Graham Kennedy

At 71 years old, Graham Kennedy has this physical status:

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

He was often described as "Gra Gra" (pronounced "gray").

He was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia, as well as the Logie Hall of Fame award, and in 1959, he received the Star of the Year Award.

He is Australia's most coveted actor.

"The King" or "the King of Australian television" were often referred to as "The King" or the "King of Australian television."

He was best known for his friendships with Australian entertainer Bert Newton and American-born television presenter Don Lane.

Early life

Cyril William Kennedy and Mary Austin Kennedy were born in Camden Street, Balaclava, to Cyril William Kennedy and Mary Austin Kennedy (née Scott). The Kennedy's mother, who was 18 years old at the time of his birth, was employed at a local picture theatre. His father, who served as both an engineer and handyman, mowed lawns, and washed cars. He was a firearms gunner who served in 1939. At 32 Nelson Street, Balaclava, Kennedy's first home was a "slightly packed duplex." The City of Port Phillip had a 20 cm diameter plaque on the property, which coincidently fell in the week of Kennedy's death.

When Kennedy was two years old, his parents moved to Carlisle Street, St Kilda, for two years. He and his parents divorced only after World War II, and Kennedy was largely raised by his grandparents, "Pop" Kennedy (who had worked as an electrician at Melbourne's Tivoli, Royal, and Bijou theatres), and "Grandma Scott," to whom he remained close until her death.

Kennedy later said that he had:

An article in The Bulletin by his friend and colleague John Mangos stated it after Kennedy's death: 'ty's death,'s colleague and colleague John Mangos wrote that: "The Bulletin" after Kennedy's death reveals this.

Kennedy was educated first at Euston College (which no longer exists) on the corner of Chapel and Carlisle streets, followed by Caulfield North Central School (now Caulfield Junior College) and eventually at Melbourne High School, South Yarra.

Kennedy chaired a campaign to raise funds for Melbourne High's renovations, which raised more than $100,000 in its first year.

During a school break in 1949, Kennedy worked at his uncle's hairdressing shop 475 Collins Street, where he met customers who were working in the Australian Broadcasting Commission's shortwave building (ABC). From Collins Street to the ABC studios in Lonsdale Street, he transitioned to a news runner. He appeared on radio station 3UZ shortly after beginning to work in the station's historic library.

Personal life

Kennedy himself never confessed to being gay, but his homosexuality was considered an open mystery within the Australian entertainment industry.

"Probably the loneliest young man in Australia" in the 1960s, Bob Dyer referred to him as "probably the loneliest young man in Australia."

In 1973, Melbourne newspapers announced that Kennedy was engaged to 28-year-old Australian singer Lana Cantrell, who went on to become a lucrative New York lawyer. Many years later, Kennedy asked if a photographer, photographing him and Cantrell leaving a restaurant together, asked if he could "hint at a love." A poster declared "Graham and Lana to wed" on Sunday. Devona Fox, his former housekeeper and part of Kennedy's award-winning Channel 9 program The Real Graham Kennedy, directed by Bob Phillips, is quoted as saying, "We're here to tell the truth!"

In his 2006 book King and I: My Life with Graham Kennedy, published by celebrity agent Anthony Zammit, broadcaster Rob Astbury revealed that Kennedy and his partner had been lovers. In the 2007 biopic The King, Kennedy is depicted as gay.

He was a Freemason.

Harry M. Miller was hired as his agent by Kennedy. According to historian Blundell, Kennedy expected Miller to give his commission of $2500 a week to the Wayside Chapel for Kennedy's appearance on Graham Kennedy's News Show.

Miller later sued Kennedy for "wrongful termination and a 20 percent commission on his 1989 gross earnings." During a court hearing, Miller "painted a portrait of his twenty-year-old client as a late-night drinker who had the habit of sending demanding faxes while under the influence." Justice Brownie ruled in favor of Miller, causing him to pay $75,699 plus fees.

In 1991, Kennedy retired from a rural farm near Bowral in New South Wales' Southern Highlands, near his friends Tony Sattler and Noeline Brown, where his main companions were two Clydesdale horses named Dave and Sarah, a Golden Retriever.

During the 1990s, Kennedy's health worsened. He was diabetic, a big smoker, and a drinker. Tony Sattler and Noeline Brown, both of his illness, rallied to his assistance.

His housekeeper discovered him unconscious and dehydrated on December 18, 2001. "Between the diabetes and booze, there's not much left of him," Sattler said, adding that Kennedy's dog Henry's death was "the final trigger."

