name	Dame Edna
first	December 1956, Victoria, Australia
last	Present
duration	1955-Present
nickname	"Dame Edna" and "Mrs Norm Everage"
title	Dame
spouse	Norm Everage
Children	KennyBruceValmaiLois
religion	Protestant
portrayer	Barry Humphries
creator	Barry Humphries }}

Dame Edna is a character created and played by Australian dadaist performer and comedian, Barry Humphries, famous for her lilac-coloured or "wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture," her favourite flower, the gladiola ("gladdies") and her boisterous greeting: "Hello Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries has written several books including an autobiography, ''My Gorgeous Life'', appeared in several films and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries has also appeared as himself and other alter-egos).

Humphries has regularly updated Edna, originally a drab Melbourne, Australia housewife satirising the conservatism of Australian suburbia. The character adopted an increasingly outlandish wardrobe after being performed in London in the 1960s, and grew in stature and popularity. Following film appearances and an elevation to damehood in the 1970s, the character evolved to "Housewife and Superstar", then "Megastar" and finally "Gigastar". She came into her own during the 1980s when the often brutal policies of Thatcherism--the "vindictive style of the times"--allowed Dame Edna to sharpen her observations accordingly. Taking the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's seemingly hypocritical motto of "caring and compassion" for others and turning it on its head, Edna became the voice of Humphries' outrage. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Dame Edna became increasingly known and popular in the U.S. after multiple stage and television appearances.

Edna describes her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other" (by which she means herself). The character has been used to satirise the cult of celebrity, class snobbery, and prudishness. Her larger-than-life persona and scathing but dead-on commentary on society and celebrity, as well as her habit of treating celebrities like ordinary people (on her TV shows) and ordinary people like celebrities (in her stage shows) have become signatures.

Although Humphries freely states that Edna is a character he plays, Edna refers to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only refer to Edna as "she," and "her," never mixing the character with Humphries himself. It is this precision and richness of identity which gives Dame Edna her unique force as a character.

In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour.

Character Story

While Dame Edna is a fictitious character whose life story has been entirely created by Barry Humphries, so complete is her identity as an individual that Macmillan published ''My Gorgeous Life'', Edna's "autobiography" (written by Humphries but credited to Edna herself) on its non-fiction list. Humphries has also written an "Unauthorised Biography" of his life as Edna's manager: ''Handling Edna'', published in 2010.

According to ''My Gorgeous Life'', and statements Edna has made over the years, she was born Edna May Beazley in the city of Wagga Wagga, with a sibling who would give birth to Barry McKenzie. Everage started her stage career on 19 December 1955 as Mrs. Norm Everage, an "average Australian housewife" from Moonee Ponds, a Melbourne suburb. She spends her time visiting world leaders and jet-setting between her homes in Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Switzerland and Martha's Vineyard. She is a friend and confidante of the Queen, and has advised prime ministers and presidents. Edna once took an on-air phone call from President Ronald Reagan to assure him that he was, indeed, still the president and at recent stageshows the character has claimed to be giving Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, elocution lessons.

The character has three adult children, Bruce, Kenny, and Valmai. Her first daughter, Lois, when still an infant, went missing and was believed to have been abducted by a "rogue koala" during a family camp-out in the outback, à la Azaria Chamberlain. In ''Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography'', Humphries absolves the koala of any role in the affair and reveals the true fate of Lois, who in fact survived abduction to become a Catholic nun. Edna's surviving daughter, Valmai, has assisted Dame Edna on her recent programme for ITV1, including ''The Dame Edna Treatment'' and has assisted on her live tour shows. Edna takes great pride in her two sons: Bruce, who is married to Joylene, and her youngest, Kenneth (or Kenny), who designs all of her frocks. Dame Edna refers often to him and his partner, Clifford Smale, both of whom Edna believes are searching for "Miss Right," although she admits they are looking "in some very strange places". Kenny appeared in Sir Les Patterson's documentary ''Les Patterson and the Great Chinese Takeaway'' as a boutique owner in Hong Kong. Dame Edna's mother is incarcerated in a "maximum-security twilight home for the bewildered". Valmai and Kenny are the only family members (so far) who have appeared on stage or screen with their mother. Her husband, Sir Norman Everage, died in 1988 after many years in hospital suffering from prostate problems and a "testicular murmur"; Edna founded the non-profit "Friends of the Prostate" in his honour. Dame Edna was not with Norm when he died and due to his insistence that all his organs be donated, by the time she reached his bedside Norm had been "globally recycled" and all that remained was "a dent in the pillow". As a result, Dame Edna almost believed that Norm's cremation was a "waste of money".

In recent years, Edna has demonstrated her social conscience and sensitivity, telling audiences of her intention to adopt an African child from "that country where Madonna does her shopping" for loved ones.

Dame Edna spent many years accompanied by her bridesmaid and constant companion Madge Allsop (played by Emily Perry), a New Zealander from Palmerston North who assisted Dame Edna with her appearances and television shows. (Perry died at the age of 100 in 2008 and now Dame Edna's daughter Valmai has replaced her on stage). Madge never spoke a public word (although she sang on Comic Relief), and while she was often the butt of Dame Edna's jokes, the two were devoted. In ''Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography'', Humphries gives Madge a voice and explains the sad loss of her own husband in New Zealand's boiling mud, whilst the couple were on their honeymoon.

Dame Edna is praised for her insights into her homeland. When asked why Australians are so good at sport she commented ''"Good food and diet; open air life; juicy steaks; sunshine — and the total absence of any kind of intellectual distraction."''

Dame Edna launched a campaign to be appointed as a BBC newscaster in 2009 after the corporation announced it wished to seek a female newsreader over 50 years old.

Honours

On 7 March 2007 her home town, Melbourne, renamed a city street in her honour: Dame Edna Place, formerly Brown Alley off Little Collins Street, was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, John So. Dame Edna Place is opposite Royal Arcade and The Causeway, between the major roads, Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street; it was, until its renaming, a service alley for adjoining buildings. Dame Edna was not at the renaming ceremony but was represented by ten look-alike Dames. Everage Street in suburban Moonee Ponds has also been named in her honour.

In 1982, Dame Edna's alter-ego Barry Humphries was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "services to the theatre" and on 16 June 2007 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment.

In MAC Cosmetics 2008 Winter Line-Up, a Dame Edna collection of cosmetics were released including eye shadow, lipstick, powder, and nail polish.

A bronze statue was unveiled at Melbourne Docklands in January 2009.

Invention of the character

Barry Humphries was invited to join the fledgling Union Theatre Repertory Company early in 1955 and toured Victorian country towns performing ''Twelfth Night'', directed by Ray Lawler. On tour, Humphries invented Edna gradually as part of the entertainment for the actors during commutes between country towns. Humphries gradually developed a falsetto impersonation of a Melbourne housewife, imitating the Country Women's Association representatives who welcomed the troup in each town. At Lawler's suggestion, Mrs Everage (later named Edna after Humphries' nanny) made her first appearance in a Melbourne University's UTRC revue at the end of 1955, as the city prepared for the 1956 Olympic Games. The sketch involved a houseproud "average housewife" offering her Moonee Ponds home as an Olympic billet, spruiking her home as possessing "burgundy wall-to-wall carpets, lamington cakes and reindeers frosted on glass dining-room doors".

