“JUST FOR A CHANGE” – By Des Kelly
They do not make em like they used to, natural, born comedians, I mean. Graham Kennedy & his mate, Bert Newton teamed up (in the black & white television days), to give us, viewers some unforgettable comedy “skits”, that still bring a smile to my face, 50+ years after they were done in the Channel 9 television studios in Richmond, Victoria.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Graham did become the undisputed King of Television in Melbourne, in the 60’s, but then, he had performers like Bert, Don Lane, “Ugly” Dave Grey and others to give him the necessary “back-up”, when needed, and it would be remiss of me not to mention several pretty, & pretty talented females, for example, Patty Mc Grath (later to become Bert Newton’s wife), who were also on hand, to give Graham the boost he needed, sometimes.
Just like King Henry Vlll, Graham Kennedy was somewhat of a strange “King” himself. As I remember him, he was, in many ways, a “loner”, tolerating very few friends, from thousands of fans & admirers, was a perfectionist in his role on whatever television show he took on, rehearsed in his private dressing room, for hours, before each show, was deadly serious, even aloof to the extent that many people thought that he was arrogant, until a secret signal told him that his “show” was due to be on in 5 minutes, then he would walk to his seat in the studio at Channel 9, still as serious as ever, until the final minute was counted down, the “spotlight” turned on, & “zoomed” onto a completely different King Kennedy, smiling, happy-go-lucky, carefree, “entertainer” that could make people laugh,by just looking at him. With his “second-in-command” Bert Newton, who also acted as M.C.(Master of ceremonies), of Graham Kennedy’s best known “In Melbourne Tonight”, he would often rubbish products that they were supposed to promote, yet do it in such a crazy, hilarious manner, that these very products, like Raul Merton shoes “sold” even better on the market.
In Melbourne, tonight, eventually became one of the most popular television shows around Australia, and there are no prizes on offer, as to why this was so. Featuring Music, dancing, comedy skits, “The Wheel”, top named Entertainers from all over the World, American Don Lane, was one of them, first class variety entertainment, PLUS Graham Kennedy, of course, this was Melbourne Television at it’s very best, going back to the 1960’s.
This writer was privileged to be a guest on I.M.T., twice, and am proud to present one of the earlier comedy skits of the King of Television, together with Bert Newton & others.
A few of these Entertainers have now passed on, including Graham, (R.I.P.), but here he is, Ladies & Gentlemen, after all the extremely sad occurrences in my former Homeland, Ceylon, or Sri Lanka now, JUST FOR A CHANGE, here is Graham Kennedy, ex King of Television, in Australia, emulating another real ex King of Britain, Henry the Vlll.
THIS IS WHAT TRUE COMEDY IS ALL ABOUT.
Desmond Kelly.
(Editor-in-Chief), eLanka.
