Australian TV in the 1960s and 70s, Part 3 Quiz

Answer: Maurie Fields

All three were very experienced television journalists when they were selected to launch '60 Minutes'. The stories in the first episode related to tax avoidance on cigarettes, interactive television and psychiatric therapies.
Maurie Fields was a comedian, who had parts in many small screen shows. He was also a regular on the classic 'Hey, Hey, It's Saturday' variety show.

Answer: Skyhooks

In the 1970s, the music scene was dominated by two bands- the brash sound of The Skyhooks, and the more mellow and tuneful Sherbet. Shirl, who got his nickname because of his blonde Shirley Temple-like curly hair, was the lead singer for over half a decade, when they released the albums 'Living in the 70s' and 'Ego is Not a Dirty Word', together with many singles.
After leaving the band, he went solo, releasing his debut album, 'It's all Rock 'n Roll to Me', in 1980. He had started hosting 'Shirl's Neighbourhood' in 1979 and stayed there for four years. He won a Logie award in 1983, for Best Children's TV Series.
After the show concluded, he went on to host 'Our House', a lifestyle show about home renovations.
In 2001, Shirl was killed in a helicopter accident in Queensland.

Answer: Music

GTK stood for 'Get To Know' and was invented out of necessity. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) was the public broadcaster, and as such did not air commercials. Many of their programmes were imported from the UK and US, and only ran for 25 minutes, to allow for ad breaks, so there was a gap at 6:30pm each weekday. Enter Rick Birch, an ABC director, who came up with the idea of a small show to highlight local and overseas musical talent.

The format included interviews, video clips and gossip about musicians.

Answer: Jon English

He was born in London, but migrated Down Under with his family when he was in his early teens. He was attracted to the performing arts from a young age, and landed the plum role of Judas Iscariot in the Australian stageplay of 'Jesus Christ, Superstar'. That role lasted two years, and English released a couple of singles. He was moderately successful with 'Turn the Page' and 'Hollywood 7', before starring in 'Against the Wind', in 1978. He co-wrote the score of the show, and had a hit single with 'Six Ribbons'.

His career took off, and he was on television, the stage and releasing albums on a regular basis, both in Australia and overseas.

He died in 2016 following complications from surgery.

Answer: Chopper Squad

It was set in Dee Why and Palm Beach, following the exploits of a search and rescue team. It starred Dennis Grosvener, Robert Coleby and Eric Oldfield, and was supposedly the inspiration for the US show 'Baywatch'.

'Skyways' was set in an airport and explores the behind-the-scenes dramas. 'Bondi Rescue' is a real-life series, set at one of the world's most famous beaches. It was first filmed in 2006, but no helicopters are used in the show. 'Solo One' was a cop show that only lasted one season. Paul Cronin starred as a motorbike cop in a Victorian country town.

Answer: Bellbird

'Bellbird' was set in a small town of the same name. It started in 1967, and was the first successful Aussie-made series. It featured a who's who of early talent, and ran for ten years.

Unfortunately, in the early days of television, tapes were often reused, so there are very few recordings of the show in existence.

A bellbird is an Australian honeyeater, that makes a call like a bell! The wrong answers are all Australian birds, but none share a name with a TV show.

Answer: The Marriage Game

The couples were asked a series of questions, and scored points if their answer matched their spouse. It was based on an American show called 'The Newlywed Game'. It lasted six seasons, starting in 1966, and had several hosts in that period. A couple of attempts to revive it happened in the 1980s, without a lot of success.

'Mr and Mrs' was a Canadian show, with a similar concept, and the same idea was also used in UK. 'Perfect Match' was a dating show, which featured a rather annoying robot named Dexter. 'Family Feud' was not based on family relations, but is a game show where contestants have to guess survey results.

Answer: Cadbury Chocolate

Professor Miller was a very popular lecturer at Sydney University from 1963 to 1986. He started his show shortly afterwards, demonstrating scientific principles in a fun way, such as driving a straw through a potato, and squeezing a boiled egg into a milk bottle.

His tagline for Cadbury's Daily Milk chocolate was- "each block embraces substantial nourishment and enjoyment" and contained "a glass and a half of full-cream dairy milk". The ads ran for many years, even after his death in 1987.

Did you know that he owned a large collection of Einstein memorabilia, and that he was a huge fan of Einstein. I think they also used the same barber!

Answer: Soft drinks

The show started in 1957, only a few months after the birth of television in Australia. It was shown on GTV9, the first network. It featured puppets, music, games, pets and was even the birthplace of Ossie Ostrich, who went on to co-host the groundbreaking 'Hey,Hey, It's Saturday'. Tarax started life in regional Victoria in 1898, and came under the umbrella of Cadbury-Schweppes in 1972.

Answer: Food

She was a graduate from the very respected Cordon Bleu School in London, and hosted several shows. She was a true foodie, appearing on radio for many years, and authoring newspaper columns and cooking books. She ran cooking schools and judged competitions.

'Fun With Flags' was a segment presented by Sheldon Cooper on the US comedy, 'The Big Bang Theory'.