At this time the character was billed as "Mrs Norm Everage" (Humphries describing this name as "Everage as in 'average', husband Norm as in 'normal'") and had none of the characteristic flamboyant wardrobe of later years.

Stage and screen performances

1950s–1999

Humphries played the character at comedy clubs, satirising the atmosphere of 1950s Melbourne suburbia. An interview with "Mrs Everage" was one of the programmes screened on HSV-7's first day of programming in 1956. Another revue called Rock'n'Reel followed in 1958 at the New Theatre in Melbourne.

The character's overseas debut, now as Edna Everage, was in the early 1960s at comedian Peter Cook's nightclub, The Establishment, in London's West End, where she received a poor review from Bamber Gascoigne, then the drama critic for ''The Spectator''. Barry Humphries cites Peter Cook as being instrumental in launching Edna's UK career.

In 1972, the character appeared as Barry McKenzie's "Aunt Edna" in the film, ''The Adventures of Barry McKenzie''. In the sequel ''Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'', the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam cameos at the close of the film to confer upon Edna the title of Dame, henceforth to be known as "Dame Edna".

Following the lukewarm reception to Edna's early appearances in Humphries' 1969 stageshow "Just a Show" and the BBC television series "The Barry Humphries Scandals", a growing awareness and appreciation among British audiences for Edna emerged and Humphries devised a stage show titled ''Edna Everage Housewife Superstar'' which was successfully presented in London's West End in the mid 1970s. The show featured monologues, songs and what was becoming an Edna trademark – interaction with the theatre audience.

In April 1976, Edna made an appearance in ''A Poke in the Eye (with a Sharp Stick)'' – the first of what became Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows. Edna performed a song for the show and was featured in the film of the show. She also appeared in the 1981 Amnesty show ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. Edna made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. In 1979 she was the subject of a BBC ''Arena'' mockumentary: ''La Dame aux Gladiolas''.

Humphries debuted the character off-Broadway in New York in the late 1970s, but the show received such a poor review from the New York Times that Humphries later joked that he thought "Well, I'll go back to Broadway but I'll wait till the critic's dead – and I had to wait 25 years. I had to wait a quarter of a century for that critic to die."

Edna's success grew in the UK throughout the 1980s and early 1990s however with semi-regular television shows. Her first specials were in 1978/1979 on the BBC. Although she became popular with broadcaster ITV after her performance on ''An Audience With Dame Edna'' in 1980. She would go on to perform two more "An Audience With..." specials (in 1984 and 1988).

In 1987, Edna starred alongside Humphries's vulgar alter-ego Les Patterson in the comedy feature ''Les Patterson Saves the World''. In the same year ''The Dame Edna Experience'', ostensibly a talk show which she described as "really a monologue interrupted by total strangers" aired, featuring high-profile "celebrity guests" such as Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, Joan Rivers, and Germaine Greer (an old friend of Humphries'), as well as Madge, her silent, sour-faced "bridesmaid and travelling companion." In 1989, the show was back for a second season, this time taking place in her "luxury penthouse suite" where her guests stayed and, in the case of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, did her grocery shopping. Subsequently these shows were aired in the U.S. on PBS, broadening her audience and enlarging her fame. ''Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch'' a reality/game show hybrid, aired in 1992, and saw her and Madge having a look at her "by invitation only, ladies audience" member's houses, and evaluating their housekeeping skills. U.S. television specials followed, as did an unsuccessful series which aired only one episode. She appeared as a guest of Phil Donahue on his talk show on 17 February 1993.

In 1997, she appeared in another television talk show ''Dr Dame Edna Kisses It Better''. Edna continued her Australian stage and television appearances including a record five appearances as guest presenter at the TV Week Logie Awards and a notable role as a co-narrator (along with Humphries and Les Patterson) of the ABC's Australian social history series: ''Barry Humphries Flashbacks'' in 1999.

2000–2009

In 2000 and 2004, Dame Edna appeared on Broadway, and toured America with both shows. These were ostensibly not "performances", but rather "appearances", with Dame Edna giving monologues and interacting with audience members. Her 2000 show, ''The Royal Tour,'' won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, and a Tony Award.

During 2001 and 2002, Dame Edna appeared in the fifth season of the television show ''Ally McBeal'' playing the guest role of Claire Otoms, a client of the show's law firm who later became a secretary at the same firm. The character shared Dame Edna's voice and style and was explicitly listed in the opening credits as being played by Dame Edna Everage (although Barry Humphries received a credit in the closing credits). Claire Otoms is an anagram of "A Sitcom Role".

In the 2002 motion picture ''Nicholas Nickleby'' Dame Edna plays the role of Mrs. Crummles, an actress and wife of the manager of a provincial theatre company. Barry Humphries also appears in the film as Mr. Leadville.

Dame Edna appeared at the Queen's Golden Jubilee Concert, the "Party at the Palace" in London in 2002, where she referred to the Queen as the "jubilee girl".

The nostalgic "Barry Humphries Back to my Roots" tour featured, Humphries, Edna, Sir Les and Sandy Stone around Australia in 2003.

In 2003, she had an interview punctuated with NPR Weekend Edition's host Scott Simon's table-pounding laughter. The character celebrated her 50th "birthday" in 2005. To mark the occasion, in 2006, Australia Post featured Edna on a stamp and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne presented Edna with the key to the city. She toured Australia with the stageshow "Barry Humphries Back With a Vengeance" and appeared on camera "together" with Humphries for the first time in an interview by Ray Martin for Australia's 60 Minutes. She also appeared on screen at the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne while 1000 "Commonwealth Dames" danced around the arena, in purple wigs, garish costumes and gladioli, singing along to her song, "We've Made The Most Of Melbourne" : "It's not as small as Adelaide, Compared to Canberra, it's bliss, And if you've been to Melbourne, You can give Sydney a miss."

On 20 May 2006 she appeared on ITV's coverage of The Prince's Trust annual fundraiser. She took part in a ''Blind Date'' themed skit, picking Chico Slimani over Roger Moore and Richard E Grant.

In the summer of 2006, Dame Edna appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' alongside Billy Crystal. On 23 September 2006, during an interview on ''Parkinson'', she revealed that she would be returning to ITV in 2007 with a new chat show, ''The Dame Edna Treatment''. The show began on Saturday 17 March 2007, with the set-up being that Edna runs a health spa where various famous guests come for treatment.

