Thelma Phoebe Mclean MBE (5 June 192125 December 2004), known professionally as Dolly Dyer (formerly Mack) was an Australian

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

–winning radio and TV personality, and wife of fellow game-show host and performer

Bob Dyer Robert Neal Dyer OBE (22 May 1909 – 9 January 1984) was a Gold Logie-award-winning American-born vaudeville entertainer and singer, radio and television personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dy ...

Early life

She was born and grew up in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Her father died when she was young and she was raised by her mother. The family nickname was "Mack", so she took the name Dolly Mack when she was employed as a showgirl in Sydney's Tivoli Theatre in 1940. She met her husband there, literally running into him in a doorway. They married within two weeks at St John's,

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

, Sydney.

Entertainment career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Dolly and Bob entertained Allied troops, including performing in South Pacific and New Guinea war zones. After the war, Bob began the radio version of ''

Pick a Box ''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 D ...

'', which went to television in the late 1950s. Dolly appeared with him, introducing contestants and being a sidekick to Bob's humour.

Retirement

They both retired in 1971, shortly before the last episode of ''Pick-a-Box'' was screened. That year, Bob and Dolly were awarded a Special Gold Logie "in recognition of their contribution to Australian TV".

Honours

Both were listed on the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours list, with Dolly being appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE). Bob was not eligible for a substantive award as he was an American citizen, but he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order. In retirement, Dolly and her husband found time for their shared love of deep-sea fishing. They both broke several records, with Dolly breaking a 12-year women's record for a black marlin weighing 297 kilograms. After Bob's death in 1984, Dolly took up dancing, winning several medals for her performances.

Death

Dolly Dyer died of a stroke on Christmas Day, 2004. She was 83.

Notes

References

An elegant and affable TV sidekick – SMH.com.au
* ttp://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/dolly_dyer.htm Eric Shackle's eBook – Dolly Dyerbr>TV pioneer Dolly Dyer dies – knowfirst.info , Wayback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Dolly 1921 births 2004 deaths Gold Logie winners Australian game show hosts Australian fishermen Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire