- Daryl Somers
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Daryl Somers Born 6 August 1951
Geelong, Victoria, AustraliaOccupation Television host Years active 1971 – present Known for Hey Hey It's Saturday 1971 - 1999, 2009-present
Dancing with the Stars 2004 - 2007Awards 3 Gold Logies (1983, 1986, 1989) Daryl Paul Somers OAM (born Daryl Schultz 6 August 1951 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia), is an Australian television personality. The son of a dairy farmer and a cabaret singer, Somers rose to national fame as the host of the long-running comedy-variety program Hey Hey It's Saturday.
Contents
Early life
Somers, who has an Irish Catholic heritage, was educated at Christian Brothers College, St. Kilda. As a child he helped with efforts to locate missing prime minister Harold Holt. A drummer, he joined a group playing music in the style of Herb Alpert which began under the name "Pasquale and his Mexican Rhythm." Under the name "Somerset", the group appeared on GTV-9's talent quest programme New Faces, winning their way to the finals, only to be beaten by John Williamson.[1]
Television Career
Hey Hey It's Saturday Era (1971 - 1999)
Somers started professional TV work on 14 July 1971, taking over as the presenter of an afternoon children's program called Cartoon Corner, which was previously 'Skeeter's Cartoon Corner', hosted by James Kemsley (who went on to draw the famous Ginger Meggs comic strip for 23 years). Daryl's first words were, "Hi I'm Daryl Somers, Skeeter will no longer be with us and now it's time for a cartoon".
Later that year, on 9 October 1971, Hey Hey It's Saturday started. Somers at first co-hosted with footballer Peter McKenna but eight weeks later, his co-host became the pink hand-puppet Ossie Ostrich, who was operated by former In Melbourne Tonight staff writer Ernie Carroll. McKenna continued to appear on the show for some time.
Originally created as a Saturday morning children's cartoon show, the program gradually expanded in both size and scope. Soon, additional cast members joined, including booth announcer John Blackman, who also voiced many (unseen) characters, and, later, co-host Jacki MacDonald.
Album cover from the 1976 comedy release Keep Smiling with Daryl and Ossie.
The program's production crew also began to play a prominent role in the series, with sound-effects technician Murray Tregonning adding humorous sound-bites and sound effects from a huge bank of pre-recorded eight track cartridges, and personnel such as long-serving cameraman "Lucky Phil" Lambert making regular appearances.
Props assistant Ian "Krystal" Murray provided props, most famously the "Dicky Knee" character:
“ "I hit my knee on the desk one morning and said, 'Oh, I've got a dicky knee', and this voice immediately answered 'G'day' [...] A week later Krystal came up with this hairdressing polystyrene head with a wig on and wearing a school cap. It popped up in front of the desk and became a permanent character."[2] ” Hey Hey was also notable for breaking the so-called fourth wall, often turning the cameras around to show what was happening in the studio and on many occasions (as portable cameras came into use) roaming at will through and outside the studios.
The series' distinctive brand of irreverent humour soon attracted a sizable adult audience and by the mid-1980s it had become so popular that Nine made the unprecedented decision to move it to a primetime Saturday evening timeslot, where it remained for the rest of its run. At its height, Hey Hey It's Saturday was one of the most popular and consistently high-rating series in the history of Australian television, winning many awards including three Gold Logie awards for Somers. In 1983, Somers was crowned King of Moomba with Edna Everage as his Court Jester.[3]
Hey Hey screened for twenty eight years (1971–1999) on the Nine Network across Australia. It had by then become an institution, so there was considerable shock when the Nine Network announced that the series was to be axed at the end of 1999.
'Television Break' (2000 - 2003)
During the five years after the show's demise in December 1999, Daryl Somers rarely made public appearances, with the exception of a court appearance in 2001 to answer a drink driving charge (after which Somers admitted he was "...a bloody idiot" - a reference to a famous anti drunk driving advertising campaign of that time), and an appearance as a guest on the Network Ten program Rove Live.
Dancing with the Stars era (2004 - 2007)
In late 2004 Somers returned to the small screen when he made the move to sign with Nine's arch rival, the Seven Network, hosting Dancing with the Stars a live program where 10 celebrities compete each week in a dance competition.
On 30 November 2007 Somers announced that he would leave Dancing with the Stars.
Return of Hey Hey It's Saturday (2009 - present)
Somers had a year off television duties in 2008.
There has been considerable interest in the reformation of "Hey Hey It's Saturday" in some capacity. ABC Radio Broken Hill interviewed Corrine Lawrence and Daryl Somers on 22 July 2009[4] in regards to the growing interest. Daryl has revealed the show's return is "not out of the question" and speculated that one or two reunion specials could be made in the near future.