On Wednesday 17 December 2006, Dame Edna appeared as a guest panellist on the ABC TV Show ''Spicks and Specks'' where she sang with presenter Adam Hills. On 16 December 2007 she appeared as the final guest on the final episode of the ''Parkinson'' UK talk show. On 29 May 2008 she appeared on ''The Graham Norton Show'' alongside Ray Mears and Alanis Morissette. On 8 August 2008 she appeared on ''Loose Women'' on their final show of the series. On 12 September 2008, Monday 15 December 2008, and Wednesday 27 May 2009, she appeared as a guest on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''.

Accompanied by her daughter Valmai in America and Sir Les Patterson in the UK, Dame Edna again toured with what was declared ''My First Last Tour''. On television in early 2009, she appeared in adverts to publicise the insurance company Norwich Union's change of name to Aviva, quoting her change of name from Mrs Everage. On 9 June 2009, she appeared as a guest on ''The Late Late Show'' with Craig Ferguson. On 17 July 2009, she appeared as a guest on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. On an episode of ''The One Show'' in September 2009 a piece of graffiti on Sunderland's Penshaw Monument read "Edna Woz Ere 09" and a pair of Everage's signature glasses were drawn next to it. Edna performed the "Last Night of the Poms" at the Royal Albert Hall accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on 15 September and on 21 September 2009 she appeared on the C4, Paul O'Grady Show, where she complained of a burst appendix in Australia, but said of course she was happy to be back in the UK.

2010–present

In early 2010, Dame Edna collaborated with cabaret pianist and singer, Michael Feinstein for a two-person revue entitled "All About Me", based on the concept that the pair were rivals who were forced to work together for the show's sake. The show opened as the second production for the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre and was planned to run from 18 March through 18 July 2010 (with previews beginning on 22 February). However, lukewarm reviews and low ticket sales led to the limited engagement being cut short and closing on 4 April 2010, after 27 previews and 20 regular performances. On 25 March 2010, she appeared on the television talk show ''The View'' as a guest host to promote the production.

On 29 April 2011, she appeared on the BBC broadcast "William and Kate: The Royal Wedding," with Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson, covering the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Buckingham Palace, along with Tracey Grimshaw and Kathy Lette at Westminster Abbey.

On 18 March 2012, Humphries announced he would "retire" the Dame Edna character because he was "beginning to feel a bit senior".

Discography

''The Dame Edna Party Experience'' (Epic Records, 1988) # Bad / When Will I Be Famous / Layla (Alias Edna) / I Should Be So Lucky / The Locomotion / Bad 'Nice' (Reprise) # Waltzing Matilda (Instrumental Intro) / The Twist # Venus / Like A Virgin / Girls Just Want To Have Fun / Venus (Reprise) # Shout (Part 1) # Shout (Part II) # I Got You Babe (Who Needs You Babe) [with Sir Les Patterson] # I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) / Stop! In The Name Of Love / Dancing In The Street / I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Reprise) # Neighbours # Leader Of The Pack / It's My Party

''Theme From Neighbours'' (Epic Records, 1988) [Produced by David Mackay]

# Theme From Neighbours (Caring And Sharing Mix) / Spooky Christmas # Shout (Parts One And Two)

In 1997 Naxos released a CD in the Children's Classics series, catalogue number 8.554170. # S. Prokofiev: "Peter and the Wolf", Op. 67, narrated by Dame Edna Everage # F. Poulenc: "The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant", narrated by Barry Humphries # B. Britten: "The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra", Op. 34, narrated by Dame Edna Everage

Controversy

In 2003 ''Vanity Fair'' magazine invited Dame Edna to write a satirical advice column. She created a storm of controversy with a piece published in the February 2003 issue. Replying to a reader who asked if she should learn Spanish, she wrote: :"Forget Spanish. There's nothing in that language worth reading except Don Quixote, and a quick listen to the CD of ''Man of La Mancha'' will take care of that ... Who speaks it that you are really desperate to talk to? The help? Your leaf blower?"

Some members of the Hispanic community read this reply as a racist remark and complaints flooded in to the magazine. Actress Salma Hayek responded angrily, penning a furious letter in which she denounced Dame Edna. After ''Vanity Fair'' received death threats, the magazine published a full-page apology to the Hispanic community.

Humphries commented later: "If you have to explain satire to someone, you might as well give up." When Dame Edna was questioned about the controversy on the eve of her 2003 Australian tour, she retorted that Hayek's denunciation was due to "professional jealousy", and that Hayek was envious because the role of painter Frida Kahlo (for which Hayek received an Oscar nomination) had originally been offered to Edna:

When I was offered the part of Frida I turned it down, and she was the second choice. I said 'I'm not playing the role of a woman with a moustache and a monobrow, and I'm not having same-sex relations on the screen' ... I'm not racist. I love all races, particularly white people. You know, I even like Roman Catholics.

References in other media

Dame Edna has been mentioned on ''The Simpsons'': in "The Regina Monologues", "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", and "HOMR."

She was also mentioned in a song, "This One's Just For You", by Australian songwriter and comedian, Kevin Bloody Wilson and impersonated by Simon Amstell on ''Good Morning with Anne and Nick''. In an episode of ''The Goodies'', Bill remarks upon Tim's unwise choice of love interest with "Tell you something, I'd rather have Edna Everage. At least she's a real woman!".

TV credits

Parkinson Various

An Audience with... (1980–88)

The Dame Edna Experience (1987–1989)

Dame Edna's Hollywood (1991–1993)

Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch (1992)

WITHOUT WALLS: J'Accuse: Dame Edna Everage (1993)

Dr Dame Edna Kisses It Better (1997)

Ally McBeal (2001–2002)

Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

Dame Edna Live at the Palace (2003)

The Dame Edna Treatment (2007)

See also

Theatre of Australia

References

Bibliography

External links

Dame Edna Official Website

''The Dame Edna Treatment'' at itv.com

Virtually Edna (Online Documentary & More)

Dame Edna Street

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1956 Category:Comedy characters Category:Comedians from Melbourne Category:Alter egos Category:Fictional interviewers Category:Fictional reporters Category:Australian culture Category:Performing arts in Australia Category:Fictional Australian people

da:Dame Edna de:Dame Edna Everage fr:Dame Edna Everage he:דיים עדנה nl:Dame Edna Everage ja:デイム・エドナ・エバレッジ pl:Dame Edna Everage sv:Dame Edna Everage

Name	Molly Meldrum
Birth name	Ian Alexander Meldrum
Birth date	January 29, 1943
Birth place	Orbost, Victoria, Australia
Residence	Melbourne, Australia.
Nationality	Australian.
Other names	Willie Everfinish
Known for	''Countdown'' compere
Employer	7 Network
Occupation	Music critic, journalist, record producer, musical entrepreneur, author
Home town	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Partner	Yan Wongngam
Footnotes	}}

Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer and music news presenter on the former popular music program ''Countdown'' (1974–1987) and is widely recognised for his trademark Stetson hat, which he has regularly worn in public since the 1980s (it is commonly mistaken for an Akubra). On 15 December 2011, Meldrum had a life-threatening fall from a ladder in the backyard of his Melbourne home. He was placed under intensive care in a critical condition at the Alfred Hospital and had surgery for his head and spinal injuries.

