Ernest William Sigley (2 September 1938 – 15 August 2021) was an Australian television host, comedian, variety performer, radio presenter and singer. Known as a pioneer of radio and television in Australian, he was often styled as a "little

Aussie battler Battlers, in Australian colloquialism, are ordinary working class people who persevere through their commitments despite adversity. Typically, this adversity comprises low pay, family problems, environmental hardships and personal recognition w ...

" with a

larrikin Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions". In the 19th and early 20th centurie ...

sense of humour. Sigley started his career in radio, before becoming a presenter of TV programs and was best known for his self-titled program ''The Ernie Sigley Show'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' as well as original host of game show ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

'', after presenting talk shows with his frequent co-presenter

Denise Drysdale Denise Anne Christina Drysdale (born 5 December 1948) is an Australian television presenter, variety entertainer, actress, singer, dancer and comedian. She is often affectionately known as ''Ding Dong'', a nickname invented by fellow performer ...

in the late 80s and early 90s, he returned to presenting radio broadcasts, until retiring in 2009.

Biography

Early life and career

Sigley was born in Footscray,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, one of seven children of a boilermaker. After completing his education at Williamstown High School, his career began in 1952 as a turntable operator on Danny Webb's breakfast program at radio station 3DB. Television started in Australia in 1956 and Sigley made his TV debut in 1957 as host of ''

Teenage Mailbag ''Teenage Mailbag'' was an Australian television series which aired in 1957 to 1958 on Melbourne station HSV-7. Information on this series is scarce. According to a 2008 article in ''The Age'', the format consisted of Ernie Sigley, Gaynor Bunning ...

'', later known as ''

The Teenage Show ''The Teenage Show'', also known as ''The Teenage Hour'', is an Australian music television series which aired on Saturdays from 25 October 1958 to 1960 on Melbourne station HSV-7. Background The live series was a successor to ''Teenage Mailbag'' ...

'', on Seven Network's

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...

. Shortly after this, he travelled to London, gaining some work experience at the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Radio

In 1982, he switched to the breakfast shift at the personality-driven News Talk 3UZ. In 1996, Sigley joined

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

to host the afternoon program. He hosted the afternoon program for 12 years until his retirement on 7 November 2008.

Denis Walter Denis Walter OAM, (born 3 January 1955) is an Australian radio presenter, baritone singer, recording artist and media personality who also presented television news for 16 years. Career Walter's music career has lasted over forty years and he ...

was announced as Sigley's replacement. He then took on a part-time role at the station where he partnered either

Bruce Mansfield Bruce Mansfield (24 April 1944 – 17 April 2016) was an Australian television/ radio personality and narrator. Early career Mansfield began in radio at age 16, when he won a junior announcer's competition at the 3UZ radio station in 1960. The ...

or Philip Brady to host ''Nightline'' on Friday nights.

Television

Sigley was part of the original cast of variety TV program ''

Sunnyside Up ''Sunnyside-Up'' was a black and white weekly variety program produced at HSV-7 Melbourne, during the late 1950s until the mid 1960s. Surviving Kinescope episodes sometimes presented the title in three words as “Sunny Side Up“ and with a ...

'', In the 1960s and early 1970s, he hosted the prime time Adelaide variety show ''

Adelaide Tonight ''Adelaide Tonight'' was a nightly variety show, running four days a week at 9.30 pm on Nine Network, NWS-9 Adelaide. The show was broadcast live from Studio 1 between 1959 and 1973. The show was similar to ''In Melbourne Tonight'' with Gr ...

'' on

NWS-9 NWS is an Australian television station based in Adelaide, Australia. It is owned-and-operated by the Nine Network. The station callsign, ''NWS'', is an initialism of The NeWs South Australia. History Origins NWS-9 was the first television ...

. Beginning in 1974, he was the host of the national

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 ...

variety show ''The Ernie Sigley Show'', featuring notable Australian media personalities such as

Noni Hazlehurst Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst , (born 17 August 1953) is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series and made for television films, as well also on stag ...

, Pete Smith and

Joy Westmore Joy Westmore (; 13 March 1932 – 5 November 2020) was an Australian actress on radio, stage and television, and in voice-over. She was best known to local and international television viewers for her long-running role in ''Prisoner'' as the fr ...

