Bob Dyer

Robert Neal "Bob" Dies OBE (22 May 1909 – 9 January 1984), who took the stage name of Bob Dyer, was a Gold Logie-award winning American-born vaudeville entertainer and singer, radio and television personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dyer is best known for the long-running radio and then television quiz show, Pick a Box. At the height of his radio career, Dyer and his friend and rival, Jack Davey, were regarded as Australia's top quiz comperes.

Bob and his wife, Dolly, were probably, after Sir Robert and Dame Pattie Menzies, the most recognised double act in Australia in the 1960s. Bob and Dolly's main interest besides performing was big-game fishing and, between them, they broke some 200 world and Australian fishing records.

Early life and career

Bob Dies was born in Trousdale County, Tennessee, to Heywood leahman Dies, a sharefarmer and his wife Delia (née Bell) . In an interview much later in his life with Barry Jones, Dyer spoke of his childhood:

Dolly Dyer

Thelma Phoebe Mclean MBE (1921 – 25 December 2004), known professionally as Dorothy "Dolly" Dyer was an Australian Gold Logie winning radio and TV personality, and wife of fellow game-show host and performer Bob Dyer.

Early life

She was born and grew up in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Her father died when she was young and she was raised by her mother. The family nickname was "Mack" so she took the name Dolly Mack when she was employed as a showgirl in Sydney's Tivoli Theatre in 1940.

She met her husband there, literally running into him in a doorway. They married within two weeks at St John's, Darlinghurst, Sydney.

Entertainment career

During World War II, Dolly and Bob entertained Allied troops, including performing in South Pacific and New Guinea war zones.

After the war, Bob began the radio version of Pick a Box, which went to television in the late 50s. Dolly appeared with him, introducing contestants and being a sidekick to Bob's humour.

Retirement

They both retired in 1971, shortly before the last episode of Pick-a-Box was screened.

Dyer

Dyer may refer to:

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R. Budd Dwyer

Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served from 1971 to 1981 as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate representing the state's 50th district. He served as the 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania from January 20, 1981 to January 22, 1987. On that day, Dwyer called a news conference in the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg where he killed himself in front of the gathered reporters with a .357 caliber revolver. Dwyer's suicide was broadcast later that day to a wide television audience across the state of Pennsylvania.

In the early 1980s, Pennsylvania discovered its state workers had overpaid federal taxes due to errors in state withholding. Many accounting firms competed for a multimillion-dollar contract to determine compensation to each employee. In 1986, Dwyer was convicted of receiving a bribe from the California firm that ultimately won the contract. He was scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on January 23, 1987, the day after his suicide.

Television in Australia

Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934.

Mainstream television was launched on 16 September 1956 in Sydney, NSW with network TCN-9-Sydney. The new medium was introduced by Bruce Gyngell with the words 'Good evening, and welcome to television', and has since seen the transition to colour and digital television.

Local programs, over the years, have included a broad range of comedy, sport, and in particular drama series, in addition to news and current affairs. The industry is censored and regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which also regulates radio and in recent years has attempted to regulate the Internet.

History

Origins

In 1885, Henry Sutton developed a Telephane for closed circuit transmission of pictures via telegraph wires, based on the Nipkow spinning disk system, so that the Melbourne Cup could be seen in Ballarat. Reports differ on whether the Telephane was successfully implemented.