Meldrum has featured on the Australian music scene since the mid-1960s, first with his writing for ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974), a weekly teen newspaper, then his tenure with ''Countdown'' and subsequent media contributions. He produced top ten hits for Russell Morris ("The Real Thing", "Part Three Into Paper Walls"), Ronnie Burns ("Smiley"), Colleen Hewett ("Day by Day"), Supernaut ("I Like it Both Ways") and The Ferrets ("Don't Fall in Love").

Meldrum hosted the Australian leg of Live Aid in July 1985, Oz for Africa, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for ''service to the fostering of international relief and to youth'' in January 1986. Meldrum has earned a reputation as a champion of Australian popular music both in Australia and internationally; his contributions have been acknowledged with an Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Award for "Special Achievement" in 1993, and the "Ted Albert Award" in 1994 at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards. Music journalists, Toby Creswell and Samantha Chenoweth describe him as "The single most important person in the Australian pop industry for forty years" in their 2006 book, ''1001 Australians You Should Know''.

Early years

Ian Alexander Meldrum was born in Orbost, Victoria on 29 January 1943. His father was Robert Meldrum (born 7 April 1907), a World War 2 army sergeant – who served with the A.I.F. in Port Moresby – and his mother was Isobel (nee Geer). Meldrum moved around during childhood and largely grew up with one of his grandmothers in Quambatook where he attended the local school alongside future country music artist John Williamson. He also stayed with a number of aunts and was raised in the traditions of the Church of England. His later years of schooling were in Melbourne. Initially intending to become a disc jockey, Meldrum started a law course at University of Melbourne. By 1964, he had moved in with the family of his close friend Ronnie Burns, a noted Australian 1960s pop star first as a member of The Flies and then as a solo artist. What started as a two-week stay with Burns became nine years.

During The Beatles' tour of Australia in June 1964, Meldrum was captured by TV cameras climbing atop the bonnet of their car shortly after arrival at Melbourne airport. Later, he and Burns were ejected from The Beatles' Melbourne concert for being "too enthusiastic". While on a surfing holiday at a Victorian coastal resort in Lorne in 1964, Meldrum met and became friends with Lynne Randell, who became a pop star in the mid-1960s and later worked as Meldrum's personal assistant in the 1980s. Meldrum began his music career as a roadie for his friends' band, The Groop, which had early performances in Anglesea.

''Go-Set'' years: 1966–74

''Go-Set'' was a weekly pop music newspaper started in February 1966 by Phillip Frazer and his Monash University mates. Meldrum started writing for the paper in July 1966 after befriending editor Frazer,. His first story was on Burns, "Ronnie Meets the Barrett Brothers". Soon he was writing a weekly gossip column and regular feature stories. He continued until the paper folded in August 1974. By social networking and building a list of industry contacts, Meldrum was able to cover many facets of the local scene; his gossip columns informed not only general readers but also other musicians and according to Frazer were the major reason people continued reading ''Go-Set''. His gossip columns' writing style tended to be "freeform ramblings, always in the first person, and nearly always concerning aspects of the music scene with which he had been involved". It was during this period that Meldrum was given his nickname, "Molly", by his friend and fellow ''Go-Set'' writer Stan Rofe, a Melbourne radio DJ. The nickname first appeared in print in 1968. While working for ''Go-Set'' he became editor and compiler of its monthly offshoot, ''Gas'', which was aimed at younger teen girls. It was first published in October 1968 (with a feature on The Monkees) and the last issue was in March 1971.

The Groop had landed a recording deal with CBS Records. Meldrum followed them to Armstrong's Studios, in late 1966, to learn about the recording process. He learned production and engineering techniques from studio owner Bill Armstrong and in house engineer/producer, Roger Savage. Meldrum became involved with a number of artists releases, including The Masters Apprentices' August 1967 single, "Living in a Child's Dream", Somebody's Image's first three singles, "Heat Wave" (September), "Hush" (November) and "Hide and Seek" (April 1968). Besides producing, he was also Somebody's Image's manager from early 1967 and formed a friendship with lead singer, Russell Morris.

''Kommotion'' was a teen-oriented daily pop music show, which had premiered in December 1964 on ATV-0, later Channel Ten; it included performers miming to the latest overseas hits. In August 1966 producer, David Joseph, was fired and most of the cast walked out in support. Al Maricic took on the production of ''Kommotion'' with Meldrum reporting for ''Go-Set''. Maricic asked Meldrum to join the show. Originally declining, he was convinced by Frazer who reasoned it would be good for ''Go-Set''. Meldrum's repertoire included miming to Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva", The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" and George Formby's "Why Don't Women Like Me?". Episodes of ''Kommotion'' were directed by Rob Weekes, fellow mimers included Grant Rule, Denise Drysdale and Maggie Stewart—who later married Burns. Meldrum's stint with ''Kommotion'' ended in January 1967 after Actors Equity banned the practice of miming other artists' work. He moved on to another ATV-0 music show, ''Uptight'', hosted by Ross D. Wylie, which was broadcast for four hours on Saturday mornings with live bands.

From January 1968, Meldrum relocated to London, reporting in ''Go-Set'' on The Groop's efforts to break into the United Kingdom market, and on the rock music scene. While there, Meldrum extended his networking to the international scene, including meeting Apple Records executive, Terry Doran, who introduced him to his idols, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. His writing style in ''Go-Set'' developed a 'camp' form. Meldrum returned to Australia to attend his mother's funeral in May.

In September, he became the manager and producer of Morris; both had quit with Somebody's Image. Meldrum produced Morris' first solo single, a Johnny Young-composed song "The Real Thing". Young had written the song for Meldrum's friend Burns, but when Meldrum heard Young playing it backstage during a taping of the TV pop show ''Uptight'', he determined to secure it for Morris, reportedly going to Young's home that night with a tape recorder and refusing to leave until Young had taped a "demo" version.

In collaboration with Armstrong's house engineer John Sayers, Meldrum radically transformed "The Real Thing" from Young's original vision of a simple acoustic chamber ballad backed by strings, into a heavily produced studio masterpiece, extending it to an unheard-of six minutes in length (with encouragement from Rofe) and overdubbing the basic track with many additional instruments, vocals and sound effects. To achieve this, they used the services of his friends from The Groop as the backing band, with contributions from vocalist Maureen Elkner, The Groop's lead singer Ronnie Charles, guitarist Roger Hicks from Zoot—who played the song's distinctive acoustic guitar intro—and arranger John Farrar. The single is reported to have cost A$10,000—the most expensive ever made in Australia up to that time—and features one of the earliest uses of the studio technique known as "phasing" on an Australian recording. "The Real Thing", released in March 1969, became a national number one hit for Morris in mid-year and is widely considered to be one of the finest Australian pop-rock recordings. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "The Real Thing" as one of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time. "The Real Thing" was followed by a second number one hit, "Part Three Into Paper Walls", with Meldrum producing; he now encouraged Morris to promote "The Real Thing" with a tour in the United States but Morris disagreed and they separated in late 1969.

Meldrum also produced several other hits—including Burns' top ten single "Smiley" in December 1969—while continuing to write for ''Go-Set'' and a variety of magazines. Meldrum made his first of many visits to Egypt and by December had travelled on to UK, and through Doran, began working for Apple Corps as a publicist, which enabled him to score a scoop interview with Lennon and Yoko Ono, in which Lennon first revealed publicly that The Beatles were breaking up. Meldrum left UK in 1970 to travel to US, reporting on the Los Angeles and New York music scenes and further establishing contacts.

After returning to Australia in late 1970, Meldrum continued writing for the music press, including ''Go-Set'' as well as venturing back into television as a music reporter on ''Happening '70'' (previously Uptight), hosted by Wylie, on ATV-0; then a short-lived TV children's show, ''Do It''; followed by ''Anything Can Happen'' on Channel Seven where he met producer Michael Shrimpton and reunited with Weekes from his ''Kommotion'' days. In October 1971, Elton John toured Australia for the first time and all concerts were exclusively reviewed by ''Go-Set''—Meldrum had met John in London and they formed an enduring friendship. By September 1972, Meldrum was assistant editor for ''Go-Set'' working with national editor Ed Nimmervoll who had started at the paper in 1967.

Meldrum produced the soundtrack for ''Godspell - Original Australian Cast'' including the hit single, "Day by Day" for Colleen Hewett in 1972. He remained with ''Go-Set'' until its last issue on 24 August 1974. Most of his work was typed up by his secretary, Glenys Long, with Meldrum pacing the office as he dictated—sometimes typewriters were thrown or a person was shoved inside a filing cabinet. After ''Go-Set'', Meldrum wrote columns for ''Listener-In TV'' and then ''TV Week'' as their rock music reporter.

''Countdown'' years: 1974–87

In 1974, Shrimpton and Weekes were meeting at the Botanical Hotel in South Yarra, formulating the concept for a new weekly pop music show aimed at the teenage market and decided they needed a talent scout; Meldrum walked in and was given the job. The trio approached the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), with their idea based on the British show ''Top of the Pops'' and on ''Kommotion''. ''Countdown'' premiered on 8 November, with Meldrum as the show's talent coordinator. He did not originally appear in the series, which had a different guest host each week. Shrimpton decided an editorial was needed, so Meldrum provided a weekly Rock Report from mid-1975 which was renamed "Humdrum" by guest host John Paul Young, and by year's end he had become the face of the series. "Humdrum" saw Meldrum provide a visual form to his ''Go-Set'' gossip column, he would interview celebrities, detail events and new releases for the week. Joining Shrimpton and Weekes as a producer was Rule, also from ''Kommotion''.

Originally broadcast weekly, at 6:30pm on a Friday evening for 25 minutes, ''Countdown'' was fortunate to have begun just before the introduction of colour television in Australia in March 1975. Equally crucial to its success was the move in January to the 6pm Sunday timeslot, with the show being extended to 60 minutes. Its reach was further enhanced by the fact that a midday Saturday timeslot was used to repeat the previous week's show. The combination of the ABC's nationwide reach, the novelty of colour broadcasting and the show's dual timeslot enabled ''Countdown'' to reach an unprecedented number of viewers. It soon became the most successful and popular music program ever made in Australia and exerted a massive influence on Australian music over the next decade. The advent of colour TV also coincided with a major change in the direction of Australian popular music, and it was vital in making national successes of bands such as Skyhooks and Sherbet. ''Countdown'' benefited from the fact that it appeared just as the music video genre was taking off. Indeed, the show was instrumental in popularising the use of purpose-made promotional videos, which had previously only been a minor part of pop show programming. Its extensive use of film-clips and videos by both established and emerging overseas acts (who at that time toured Australia only rarely) made ''Countdown'' an important venue for breaking new songs and new groups. Meldrum produced, ''Supernaut'', the debut album for Western Australia's Supernaut in 1976 and its related hit single, "I Like It Both Ways".

One new group Meldrum broke nationally was The Ferrets; he had them signed to Mushroom Records and started producing their debut album ''Dreams of a Love'' on 19 July 1976. After nearly a year, production was still incomplete, so The Ferrets took over (assisted by recording engineers Tony Cohen and Ian MacKenzie) and completed on 15 August 1977 with Meldrum attributed as Willie Everfinish. Meldrum had carefully crafted their first single's A side "Lies", taking weeks, but the B side "Don't Fall in Love" was rushed in three hours. The Ferrets premiered on ''Countdown'' and used "Don't Fall in Love" which reached #2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Many customers wanted a copy of The Ferrets' album, however there was concern at Mushroom Records as Meldrum had not organised an album cover: a white, hand-stamped cardboard sleeve was issued with a promise of the album artwork to follow.

The series is credited with giving early exposure to, and generating breakthrough Australian hits for, a number of major international acts including ABBA, Meat Loaf, Blondie, Boz Scaggs, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Michael Jackson, sometimes years before they became international stars. Meldrum made many overseas trips and became personally friendly with many of the top pop and rock stars of the period, enabling ''Countdown'' to gain international exclusives. Meldrum's on-screen performances were sometimes criticised for rambling and incomprehensible commentaries and interview questions. When giving album reviews he would often hold the album awkwardly in front of camera with the lights glaring off the surface making it difficult to see the cover. In an early "Humdrum" segment, Meldrum told viewers to "Go out and buy it" when reviewing an album. Shrimpton was furious, since ABC policy prohibited direct endorsements, so "do yourself a favour" became Meldrum's catch phrase recommendation.

In the early 1980s, Midnight Oil was scheduled to appear on an episode of ''Countdown'', but on the day of the show they were "bumped" from the line-up. ''Countdown'' required artists to mime their songs during 'live' performances, Midnight Oil and manager Gary Morris insisted they perform completely live and have their sound engineer supervising—neither side backed down. According to Shrimpton, the band had arrived late for rehearsal, and due to the show's very tight schedule and budget there was a strict policy that latecomers were not allowed to appear, and as such they were told they could not perform that day. In response, the group declared that they would never appear on the show, a promise they faithfully kept.

After Randell's marriage had failed, she returned to Australia in 1980 and became Meldrum's personal assistant until 1986. On 13 April 1980, the ''TV Week''/''Countdown'' Rock Music Awards for 1979 were broadcast as a revamped version of the previously existing ''TV Week'' King of Pop Awards with the 'King of Pop' title replaced by 'Most Popular Male' and 'Queen of Pop' replaced by 'Most Popular Female'. ''Countdown'', with Meldrum organising the ceremonies, presented music awards during 1980–1987; initially in conjunction with ''TV Week'', they were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

The following year, on 16 March 1981, Meldrum co-hosted the 1980 awards ceremony with international guests Suzi Quatro and Jermaine Jackson. Big winners were Cold Chisel with seven awards, which were not collected; they performed the last live number, "My Turn to Cry", to close the show and then trashed their instruments and the set. The performance was seen as being directed at ''TV Week'', ''Countdown'' and Meldrum as being hangers-on. Sponsors ''TV Week'' withdrew their support for the awards and ''Countdown'' held its own awards ceremonies thereafter.

In February 1985, after Meldrum was announced as King of Moomba, he quipped "I was at the cricket the other day and the boys in Bay 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were all yelling out 'Moomba' and 'hail the king'... not to mention a few 'hail the queen'". On 13 July, Meldrum compered the 1985 Oz for Africa concert—Australian leg of the global Live Aid program running for four hours—which was broadcast in Australia on both Seven Network and Nine Network and on MTV in the US. During December, he used his industry contacts to organise a charity single for research on Fairy penguins, he produced the recording of a cover of Lennon, Ono & Plastic Ono Band's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by The Incredible Penguins with Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo), Brian Canham (Pseudo Echo), Scott Carne (Kids in the Kitchen), John Farnham, Venetta Fields, Bob Geldof, Steve Gilpin (ex-Mi-Sex), Colin Hay (Men at Work), Hewett, Jim Keays (ex-The Masters Apprentices), Brian Mannix (Uncanny X-Men), Wendy Stapleton (Wendy & the Rocketts) and Chris Stockley (ex-Axiom, The Dingoes). On Australia Day 1986 Meldrum was made a Member of the Order of Australia for ''service to the fostering of international relief and to youth''.

In 1986, Shrimpton, Rule and Meldrum created another series, ''The Meldrum Tapes'', for ABC with an international or local artist interviewed in depth for 55 minutes—eventually 24 shows were made—which were later broadcast by MTV.

Meldrum was noted for several on-screen gaffes, although the most "famous" of all was not originally broadcast. In a much retold incident, a clearly anxious Meldrum gushed during an interview on 13 November 1977 with Prince Charles , "I saw your Mum in London in a carriage!" to which the Prince icily replied, "Are you referring to Her Majesty the Queen?" Although this incident is often related by Meldrum in interviews, it was not broadcast (as an out-take) until later.

Despite such episodes of ineptitude, Meldrum became a major star in his own right and was a champion of local talent and regularly used the show to pressure radio stations to play more Australian music. As a result of his efforts, ''Countdown'' was in a position to make overnight hits with songs and performers it featured, and through the late 1970s and early 1980s it was a key factor in determining the direction of Australian popular music.

The final episode of ''Countdown'' aired on 19 July 1987, followed by the 1986 ''Countdown'' Awards. Meldrum appeared at the end of the show wearing his cowboy hat. He saluted the music industry and fans, then bared his shaved head in imitation of Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett and expressed regret that they had never appeared on the show.

After ''Countdown''

After ''Countdown'' finished its run, Meldrum and Amanda Pelman, Mushroom Records executive, formed the Body Beat and Melodian labels, and signed Peter Andre, Jo Beth Taylor and Indecent Obsession. Meldrum presented a regular music segment, titled "Molly's Melodrama", for the popular Australian variety show, ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' from 1988. He travelled extensively, conducting interviews for the segment; one of these was a one-on-one with each member of The Rolling Stones.

Meldrum attended the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) ARIA Music Awards on 29 March 1988 as a presenter. A fracas developed between band manager Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and Meldrum. Morris felt that foreign artists such as Bryan Ferry should not present awards to local artists and made fun of Ferry's deliberately crumpled suit. Meldrum objected to Morris' disrespect to Ferry and he and Morris became embroiled. In 1993, Meldrum received an ARIA 'Special Achievement Award' for services to the music industry.

According to Google Books and Angus & Robertson, Meldrum co-wrote his autobiography, ''Some of My Best Friends Aren't: The Molly Meldrum Story'' with journalist Jeff Jenkins in 2000, published by Random House Australia. However, ''The Age'' reported on 4 June 2007 that the book had still not appeared.

A televised roast, in 2003, for the openly gay Meldrum, ''Molly: Toasted and Roasted'', was characterised by Meldrum as a "gay bashing" due to its excessive homophobic slurs. ''Footy Show'' star Sam Newman received boos from the audience during his speech. Meldrum became a judge on 2004's ''Popstars Live'', a reality program on Channel Seven, alongside fellow judges, Christine Anu and John Paul Young.

Meldrum's trademark cowboy hat headwear, enthusiasm for popular music, and sometimes incoherent interviewing style remain well known. By visiting Egypt over 27 times since 1969, he has become an amateur Egyptologist and collector. That his extensive general knowledge extended beyond popular music was perhaps less well-known until, as a contestant on a celebrity edition ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', he won $500,000 for a charity, the equal biggest win on the Australian version of the program until October 2005, although he only got the $500,000 by phoning a friend, Red Symons of Skyhooks fame. He appeared on the fourth series of the Australian version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2006, where he dressed as a pharaoh to dance to "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles—he was voted off after the first round. He was also on an episode of ''Deal or No Deal'' (Dancing with the Deals) on 13 February 2006.

Meldrum is a prominent supporter of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).

In September 2006, Meldrum's interview with Prince Charles on ''Countdown'' was listed at #41 in TV Week's 'Top 50 most memorable moments on Australian television' list. Meldrum made a cameo appearances in ''Remembering Nigel'' (2007) and ''Ricky! the movie'' (2010). Meldrum is listed as co-author of Jeff Jenkin's 2007 book ''Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia'' where he provided comments on various Australian rock acts from 1958 to 2007. During September and October 2009, Meldrum appeared in ''Hey Hey Its Saturday'' reunion specials on the Nine Network despite working for rival Seven Network. In early December, Meldrum interviewed UK singer and ''Britain's Got Talent'' runner-up, Susan Boyle. After signing with Seven to continue on ''Sunrise'', ''Weekend Sunrise'' and ''Sunday Night'' he was unavailable for the 2010 season of ''Hey Hey It's Saturday''. In February, Meldrum was appointed King of Moomba – his second appointment – with Kate Ceberano as Queen of Moomba. Since 2010 Meldrum has been a regular guest on Steve Vizard's daily radio show, commenting on sport, music, travel and current affairs.

In late November 2011, at the ARIA Awards, Meldrum introduced Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, who inducted pop singer, Kylie Minogue, into the ARIA Hall of Fame. After the induction, Meldrum interviewed Minogue for MTV Australia.

On 15 April 2012, at the annual Logie Awards, Meldrum was inducted into the Logie's hall of fame. In a recorded segment Elton John described him as the single most important influence in Australian pop music.

Personal life

Meldrum has two younger brothers: Brian (born 1946, Mildura), is a former racing and golf journalist and editor; Robert (born 1950, Kerang), who is an actor, director and teacher, has performed with all the major State Theatre companies and was with the Bell Shakespeare Company for three years. He was a lecturer in acting at the VCA Drama School for eight years and had a cameo role in the video-clip for Joe Dolce's hit song "Shaddap You Face" as an accordion player.