. The program was abruptly axed after an off-air outburst by Sigley, directed at station owner

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

and producer

Peter Faiman Peter Leonard Faiman Order of Australia, AM (born 1944) is an Australian television producer with experience in film, live television and events. He has had a long-standing working relationship with the Nine Network. Biography Faiman was born in ...

, when the network cut short his first show for 1976 to accommodate a network sports awards telecast. Packer flew to

the next day and dismissed Sigley in person, effective immediately, and replaced him with

Don Lane Don Lane (born Morton Donald Isaacson, 13 November 1933 – 22 October 2009) was an American-born talk show host and singer, best known for his television career in Australia, especially for hosting ''Tonight with Don Lane'' and ''The Don Lane ...

. After his dismissal in 1976, Sigley moved to ATV-0 and hosted the early evening variety show ''Ernie'' and then, in 1978, ''The Penthouse'' which became ''

'' on

co-hosting with Mary Hardy. Sigley was the original host of the Australian version of the popular game show ''

'' from 1981 to 1984. In 1982, he presented the regional variety program ''Six Tonight'' from

BTV-6 VTV is an Australian television station broadcasting in regional Victoria in Australia. The network was owned by ENT Ltd., before being purchased by the WIN Corporation. Network history ''VICTV Television Victoria'' began as a network of severa ...

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and the daytime talent show ''Pot Luck'' in 1987. After a break from television, Sigley returned in 1989 with

, hosting

GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. History GTV-9 was amongst the first television stations to begin regular ...

's morning program ''In Melbourne Today''. Sigley was involved in an argument with fellow TV star Don Lane at a

Logies The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

after party in 1988, when Sigley allegedly made insulting remarks about Lane's partner.

Singing

Sigley began singing as a choir boy at

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. Th ...

, and went on to be a regular on the local town hall circuit in the 1950s. In 1957 his first record, "Love Is A Golden Ring", was released. In 1974, Sigley, with Denise Drysdale, recorded the popular duet " Hey Paula", a cover of a hit by US duo

Paul & Paula Paul & Paula (Ray Hildebrand, born December 21, 1940, and Jill Jackson, born May 20, 1942) are a former American pop music, pop singing duet, duo, best known for their 1963 million-selling, number-one hit record, "Hey Paula (song), Hey Paula". Bio ...

released by

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

and produced at

Armstrong Studios Armstrong Studios, also known as Bill Armstrong's Studio and later renamed AAV (Armstrong Audio Video), is an Australian commercial recording studio located in Melbourne, Victoria. During the decade from 1965 to 1975, Armstrong Studios in Sou ...

, Melbourne. The record was produced and arranged by Brian Rangott and engineered by Ian McKenzie and peaked at number 2 in Australia. Sigley regularly performed around Australia on the club circuit, often with his television partner Denise Drysdale.

Awards

Sigley won the TV Week

Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV W ...

in 1975. He had previously won eleven local Logies for his work in Adelaide.

Personal life

Three times married and twice divorced, Sigley was married to Glenys O'Brien, former television personality, for 47 years. They lived in Atkins Ave, Glen Iris in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and had four children. His son Matthew was a keyboardist for the Australian bands

the Earthmen The Earthmen were an Australian indie pop- rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria. They released two albums, ''Teen Sensations'' and ''Love Walked In'' during their career (1991–1999). ''Love Walked In'' was nominated for ARIA Award for Brea ...

the Fauves Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

and

Drop City Drop City was a counterculture artists' community that formed near the town of Trinidad in southern Colorado in 1960. Abandoned by 1979, Drop City became known as the first rural "hippie commune". Establishment In 1960, the four original foun ...

. Sigley was a supporter of the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

(formerly known as the

Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...

) in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

. He was also a supporter of the

South Adelaide Football Club The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

. Sigley once owned the Radio Springs Hotel at Lyonville in country Victoria. Sigley's family announced in October 2016 that he had

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He died on 15 August 2021, aged 82.

Filmography

Selected TV

Actor

Studio albums

Charting singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigley, Ernie 1938 births 2021 deaths Australian game show hosts Gold Logie winners 3AW presenters Comedians from Melbourne Television personalities from Melbourne Neurological disease deaths in Australia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Radio personalities from Melbourne People from Footscray, Victoria