Bruce Mansfield (24 April 1944 – 17 April 2016) was an Australian

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

and narrator.

Early career

Mansfield began in radio at age 16, when he won a junior announcer's competition at the 3UZ radio station in 1960. The prize was 100 pounds ($200) and a week on-air. He then joined

3KZ GOLD104.3 (call sign: 3KKZ) is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of ARN Media's Gold Network and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency. History 3KZ 3KZ commenced operations on 8 December 1930. The radio station ...

in 1962 as a panel operator and late night announcer.Bruce Mansfield: Profile
. 3aw.com. Retrieved 23 April 2013 In 1964 he joined

3XY Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY 1935 ...

presenting the mid-morning program. In 1968, he moved to television and appeared on

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy Order of Australia, AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, radio and television host as well as a personality and actor of theatre, television and film. He wa ...

's ''

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

'' on the Nine Network's Melbourne station,

GTV-9 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. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

. He was also known for his portrayal of the Chinese Superman on Channel 9's ''Cartoon Corner''.

Newsreading

Mansfield's television career then took a different direction in 1974 when he joined the Ten Network Melbourne

ATV-0 ATV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia, part of Network 10 – one of the three major Australian free-to-air commercial television networks. The station is owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. History In April 1963, the ...

as chief newsreader on ''Eyewitness News''. In 1979, Mansfield and his news reading partner Annette Allison were reassigned to other roles at the station. Mansfield went on to become a voice-over announcer at ATV and also a participant on game shows such as ''Personality Squares''. He was also the announcer for Channel Ten's long-running dating show '' Perfect Match Australia''.

Return to radio

Breakfast show

Mansfield co-hosted (with

John Blackman John Blackman (14 July 1947 – 4 June 2024) was an Australian radio and television presenter, voice artist, comedy writer and author. He was most widely-known for his voice-over work for the long-running Nine Network comedy variety show ''Hey ...

) the breakfast program on 3AW as the

alter-ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. Add ...

"Uncle Roy". The pair dominated Melbourne breakfast radio for several years before Blackman departed to rival station 3AK in 1986. Mansfield continued in the role at 3AW with Darren James until the station changed from "Personality Radio" to "Thinking Person's Radio" and the pair were dropped. Both Mansfield and James were picked up by 3AK in 1989. The program lasted until the middle of 1990 when 3AK was taken over by new management. He then became presenter of the drive-time program on community radio station 3INR-FM, broadcasting from the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

''Remember When'' and ''Nightline''

In 1990, Mansfield joined another TV veteran, Philip Brady, to present the Sunday night

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

program ''Remember When'' on 3AW. Six months later they also took over the ''Nightline'' program on a caretaker basis, but went on to stay as the program's full-time presenters; a role they continued until Mansfield's death. Later in the 1990s, Mansfield made a return to television introducing late night movies and also hosting an

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

program, ''Mansfield's Melbourne'', on Channel 31 in Melbourne. In 1999, Mansfield was sacked from 3AW over allegations that he gave on-air interviews in exchange for free goods and services, in a later development in the

cash-for-comment The cash for comment affair was an Australian scandal that broke in 1999 concerning paid advertising in radio that was presented to the audience in such a way as to sound like editorial commentary. John Laws, a shock jock radio presenter for Syd ...

investigations conducted by the then

Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radio communications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ...

. He went on to present an afternoon program, ''Mansfield's Melbourne'', on 3AK in 2000, before returning to his former role as ''Nightline'' and ''Remember When'' co-host on 3AW in 2001.

Bert Newton and Rove

Mansfield featured as a contributor on

Bert Newton Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie–winning entertainer, and radio, theatre and television personality and compère. Ne ...

's '' Good Morning Australia'', presenting a segment called "Collectables", a nostalgia-related segment. In 2004, Mansfield did the

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

s for a segment on ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', is an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22nd September 1999, b ...

'' called "Who's in the Swivel Chair?"

Awards

In 2003, Mansfield, with on-air partner, Philip Brady, won the Australian Commercial Radio Award for Best Networked Program (''Nightline'').

Community work

Mansfield was an Australia Day ambassador in Victoria. On Australia Day, ambassadors go to various Victorian communities to spread the message of national pride, participate in local activities and give a short speech on what being Australian means to them. In March 2013, Mansfield agreed to become an ambassador for the Northern Health Foundation, with a focus on the foundation's bequest program. Northern Health is one of Victoria's busiest public health services.

Death

On 17 April 2016, 3AW announced that Mansfield had died that morning from prostate cancer. He was one week away from turning 72.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, Bruce 1944 births 2016 deaths Radio personalities from Melbourne 3AW presenters Deaths from prostate cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state)