Although one of the first openly gay TV stars in Australia, he has said, "I had girlfriends. I was engaged a few times." Since 1986, he has lived in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in an Egyptian-themed house called "Luxor". According to ''The Age''s Nick Miller, the Nine Network's 2003 celebrity roast, ''Molly: Toasted and Roasted'', was unnecessarily focused on his sexuality. Meldrum was sorry when his family and friends were embarrassed by the poor taste of some comments. However, he replied, "Like a lot of people, I am proud to be gay ... I'm not upset. If Channel Nine want to do gay bashing, so be it." As of December 2011, Meldrum's partner of six years is Yan Wongngam who runs a courier business in Thailand.

2011 accident

On 15 December 2011, Meldrum was taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition after being found unconscious in the backyard of his home in Richmond. He is believed to have fallen off a ladder from a height of around three metres. He was placed under intensive care in a sedated state and had surgery for his head injuries. As well as the head injuries, Meldrum had a broken shoulder, broken ribs, a punctured lung and cracked vertebrae. Meldrum had been with Steve Vizard on radio discussing the importance of health on the morning of the accident. By 27 December, further surgery to his chest injuries had occurred and his sedation levels were reduced. His brother said Meldrum had "spoken some words but they have no context". On 8 January 2012, his brother Brian said Meldrum was breathing on his own and having conversations, but added his recovery would be slow.On 19 January 2012, Meldrum was taken out of hospital and moved into a rehabilitation centre. In April 2012, he gave his first public interview since the accident .

Bibliography

Note: As of 4 June 2007, the existence of this book is disputed.

References

;General Note: [on-line] version is an excerpt from Chapter 2: There's a meaning there but the meaning there...

;Specific

External links

Countdown Website

Lauren Bergman Management article

Ian (Molly) Meldrum, Prahran, 1978 photograph by Rennie Ellis, part of 'Rennie Ellis: Aussies all [picture] 1970-2003' collection, which is housed at the National Library of Australia.

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian media personalities Category:Australian music critics Category:Australian music journalists Category:Australian television presenters Category:Gay people from Australia Category:People from Orbost Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Television personalities from Melbourne Category:Gay broadcasters

name	Shaun Micallef
birth name	Shaun Patrick Micallef
birth date	July 18, 1962
birth place	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
medium	Television, radio, books, internet
nationality	Australian
active	1987-present
genre	Sketch comedy, surrealism, dadaism
subject	Humour
influences	The Goons, Peter Sellers, Marx Brothers, S. J. Perelman, James Thurber, Spike Milligan, Barry Humphries, Frank Muir, Monty Python, Woody Allen
influenced	Sammy J
spouse	Leandra (1988-present) 3 children
notable work	''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)''''Welcher & Welcher''''Micallef Tonight''''Newstopia''''Thank God You're Here'' (2006-2007)''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation''
footnotes	}}

Shaun Patrick Micallef (born 18 July 1962) is an Australian actor, comedian and writer. After ten years of working in insurance law as a solicitor in Adelaide, Micallef moved to Melbourne to pursue a full-time comedy career in 1993. He first gained recognition as a cast member of the sketch comedy show ''Full Frontal'', which in turn led to a number of television roles including his own sketch show, ''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)'', the sitcom ''Welcher & Welcher'' and the variety show ''Micallef Tonight''. He also fronted the satirical news comedy series ''Newstopia'' on SBS and currently hosts the game show ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' on Network Ten.

In addition to his television work Micallef has appeared on stage, most notably in the Australian production of Boeing Boeing, and radio as the co-host of Melbourne station Vega 91.5 FM's morning program. He is also a published author; his book ''Smithereens'' was released in 2004, and re-released in January 2011. His other book, a novella by the name of ''Preincarnate'', was released in 2010.

Personal life

Micallef was born in Adelaide, South Australia and is of Maltese and Irish descent. His father worked for a company that sold parts for Volvos and his mother was employed at the Adelaide Bank. As a child he lived in Clovelly Park and attended St Bernadette's School in St. Marys then St Joseph’s Catholic School in Mitchell Park (now Sacred Heart College Middle School) before moving on to Sacred Heart Senior College where he was the College Captain. He studied law at the University of Adelaide, where he was frequently involved in comedy revues, often involving Francis Greenslade and Gary McCaffrie, with whom he continues to work. He was a practising solicitor for ten years in the field of insurance law before making the decision to move to Melbourne and pursue a full-time career in comedy in 1993. He currently lives in Williamstown, Victoria with his wife Leandra (whom he married in 1988) and their three sons. He relates the story that while working as a solicitor, he talked so much about making a career change and becoming a comedian that his wife gave him an ultimatum. She circled a date in the near future on a calendar and told Shaun to quit his job and become a comedian by that date, or never talk about it again.

Career

Early theatre

In 1972, having three younger sisters taking ballet classes, ten year old Micallef was often asked to help out when a dance routine required a boy. The following year he auditioned for the Bunyip Children's Theatre and over the next four years participated in plays that they performed in the Scott Theatre during school holidays. In 1976 he doubled for Humphrey B. Bear for personal appearances.

Television and film

Following early TV appearances on ''Theatre Sports'' (1987) and ''The Big Gig'' (1989), in early 1993 Micallef was offered a job writing for the ''Jimeoin'' show which was soon followed by an offer to also write for the sketch comedy show ''Full Frontal'' where six months later he took on the role as co-producer with Gary McCaffrie. In 1994, Micallef became a full time cast member of ''Full Frontal'', where he became well known for characters such as Milo Kerrigan, Nobby Doldrums and a send-up of Italian male model Fabio. Micallef recalls that the show was a good introduction to television comedy because, with an ensemble cast, its success did not hinge on his performance and he had more freedom to make and learn from mistakes. However, he was frustrated with the lack of control he had over his work in the series as well as the repetition of characters and gags.

Micallef's role on ''Full Frontal'' led to a 1996 special ''Shaun Micallef's World Around Him'' and three seasons of the two-time Logie Award-winning ABC series ''The Micallef Program'' (1998–2001), which he co-wrote and produced with long-time writing partner Gary McCaffrie. Since the series' end he has created and starred in two short-lived television series—the sitcom ''Welcher & Welcher'' (2003) and the variety show ''Micallef Tonight'' (2003)—and devised a series of telemovies, ''BlackJack'' (2003–present).

He has also had acting roles on the television series ''SeaChange'' (2000), ''Through My Eyes'' (2004) and "Offspring" (2010), and supporting roles in the films ''Bad Eggs'' (2003), ''The Honourable Wally Norman'' (2003), ''The Extra'' (2005), ''Aquamarine'' (2006), and The King (2007). In 2006, Micallef was a recurring guest on the Network Ten Improvisational theatre show ''Thank God You're Here''.

In 2007, along with partners McCaffrie and Michael Ward, Micallef developed the satirical comedy program ''Newstopia'', which he hosted. The show began airing 10 October 2007 on SBS, and in August 2008 it was announced that a third series had been commissioned. In 2009, Micallef joined the Ten Network and hosted "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation", which has been a hit on Australian television screens.