Kennedy was discovered unconscious at the foot of his stairs at his house on June 14, 2002, with a fractured leg and skull with possible brain injury.

His Canyonleigh property was sold, and he turned into a townhouse and then a nursing home.

Despite his career in high earning, press reports said that his financial situation was, although not catastrophic, was insufficient to fund his continuing care. He has earned millions for the Packer family's interests, but believes that "the Packers will always look after me."

Tony Sattler, according to Graeme Blundell's biography:

Noeline Brown revealed on May 27th, 2005, that Sam Chisholm was the benefactor.

Kennedy's contribution to the Sydney City Mission is said to have been seven figures.

The Daily Telegraph announced on February 2nd, 2004: The Daily Telegraph announced: On February 2, 2004: The Daily Telegraph announced that the following links were published: "In February 2004" was the tense period.

Graeme Blundell, a writer who worked with Kennedy on the film The Odd Angry Shot, has written a biography of Kennedy, King: A Life and Comedy of Graham Kennedy (MacMillan, 2003). According to a newspaper article, Kennedy "passed on his highest aspirations but refused to participate "for no particular reason" other than the fact that he has a limited knowledge of certain aspects of his life." "Graham read them [chapters of an early draft] asked if he wanted to read anything more,' Graham Kennedy wrote, "No" answered the book, which was written before Kennedy's death. "I know how it ends."

Kennedy's companion and Coast to Coast colleague John Mangos was identified as saying, "I am a genius."

Kennedy died at the Kenilworth Nursing Home in Bowral, aged 71, from pneumonia complications.

John Mangos wrote in The Bulletin:

He also wrote:

Korsakoff's syndrome is similar to amnesia seen in chronic alcoholics; victims, it's explained briefly, eat too little and drink too much.

Derryn Hinch, a controversial Melbourne-based 3AW radio broadcaster, alleged that Kennedy died from an AIDS-related disease after his death. He was vehemently denied by his companions and caregivers Noeline Brown and Tony Sattler, and as a result, Kennedy's biographer Graeme Blundell published Kennedy's medical records, including a new negative HIV test, to refute this charge. Hinch fought back and said he didn't have AIDS, but that he was homosexual, had symptoms similar to Kaposi's sarcoma, and died of pneumonia, implying that Kennedy's death was AIDS-related.

Tony Sattler gave the Nine Network the opportunity to televise the funeral but the funeral was cancelled, saying that it could not justify the expense of the outside broadcast. The Seven Network was accepted and gave the Nine Network free of charge. Hence, the one-hour funeral service was broadcast simultaneously on both Seven and Nine networks.

Stuart Wagstaff performed the funeral, which was attended by many of Kennedy's relatives, coworkers, and acquaintances on the morning of 31 May 2005 at a tiny community theater in Mittagong. The Australian rules football team he supported at the end of Kennedy's coffin was carried by players from St Kilda Football Club.

Wagstaff's eulogy alluded to Derryn Hinch's assertions regarding Kennedy's death:

John Mangos wrote that he "knew Kennedy" wanted his ashes scattered at sea, according to the Age newspaper on June 26, 2005. That wish was fulfilled." In a study in the Sydney Morning Herald that said that Kennedy's ashes were scattered in the sea at Kiama by a group led by "Noeline Brown, Tony Sattler, John Mangos, Stuart Wagstaff, Kennedy's former housekeeper John Kennedy, and old neighbors Christine and Nicholas Deeprose."

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Radio career

Clifford "Nicky" Nicholls Whitta, Melbourne's most popular commercial radio personality, was unquestionably Clifford "Nicky" Nicholls Whitta. He appeared on radio shows since 1932, as well as "Chatterbox Corner" with his wife Nancy Lee (Kathleen Lindgren).

Whitta's authentic Australian voice and irreverent attitude toward his sponsors made him the idol of his fans in an age where Australian radio announcers routinely adopted false British accents and a "hard sell" style to advertisements. "Nicky went on to become the most famous announcer on Melbourne ever" in Nancy Lee's 1979 memoir Being a Chum Was Fun."

Kennedy wrote in his foreword to Nancy Lee's book, "Ita" wrote:

Nicholls went from 3KZ to 3UZ (where Kennedy was stationed), carrying with him his teenage panel operators Alf "Alfie Boy" Thesinger and Russell Archer. However, eighteen-year-olds, Thesinger, and Archer had been "called up" (conscripted) for National Service.

Nancy Lee's book records:

Nicky, a personal friend and mentor to Kennedy, and the two created an amazing on-air rapport.

Kennedy wrote:

Nicky died on September 8, 1956.

By May 1957, Kennedy was on television, but Bert Newton's 3AK morning radio show, 1961-1922, which later developed from a studio built at Kennedy's home in Olivers Hill, Frankston, continued to be broadcast on television.

He worked at 3XY from June to December 1975; with Richard Combe, he appeared on 3DB; from September to November 1976 was he covered the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II live from London; from June to December 1975 he worked at 3XY; from June to November 1975 he appeared on 3DB; from September to November 1976 was on DB.

Originally published under the name Graham Kennedy's RS Playhouse, Kennedy produced eight thirty-minute radio comedies for the ABC under the heading "Get It." The shows were written by Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler (who jointly wrote the television programs Kingswood Country and The Naked Vicar Show) and were broadcast between 11 August and September 1979.

The episode titles were:

Two of Kennedy's closest friends were Sattler and his wife (actress Noeline Brown).

Kennedy became a ten percent shareholder in Sydney radio station 2Day FM in 1980 and launched a computer-edited, three-hour Sunday morning program of music and comedy beginning on May 24.

Television career

Kennedy's first television appearance was on March 1957, representing 3UZ on a GTV-9 Red Cross telethon. "GTV-9's general manager Colin Bednall and producer Norman Spencer "walked to one another without exchanging a word or shaking hands," despite his appearance on the monitors.

Bert Newton: Hello, I'm Bert Newton.Graham Kennedy: The big deal.

Bednall and Spencer defied both the GTV-9 boardroom and the first sponsor (Philips), opting for Kennedy, who began on a salary of £30 per week for five one-hour evening shows per week, which began on May 6, 1957. Hence, the 23-year-old Kennedy began a life in which he later claimed he was "terrified for forty years." "Gee, But You're Swell," the show's theme song, was written by Abel Baer and Thomas Tobias in 1936.

Kennedy was not GTV-9's first pick – they had intended to use either 3UZ actor John McMahon or 3DB's Dick Cranbourne. Despite later reports that the program was supposed to be The Late Show and that rival station HSV-7 defeated GTV-9 to the title by a week, and a few weeks before the show's debut listed it as "In Melbourne Tonight." The program became very popular, but Kennedy had his detractors.

Kennedy was quoted as saying:

The IMT was created as a recreation of the American 'Tonight Show' style, with the host presiding over sketches, introducing celebrity artists, and viewing advertisements live. Bert Newton, his colleague, is included in his autobiography:

Spencer wielded other power. Hugh Stuckey, a writer on the show, says the producer sent Kennedy with a string of attractive young women to debunk rumors of Kennedy's homosexuality.

The service was still popular in Melbourne in July 1959. Joff Ellen and Rosie Sturgess, a recurring comedy act, have since become regulars. Toni Lamond, a singer, joined the cast. Attempts were made at this time to introduce Kennedy as a national celebrity. Special Friday night editions of IMT were produced under the name The Graham Kennedy Show and were shot on videotape that had just come into use. After being live in Melbourne, taped copies of the show will be shipped to Adelaide, Brisbane, and Sydney for broadcasting on subsequent evenings. In Sydney, producer Spencer observed that there was a strong and vocal resistance to Kennedy. Although Queensland was apparently left out of this decision, Queensland itself had demonstrated reservations against imports from down south trumpeted to Queenslanders as the best in Australia, although exports from down south have been downplayed.

The Graham Kennedy Exhibition began in February 1960 but was not well known in Sydney. The program was judged stilted compared to IMT's; Kennedy appeared much more subdued than normal, and the gag was not working. Critics in Sydney and Queensland lootied the show's key elements. The Graham Kennedy Exhibition in Sydney was deemed a flop by ATN7 after 13 weeks. However, TCN9's general manager Ken G. Hall saw promise in the scheme right away, and the initiative was immediately adopted. The Sydney market has grown as a result of continued bad reviews. It had reached its twentieth-fifth episode and had the highest ratings in Australia by July 1960.

When Sir Frank Packer bought GTV-9 in 1960, Kennedy faced resistance. Unlike the previous owner, Packer interfered directly with the station's operations. Packer feared Kennedy, according to Colin Bednall, who openly stated his desire to have him removed from the IMT.

Packer "loathed" him, according to Kennedy: even John Kennedy was aware.

Norman Spencer, an IMT engineer, was fired after Packer's arrival. The IMT's tenure stalled. Patti Newton and Philip Brady were among the regular participants on IMT. In 1961, Kennedy described the program's unveiling.

The national show had been renamed Graham Kennedy's Channel 9 Show by March 1961 and was receiving little traction around the country. Also at this time, Kennedy admitted that the weekly national show had some issues.

Kennedy by this time did not always host IMT. On Monday nights, Bert Newton appeared on Monday nights. Toni Lamond was the host of the first reshuffle in September 1961, and Newton took over on Thursday nights. Fred Parslow, Jimmy Hannan, and Philip Brady all had to be substituted by Kennedy on some nights off. Despite opposition from network executives to the numerous hosting brands, the ratings remained stable.

In January 1962, the national Graham Kennedy's Channel 9 Show was cancelled and replaced by Bert Newton's The Channel 9 Show was broadcast in the United States. Kennedy's IMT results were still fine-tuned. Kennedy had a solid understanding of television fundamentals and honed his comedy timing, as well as watched the lenses on the television cameras, adjusting his results based on whether he was in a wide shot or a close up. The Best of Kennedy's compilation highlight programs of IMT segments were showcased in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide in May 1963. The Best of Kennedy didn't appear until December 1963. Noel Ferrier, the new Friday night host, was named on IMT. Mike McColl-Jones, a 1963 author, was also a writer. Kennedy had often disliked having writers on the program, was reluctant for them to be acknowledged in public, and had often ignored all of their information. Kennedy seemed to like him and his comedic book, which was obviously the only condition by which Kennedy would use a writer's content in the case of McColl-Jones. McColl-Jones served as a writer on the series for several years. Ernie Carroll joined the writing staff in 1963 as well. By this time, Kennedy had apparently changed his mind against writers and seemed to be content to use their material with few complaints.

Bert Newton was abruptly dropped from the program in 1964. It wasn't revealed at the time, but it was revealed that he had suffered from a nervous breakdown. After a long absence, he appeared on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening television shows. IMT's 2,000th instalment on June 14, 1965, and more people watched the show per capita than any other television show in the world.

Fred Parslow had a long presence on the program's writing staff by this point and was a confidante of Kennedy's.

Through the recently completed coaxial cable connecting Melbourne and Sydney, Kennedy appeared on a then-innovative live split-screen link with Don Lane, the host of Sydney Tonight. The IMT system was first introduced to Sydney via coaxial cable in late September 1966. This happened in the film They're a Weird Mob, in which Kennedy appears himself. Sydney is a city somewhat unwelcoming to migrants from anywhere, as the film's protagonist, Kennedy. Kennedy's show had a high audience in Sydney by early December 1966. With a Monday night broadcast added that month, an increase was from one IMT episode a week to two.

Bert Newton, Tim Evans, Bobby Limb, Don Lane, Kevin Sanders, and Michael Preston were among the regular list of IMT guest hosts by 1968. Kennedy's decision to leave IMT came in October 1969, and he left the show on the end of his contract in December 1969. Sir Eric Pearce, the newsreader, is featured in his final episode as the Channel Nine prop department's crown made in the style of Henry IV's, symbolizing Kennedy's reign as King of Australian television.

The crown (which a private collector had recognized at a junk store in Bowral NSW and bought for $5) was auctioned for more than $17,000 to a developer of the Seven Network's Sunrise program in 2007.

Kennedy returned to regular television with The Graham Kennedy Show on September 19, 1972, following specials on November 15, 1971 and 2 March 1972. This series lasted until late 1973. Nine allegedly paid him not to join another network in 1974, when Kennedy said he needed a rest. It was Frank Packer who charged Kennedy $50,000 to do nothing because he was afraid he'd work for someone else.

Kennedy said in 1978:

In March 1975, the Graham Kennedy Exhibition was back in colour, marking Kennedy's first series in color.

The "crow call" controversy, on which Kennedy imitated a crow call ("faaaark") was among the key words to remember "fuck" on March 3, 1975. Due to this, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board requested that Kennedy "show cause" why he should not be barred from the airwaves. Kennedy said he could not show cause by implying that the Board take steps to limit his appearances, but that court action may be taken if they do so. Rather than removing him, the ABCB barred Kennedy from appearing live, requiring him to pre-record the program on videotape.

Senator Doug McClelland, then Minister for the Media, was chastised for another memorable moment in 1975, when Kennedy slammed Senator Doug McClelland over local content issues. Kennedy's remarks were edited, and a voiceover by the general manager was added, indicating that he had made a "cowardly attack on a Labor Minister who was unable to defend himself."

Following the McClelland incident, Kennedy was fired from the Nine Network but the network was restored later.

In an episode of ABC's Power Without Glory, which began on June 21, 1976, Kennedy appeared as Clive Parker.

Blankety Blanks, who is now Network Ten, returned to television in 1977 for what is now Network Ten to host a comedy game show. It was the most popular early evening television show in two seasons from 7 February 1977 to September 1978. Noeline Brown, Barry Creyton, Noel Ferrier, Noel Ferrier, Ugly Dave Gray, Carol Raye, and Stuart Wagstaff were among the show's former associates from his time on the radio. It was only after the show became a ratings hit and the network's most profitable venture that it revealed that Kennedy was paid an unprecedented $1 million per season.

"The King" became King of Moomba complete with his famous motorized desk in 1979, the second Melbourne-born recipient after Newton.

In 1982, Kennedy provided the voice-over narration for a ten-episode ABC historical film The Blainey View.

In 1983 and again in 1984, Kennedy appeared as the host of Channel Seven's morning news show Eleven AM. Kennedy accepted an invitation from Nine Network's managing director Sam Chisholm to present Graham Kennedy's News Show from Sydney, which aired on the Seven Network for five nights a week against Clive Robertson's Newsworld at 10:30 p.m. Five trial shows were recorded, but no one was broadcast.

Kennedy initially "pulled the plug" and withdrew from the show but later returned (see Harry M. Miller, below). Ken Sutcliffe, Kennedy's co-presenter, would be named sports commentator Ken Sutcliffe, according to the screenwriter's agreement.

Jim Pike, Tim Evans, Larry Burns, and Ken Sterling were among the Kennedy's writers who worked from a production cottage on the corner of Scott Street and Artarmon Road.

Blundell records:

Kennedy was also described by the writers as "the little buggle-eyed bastard." However, his fans adored his talent. "It is difficult to believe," Jim Pike said. I dislike him, but he is the best there is."

Kennedy defied tradition by making remarks that were both funny and disgusting. Leaving out the irony of how a news show gets high ratings, he said it would be helpful to his show's ratings if the Pope's plane were to fly into a mountain while it was full of orphans. Queen Elizabeth II "didn't have bad breasts for a woman of her age" on the 17th October 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused him to re-creation on the subject.

On air, Graham announced that they would film a slightly heavier woman for streaking at a cricket match but would need to cover some of her body with black, but that they would film those offending portions of her body. Except for a single spot that revealed her pubic hair, the clip was all black except for a single spot.

He also recalled the "Chum Song" from Melbourne radio days, adding that it appeared in a 1920s children's newspaper column in Scotland. Nancy Lee's book Being a Chum Was Fun she writes:

The lyrics of the chorus are:

Sutcliffe's "corpse" will be unable to continue; this became so normal that Kennedy had to coin a phrase, "I love it when he cries."

After delivering a joke ending with the phrase "Why do you ask, Two Dogs Rooting?" Kennedy wrote Sutcliffe "Two Dogs."

Graham Kennedy's News Show was a rare occurrence, in that it was a live news show with a studio audience. For the most part of the year, audiences packed up at 10:30 a night just to see Kennedy do his magic in the flesh. Often the best parts of the show were during commercial breaks, when Kennedy would come down and join the audience for a chat. He used to tell them a particularly crude ruse that was timed so they could punch the punchline just a second before the show was restored to air. On February 13, 1989, the show went from coast to coast, with Nine journalist John Mangos replacing Sutcliffe and running until 1989. On the Nine Network, Graham Kennedy's Funniest Home Video Show was shown between 29 March and November 1990. In 1991, Kennedy introduced the Nine Network special 35 Years of Television. The program, which included his own In Melbourne Tonight, covered the early days of television broadcasting, including his own. In an interview with Ray Martin Presents Graham Kennedy's Sixtieth, Kennedy's last television appearance was in February 1994. Kennedy, who mistook him for ambush by leaving a pre-agreed list of questions, made sure that much of the interview was unusable for broadcast by peppering his responses with profane.

In 2005 John Mangos wrote:

Ray Martin denied any mischief by saying, "We faxed a series of general subjects, but it was clear at the outset that much would depend on the general operation of the interview." There was never a hint that he was dissatisfied.

In 1960, Kennedy renamed the Logie Award after the television pioneer, John Logie Baird, was born.

Kennedy received many Logies, including:

Film career

Kennedy appeared in a number of films, from brief comedies to lead roles.

They include:

In On the Beach (1959), he had a cameo, but it wasn't used.

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