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''Bluey'' is an Australian
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
series made by
Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords ...
for the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
in 1976. The series was another police drama from
Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords ...
, but was different from their previous series—''
Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'', ''
Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...
'' and ''
Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
''—in that it focused on a single detective rather than an ensemble, and that the characters were not stock standard archetypes usually seen in police dramas. Stand-up comedian
Lucky Grills Leo Dennis Grills OAM (26 May 1928 – 27 July 2007) professionally billed as Lucky Grills, was an Australian actor and comedian. His best known acting role was in the crime drama TV series '' Bluey'' playing the title role. Grills took his p ...
was cast as the titular Det. Sgt. "Bluey" Hills who, in contrast to the relatively straight detectives seen in Crawford's previous shows, was obese, drank heavily (even on duty), smoked heavily, visited local prostitutes, and would often enact physical violence to criminals.


Overview

''Bluey'' was set at Melbourne's Russell Street Police Headquarters, with "Bluey" Hills heading his own squad ("Department B"), due to his inability to work within the existing police squads. Department B was given cases that the other departments could not readily solve by conventional means, with Hills applying his unconventional methods to bring about their resolution. Bluey was supported in his investigations by newly assigned Det. Gary Dawson (
John Diedrich John Edwin Diedrich (born 25 February 1953 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian actor, director, producer and singer, known for stage and television roles in Australia and the UK. He played the lead role of Curly in the 1980 West End revi ...
) long-time cohort Sgt. Monica Rourke (
Gerda Nicolson Gerda Maureen Nicolson (11 November 1937 – 12 June 1992) was an Australian theatre and television actress best known for several long-running television roles. She was best known for playing Governor Ann Reynolds of the Wentworth Detention Cen ...
), and undercover officer Det. Sgt. Reg Truscott (
Terry Gill Terry Gill (25 October 1939 – 25 February 2015) was an English Australian actor, theatre owner, producer, director and writer. A character actor, he carved a niche in Australian television playing police officers. He appeared in over 26 Austral ...
), who spent his time ostensibly working as a small-time burglar, and supplying Bluey with information on the activities of local criminals. Victoria Quilter also featured in early episodes as Dawson's girlfriend Jo Goldman, later replaced by Mercia Deane-Johns as Debbie Morley. Whilst a constant thorn in the side of the Assistant Commissioner (Ken Goodlet) and Superintendent (
Fred Parslow Frederick Henry Parslow (14 August 1932 – 26 January 2017) was an Australian actor, who appeared in film, television and theatre. Acting career Parslow was notable in several film and TV roles, with parts in internationally successful TV so ...
), Bluey's methods were highly effective—while other squads didn't want him as a part of their team, they still sought him out when they could not get the job done. Unlike other Australian TV series where it was common practice to shoot interior scenes on 2.5 cm quadruplex videotape and outdoor shots on film, the series was entirely shot on colour film. The final episode, "Son of Bluey", featured an appearance by actor Don Barker as Det. Sgt. Harry White—the same character he played in ''Homicide''.


Lucky Grills as ''Bluey''

Lucky Grills told ''
TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
'' magazine that after playing a guest role in an episode of ''
Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'' someone thought of him for the role of Bluey.''
TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
'' magazine – "Bluey – TV's New Two-Fisted Cop" by Eric Scott, 3 April 1976, page 20
His
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
sent him a page of script, which he read and then went to
audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
. After the audition, it took ten days for the call to come through telling him he had the part. "It was
Hector Crawford Hector William Crawford CBE AO (14 August 191311 March 1991) was an Australian entrepreneur, conductor and media mogul, best known for his radio and television production firms. He and his sister Dorothy Crawford founded Crawford Productions ...
himself calling to tell me I had the role."


Legacy

Around the same time the series was airing, Grills featured as himself in an episode of Crawford's sitcom ''
Bobby Dazzler ''Bobby Dazzler'' was an Australian television sitcom produced by Crawford Productions, starring pop singer John Farnham as well as Daniel Rumpf and Darrin Collier as the title characters: up-and-coming pop music stars Frankie Marie Vicars and B ...
'', as a telethon guest, where reference was made to his role in ''Bluey''. Although the show only lasted for one year, ''Bluey'' found a new audience almost two decades later when dubbed clips from the show formed the basis for the popular ''
The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...
'' comedy sketch "
Bargearse ''The Late Show'' is a popular Australian comedy sketch and satire show, which ran for two seasons on the ABC. It aired weekly on Saturday nights from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993. Cast ''The Late Show'' has its roots in the 1980s comed ...
". In addition to two other guest appearances as himself, Grills also reprised his role as Bluey on ''The Late Show'' in order to protest the airing of the last Bargearse sketch. Another enduring element from the show, the
theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
—a library music instrumental composed by
Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett, (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band me ...
titled "New Horizons", is now best associated with coverage of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
from
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
's '' Wide World of Sports'' from the 1970s until 2018.What will happen to the soundtrack of summer?
/ref> Of the cast members,
Gerda Nicolson Gerda Maureen Nicolson (11 November 1937 – 12 June 1992) was an Australian theatre and television actress best known for several long-running television roles. She was best known for playing Governor Ann Reynolds of the Wentworth Detention Cen ...
, died on 12 June 1992, and Lucky Grills died on 27 July 2007. As a result of commentary on the ''Bargearse''
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
release, Victoria Quilter is listed on several Internet sites—including
IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
—as being officially listed as a "missing person". However, as of October 2010, she was alive and well and living in Sydney.


References


External links


''Bluey''
at ''Classic Australian Television''
''Bluey''
at ''Crawford Productions''
''Bluey''
at the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

News of Lucky's Death
at
2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...
, via
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* {{IMDb title, 0073966, Bluey Seven Network original programming Television shows set in Melbourne 1976 Australian television series debuts 1977 Australian television series endings 1970s Australian crime television series Television series by Crawford Productions 1970s Australian drama television series