A reunion special aired on 30 September 2009. It rated strongly, attracting 3.9+ million [5] viewers, although the second show generated international controversy because of a "blackface" Jackson 5 parody act (called The Jackson Jive) that appeared on the "Red Faces" segment.
With the success of the Reunion Specials in 2009, the show returned in 2010 as a regular series. The 2010 series had 20 episodes airing, with the first 13 episodes airing from April until July, with the remaining 7 episodes airing in October and November.
There is no further comment from the Nine Network if the show is returning in 2011.
List of TV programs
- New Faces, 1968, runner-up contestant
- New Faces, 1970, winning contestant
- Cartoon Corner, 1971-1977 Host
- Hey Hey it's Saturday, 1971–1999, 2009–present, Host & Producer
- Bandstand (Australia), 1976, Host
- King of Pop Awards, 1976-7, Host
- The Graham Kennedy Show, 1970s regular artist
- The Don Lane Show, 1970s regular artist
- The Mike Walsh Show, 1970s regular artist
- Family Feud, 1980–82, Host
- The Daryl Somers Show, 1982-3, Host
- Blankety Blanks, Host, 1985
- TV Week Logie Awards, Host, 1988, 1991, 1996–98, 2006
- New Faces, Host & Producer, 1989
- The Russell Gilbert Show, Producer, 1998
- Gonged But Not Forgotten, Producer (199?)
- Dancing with the Stars, Host, 2004–2007
Logies
Somers has been a part of the Logies since his early days of television, either as host, winner or nominee. He has been host of them 5 times (1988, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998) and co-host in 2006.
Logies won:
- Gold Logie - 3 times (1983, 1986 and 1989).
- Most Popular Light Entertainment / Comedy Personality - once (1990)
- Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality - 4 times (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997)
- Most Popular Comedy Personality - once (1995)
Logies nominated:
- Gold Logie - 12 times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
- Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality - once (1994)
- Most Popular Comedy Personality - once (1997)
Personal life
Daryl Somers is a singer and drummer and is married to Julie da Costa, a former principal dancer with the Australian Ballet and is now a Director of The Australian Ballet Company.
Somers is a passionate supporter of the Geelong Football Club and is the Club's #1 ticket holder. Somers has a star on the Caloundra Walk of Stars.
See also
References
- ^ Stone, Gerald (2000). Compulsive Viewing. Melbourne: Penguin Books Australia Ltd. ISBN 0 14 0298177.
- ^ Stone, Gerald, op. cit., p. 432
- ^ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen (17 February 2006) "Moomba: A festival for the people"PDF., www.melbourne.vic.gov.au, pp.17-22. photo p.19
- ^ ABC Radio Broken Hill interview featuring Corrine Lawrence and Daryl Somers [1]
- ^ Hey Hey wins ratings showdown, By Michael Idato, 1 October 2009, theage.com.au
Other references
- "Daryl Somers 'does the dash with Seven's Logie'". http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=457821. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
External links
- Daryl Somers at the Internet Movie Database
- Brief bio
- Will Somers never end? - Sydney Morning Herald, 5 May 2006 article describing Somers winning a TV Fugly Award
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Rowena Wallace
for Sons and DaughtersGold Logie Award
Most Popular Personality on Australian Television
1986
for Hey Hey It's Saturday and Blankety BlanksSucceeded by
Ray Martin
for MiddayPreceded by
Kylie Minogue
for NeighboursGold Logie Award
Most Popular Personality on Australian Television
1989
for Hey Hey It's SaturdaySucceeded by
Craig McLachlan
for NeighboursHosts of the Logie Awards Hugh O'Brien (1960) · Gerald Lyons (1962) · Gerald Lyons (1965) · Bert Newton (1967–1980) · Michael Parkinson (1981) · Bert Newton (1982) · Mike Willesee (1983) · Bert Newton (1984) · Greg Evans (1985) · Mike Willesee (1986) · Don Lane (1987) · Daryl Somers (1988) · Bert Newton (1989) · Mark Mitchell (1990) · Daryl Somers (1991) · Steve Vizard (1992) · Bert Newton (1993) · Ray Martin (1994) · Andrew Daddo and Noni Hazlehurst (1995) · Daryl Somers (1996–1998) · Andrew Denton (1999–2000) Shaun Micallef (2001) · Wendy Harmer (2002) · Eddie McGuire (2003–2004) · Eddie McGuire, Rove McManus and Andrew O'Keefe (2005) · Bert Newton, Ray Martin, Daryl Somers, Lisa McCune and Georgie Parker (2006) · Adam Hills, Dave Hughes and Fifi Box (2007) · Various hosts (2008) · Gretel Killeen (2009) · Bert Newton (2010) · Shane Bourne (2011)
Categories:- 1951 births
- ARIA Award winners
- Australian male singers
- Australian television presenters
- Australian game show hosts
- Gold Logie winners
- Living people
- People from Geelong
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