Ernie Sigley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ernest William Sigley (2 September 1938 – 15 August 2021) was an Australian Gold Logie award winning television host, comedian, variety performer, radio presenter and singer. Known as a pioneer of radio and television in Australian, he was often styled as a "little Aussie battler" with a larrikin sense of humour. Sigley started his career in radio, before becoming a presenter of TV programs and was best known for his self-titled program ''The Ernie Sigley Show'' and ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' as well as original host of game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', after presenting talk shows with his frequent co-presenter
Denise Drysdale Denise Anne Christina Drysdale (born 5 December 1948) 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 Er ...
in the late 80s and early 90s, he returned to presenting radio broadcasts, until retiring in 2009.


Biography


Early life and career

Sigley was born in Footscray,
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 ...
, one of seven children of a boilermaker. After completing his education at Williamstown High School, his career began in 1952 as a turntable operator on Danny Webb's breakfast program at radio station 3DB. Television started in Australia in 1956 and Sigley made his TV debut in 1957 as host of '' Teenage Mailbag'', later known as '' The Teenage Show'', on Seven Network's
HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbou ...
. Shortly after this, he travelled to London, gaining some work experience at the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. But a bigger break was to come with a three-year stint at
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
, where he performed under the name "Ernie Williams". Sigley is remembered for his 1964 association with the
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
leg of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' tour of Australia. In one press conference, his questioning of the Beatles brought about an enthusiastic response from
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
, which led to one of the more notable interviews of the tour.


Radio

In 1981, Sigley returned to 3DB to host the breakfast program. In 1982, he switched to the breakfast shift at the personality-driven News Talk 3UZ. In 1996, Sigley joined 3AW to host the afternoon program. He hosted the afternoon program for 12 years until his retirement on 7 November 2008. Denis Walter was announced as Sigley's replacement. He then took on a part-time role at the station where he partnered either Bruce Mansfield or Philip Brady to host ''Nightline'' on Friday nights.


Television

Sigley was part of the original cast of variety TV program '' Sunnyside Up'', In the 1960s and early 1970s, he hosted the prime time Adelaide variety show ''
Adelaide Tonight ''Adelaide Tonight'' was a nightly variety show, running four days a week at 9.30 pm on Nine Network, NWS-9 Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as wel ...
'' on
NWS-9 NWS is an Australian Australian television broadcasting, television station based in Adelaide, Australia. It is owned-and-operated station, owned-and-operated by the Nine Network. The station callsign, ''NWS'', is an initialism of The NeWs South ...
. Beginning in 1974, he was the host of the national
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
variety show ''The Ernie Sigley Show'', featuring notable Australian media personalities such as
Denise Drysdale Denise Anne Christina Drysdale (born 5 December 1948) 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 Er ...
, Noni Hazlehurst, Pete Smith and Joy Westmore. The program was abruptly axed after an off-air outburst by Sigley, directed at station owner
Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
and producer Peter Faiman, when the network cut short his first show for 1976 to accommodate a network sports awards telecast. Packer flew to
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 ...
the next day and dismissed Sigley in person, effective immediately, and replaced him with Don Lane. After his dismissal in 1976, Sigley moved to ATV-0 and hosted the early evening variety show ''Ernie'' and then, in 1978, ''The Penthouse'' which became ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' on
HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbou ...
co-hosting with Mary Hardy. Sigley was the original host of the Australian version of the popular game show '' Wheel of Fortune'' from 1981 to 1984. In 1982, he presented the regional variety program ''Six Tonight'' from BTV-6 in
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
and the daytime talent show ''Pot Luck'' in 1987. After a break from television, Sigley returned in 1989 with
Denise Drysdale Denise Anne Christina Drysdale (born 5 December 1948) 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 Er ...
, hosting
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 ...
's morning program ''In Melbourne Today''. Sigley was involved in an argument with fellow TV star Don Lane at a Logies after party in 1988, when Sigley allegedly made insulting remarks about Lane's partner.


Singing

Sigley began singing as a choir boy at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, and went on to be a regular on the local town hall circuit in the 1950s. In 1957, his first record, "Love Is A Golden Ring", was released. In 1974, Sigley, with Denise Drysdale, recorded the popular duet " Hey Paula", a cover of a hit by US duo Paul & Paula released by
Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...
and produced at Armstrong Studios, Melbourne. The record was produced and arranged by Brian Rangott and engineered by Ian McKenzie and peaked at number 2 in Australia. Sigley regularly performed around Australia on the club circuit, often with his television partner Denise Drysdale.


Awards

Sigley won the TV Week
Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television 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 TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Log ...
in 1975. He had previously won eleven local Logies for his work in Adelaide.


Personal life

Three times married and twice divorced, Sigley was married to Glenys O'Brien, a former television personality, for 47 years. They lived in Atkins Ave, Glen Iris in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and had four children. His son Matthew was a keyboardist for the Australian bands the Earthmen, the Fauves and Drop City. Sigley was a supporter of the
Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...
(formerly known as the
Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...
) in the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
. He was also a supporter of the South Adelaide Football Club in the
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
. Sigley once owned the Radio Springs Hotel at Lyonville in country Victoria. Sigley's family announced in October 2016 that he had
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. He died on 15 August 2021, aged 82.


Filmography


Selected TV


Actor


Studio albums


Charting singles


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigley, Ernie 1938 births 2021 deaths Australian game show hosts Gold Logie winners 3AW presenters Comedians from Melbourne Television personalities from Adelaide Television personalities from Melbourne Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Australia Radio personalities from Melbourne People from Footscray, Victoria