama and music programmes and was involved in establishing a script production line. In 1967, Davern was director and producer of the very first episode of '' Bellbird'', Australia's first successful television soap opera, set in a rural community. Davern moved to the Seven Network where he created the highly popular series ''A Country Practice'', one of the most popular drama series in Australian television history. The series ran from 1981 to 1993 with 1,058 episodes. When the Seven Network cancelled ''A Country Practice'' in 1993, it was remade by Network 10 in 1994. Although James Davern moved to Network 10 to work on the "new" series. It w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alvin Purple (TV Series)
''Alvin Purple'' was an Australian television situation comedy series, made by the ABC in 1976. The series followed continued adventures of the title character, previously featured in the successful sex comedy feature film ''Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel ''Alvin Purple Rides Again'' (1974). It debuted on 19 August 1976. Graeme Blundell reprised the role of Alvin in the series. Alvin cohabitated with a new character, flatmate Spike (Chris Haywood). As in the films, various women inexplicably lust after Alvin. The women were played by a stream of recognisable Australian actresses in guest-starring roles including Tina Bursill, Jacki Weaver, Belinda Giblin, June Rich, Jane Harders, Pamela Gibbons, Kirrily Nolan, Peta Peita, Judy Lynne, Suzanne Church, Carla Hoogeveen, Chantal Contouri, Anya Saleky. Dawn Lake and Leonard Teale also acted in the series. Production In late 1974, Tim Burstall and Hexagon Productions discussed, with ABC, a possible television series based on ''Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success of the earlier Crawford Productions crime show ''Homicide'' and dealt with the wide variety of cases dealt with by police in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Yarra Central (modelled on St Kilda). Awards The series was both popular - winning 10 Logie Awards, including two Gold Logie awards (for Australia's most popular entertainer) for Gerard Kennedy - who played Frank Banner, the series was critically acclaimed, winning a number of Penguin and Awgie awards for its scripts and actors. In 1972 Frank Taylor received the Penguin Award for the Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series. After Kennedy decided to leave ''Division 4'', the Nine Network summarily cancelled the series; only one episode was made with his replacement John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homicide (Australian TV Series)
''Homicide'' was an Australian television police procedural drama series made by production firm Crawford Productions for the Seven Network. It was the television successor to Crawfords' radio series ''D24''. The "Consummate ''Homicide'' cast" includes the four characters that are the best known: Det. Snr. Sgt. David "Mac" MacKay (Leonard Teale), Det. Sgt. Peter Barnes ( George Mallaby), Inspector Colin Fox ( Alwyn Kurts) and Sen. Det. Jim Patterson ( Norman Yemm). Synopsis The series dealt with the homicide squad of the Victorian Police force and the various crimes and cases the detectives are called upon to investigate. Many episodes were based directly on real cases, although the characters (including the detectives) were fictional. 510 episodes were produced and aired from 20 October 1964 to January 1977 (12 years and 6 months), making it the longest-running Australian weekly primetime drama in history. With 510 episodes produced (the last episode is numbered 509, due to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Matlock and the surrounding district, and the backgrounds and personal lives of the main policemen. Background The series was the 0-10 Network's attempt to come up with a police show to rival ''Homicide'' (shown by the 7 Network) and ''Division 4'' (on the 9 Network). ''Matlock Police'' was different from its Melbourne-based predecessors by being set in a small country town, the fictional Matlock, Victoria (a real Matlock does exist in Victoria, but it is much smaller than the town depicted by this series, which is loosely based on Shepparton). These program's introduction featured an overhead shot of a town with a divided road, thought to be of Bairnsdale in Victoria. Series writers had a reference manual giving full details of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crawford Production
Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN Corporation. Founding and early years Founded exclusively as a radio production company in 1945, Crawford Productions then specialized in drama, light entertainment, and educational programs. When broadcast television was introduced to Australia in 1956, Crawford Productions was one of the few Australian radio production houses to successfully transition to the new medium. Early Crawford TV productions included '' Wedding Day'' (HSV-7, 1956), the first Australian-produced sitcom '' Take That!'' (HSV-7, 1957–59), ''The Peters Club'' (GTV-9, 1958), '' Raising a Husband'' (GTV-9, 1958) and the drama play ''Seagulls Over Sorrento'' (HSV-7, 1960). They also produced segments of the ''Export Action ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
39th Battalion (Australia)
The 39th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in February 1916 for service during World War I as part of First Australian Imperial Force, with personnel being drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. Making up part of the 10th Brigade, it was attached to the 3rd Division and served on the Western Front in France and Belgium before being disbanded in March 1919. Following the re-organisation of the Australian Army in 1921, the battalion was raised again in Victoria as a unit of the Citizens Force, becoming known as the "Hawthorn–Kew Regiment". In 1937, it was amalgamated with the 37th Battalion to become the 37th/39th Battalion. Later, in August 1939 it was delinked with the 37th and amalgamated with the 24th Battalion to form the 24th/39th Battalion, before being raised again as a single unit in October 1941. During World War II the battalion was sent to New Guinea in 1942 as part of the 30th Brigade to defend the territory aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokoda Trail
The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese and Allied – primarily Australian – forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua. The track runs from Owers' Corner in Central Province, east of Port Moresby, across rugged and isolated terrain which is only passable on foot, to the village of Kokoda in Oro Province. It reaches a height of as it passes around the peak of Mount Bellamy. The track travels primarily through the land of the Mountain Koiari people. Hot, humid days with intensely cold nights, torrential rainfall and the risk of endemic tropical diseases such as malaria make it a challenging trek. Hiking the trail normally takes between four and twelve days; the fastest recorded time is 16 hours 34 minutes. History The track was first used by Euro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