Other work

In September 2005, Micallef began hosting the breakfast show on Melbourne radio station Vega 91.5 FM, ''Shaun, Beverley and Denise'', with comedian Denise Scott and television presenter Beverley O'Connor. In July 2006, comedian Dave O'Neil took over as host and the show was renamed ''Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef''. Micallef left the network on 23 November 2007.

He has also released a book, ''Smithereens'', which was published in 2004 and contains a collection of prose, poetry and plays. Micallef describes it as a collection of "all sorts of bits and pieces I have written".

Mainstream popularity

With Micallef's 2009 move to the Ten Network's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, a sudden and unprecedented rise in his popularity within the Australian mainstream has been observed. His contract with the program marks his first long-term position in a commercial network and has raised his profile in commercial television. The extent of this has been demonstrated with celebrity appearances on Rove McManus' ''Rove'' and ''Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?'', and on ''9am with David & Kim''. In 2010, he was voted most popular presenter at the Annual Logie Awards.

List of works

Films

''The King'' (2007) - Colin Bednall

''Aquamarine'' (2006) - Storm Banks

''The Extra'' (2005) - Paul Ridley

''Bad Eggs'' (2003) - Premier Cray

''The Honourable Wally Norman'' (2003) - Ken Oats

''The 13th House'' (2003) - Sir

''Silly Billy Don't Touch That!'' (Unknown)

Television

''Shaun Micallef is Mad as Hell'' (upcoming 2012) - Host

''Mollusks'' (2011) - Easty (voice)

''The Bazura Project's Guide To Sinema'' (2011) - MK-Ultra (voice)

''Laid'' (2011–present) - G-Bomb

''A Quiet Word With ...'' (2011) - Himself (guest)

''Offspring'' (2010) - Lachlan

''Shaun Micallef's New Year's Rave'' - Host

''Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?''

''Chaser's War on Everything'' (2009) - Himself (guest in the Rudd song sketch)

''Rove'' (2009) - Himself (guest)

''Melbourne International Comedy Festival'' (2009) - Host

''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' (2009–present) - Host

''Good News Week'' (2009) - Himself (Guest)

''Spicks and Specks'' (2008) - Himself (guest)

''Newstopia'' (2007–2008) - Himself

''Dogstar'' (2007) - Narrator

''Thank God You're Here'' (2006–2007) - Various (semi-regular guest)

''The Shambles'' (2006) - (guest cameo)

''Through My Eyes'' (2005) - Jack Winneke

''BlackJack'' (2003–2007) (writer)

''Micallef Tonight'' (2003) - Himself (also writer)

''Welcher & Welcher'' (2003) - Quentin Welcher (also writer/producer)

''SeaChange'' (2000) - Warwick Munro

''The Micallef Program'' (1998–2001) - Various (also writer/producer)

''Shaun Micallef's World Around Him'' (1996) - Various (also writer/producer)

''The Glynn Nicholas Show'' (1996) (writer)

''Full Frontal'' (1994–1997) - Various (also writer/producer)

''Jimeoin'' (1994) - Various (also writer)

''The Big Gig'' (1989) (writer)

Theatre

''Boeing Boeing'' (2008) - Bernard

''Good Evening - Sketches from Dudley Moore and Peter Cook'' (2010)

Radio shows

''Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef'' on Vega 91.5 FM (2005–2007)

''Hamish & Andy'' on Fox FM (a guest twice)

''Pete and Myf'' (with ''Newstopia'' writer Richard Marsland on Triple M (guest two times)

''Get This'' appeared on the final show in the first hour

Books

''Preincarnate'' (2010)

''Smithereens'' (2004)

Music

''His Generation'' (2009)

Awards

2008: Won Aria Award Best Comedy Release - ''The Expurgated Micallef Tonight: The Very Best of Shaun Micallef's Short-Lived but Brilliant Tonight Show''

2010: Won Most Popular Presenter and nominated for the Gold Logie at the Logie Awards for his role on Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.

References

External links

Unofficial Shaun Micallef Fansite

Unofficial Shaun Micallef Fansite

Category:1962 births Category:Australian comedians Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian lawyers Category:Australian television presenters Category:Living people Category:Australian people of Maltese descent Category:People from Adelaide Category:Comedians from Melbourne Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian culture Category:People from Williamstown, Victoria Category:Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation Category:Australian people of Irish descent

ga:Shaun Micallef

birth date	1973
birth place	Victoria, Australia
birth name	Rodger Corser
occupation	Actor
spouse	Renae Berry (2007–present)
children	Zipporah Mary Corser (2002)Budd Frederick Corser (2010)Cilla Corser (2012)
website	}}

Rodger Corser (born 1973) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Owen in the Nine Network crime mini-series ''Underbelly'', based on the Melbourne gangland killings, and Senior Sergeant Lawson Blake in the Network Ten police drama series ''Rush''.

Early life

Rodger graduated from Deakin University in 1996 with an Honours B.A in Media Studies).

He was lead vocalist in a band called "Tender Prey" in the early 1990s. They played their majority of gigs at the Shoppingtown Hotel, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia.

Career

His breakthrough role came in 1998, when he was cast in the leading role (from a field of 6,000) in ''Rent'' the musical. Corser portrayed the role of 'Roger', a HIV-positive musician. The show was a box office hit over its Sydney and Melbourne seasons and launched Rodger into a successful career in television. His other theatre credits include ''Leader of the Pack'' and ''Below''. In 2009 he took to the stage in the theatre production ''Secret Bridesmaids' Business''.

He portrayed photographer Adam Logan in the Australian television series ''Last Man Standing'' and Dr Hugh Sullivan in ''Home and Away'' from 2006–2007. He played Detective Senior Constable George Newhouse in the final four episodes of ''Water Rats'' in 2001.

Corser played Peter Johnson in the Australian drama series ''McLeod's Daughters'' from 2001–2004. He played the lead role of Alex in the Australian movie "Let Me Not" in 2005. Corser has appeared in numerous television commercials, most notably for car maker Hyundai.

Corser narrated the first series of Network Ten's factual TV series ''Recruits'', which shows the people in training to become police officers in the New South Wales Police Force and people who have only just started out on the beat. In 2010, Corser started work on ''Spirited'', a new television series on the W channel on Foxtel.

Personal life

In 2007 Corser married Renae Berry. Berry battled cancer but the couple were pleased to learn at Christmas 2009 that they were expecting their first child. On August 18, 2010, the pair welcomed a son named Budd. Corser has a daughter, Zipporah Mary, from his previous relationship with the singer Christine Anu. "Zippy" lives with Corser and the rest of the family.

References

External links

Rodger Corser Biography

Rodger Corser Filmography

Rodger Corser – Zimbio

Category:1973 births Category:Australian television actors Category:Living people

de:Rodger Corser nl:Rodger Corser es:Rodger Corser