Geoffrey John Harvey (6 August 1935 – 30 March 2019) was an English-Australian musician, pianist, conductor, musical director and television personality who worked at the Australian

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 ...

for 38 years. Known primarily for his appearances on ''

The Mike Walsh Show ''The Mike Walsh Show'' was an Australian variety daytime television series. Hosted by Mike Walsh, the show ran from 1973 to 1984 for 90 minutes each weekday afternoon. History The program was launched on the 0-10 Network and moved to the Nine ...

'' and ''

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 (military time). Solar ...

'', Harvey also composed a number of the theme songs for the network's programs.

Early life

Harvey was born on 6 August 1935 in London, England, and lived through

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was born into a musical family: his father played the fiddle while his mother was a piano player. Harvey began playing piano and the organ at the age of six and when he was eight he began playing at his local Catholic church. By age 14, he was playing in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

. His first job was as a saxophonist in a band at the Round Towers Irish Club in

Holloway Road Holloway Road is a road in London, in length. It is one of the main shopping streets in North London, and carries the A1 road as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington. The road starts in Archway, near Archway Under ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

as a 15-year-old. After completing his education and

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

he began playing in

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is license ...

s across Europe.

Nine Network

Harvey came to Australia in the early 1960s to join

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, then part of

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, producing records for the label with Bryan Davies. He was only due to stay in the country for a year but decided to remain, finding work in the new medium of

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 ...

. Harvey joined the

in 1961 working on Bob Rogers' ''Tonight Show''. In 1963, he was appointed the musical director of ''Tonight with Dave Allen'' and then worked on ''The

John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian radio announcer. For 50 years, until 2007, he was the host of an Australian morning radio program combining music with interviews, opinion, live advert ...

Show'', ''Tonight Show with

Charlie Brill Charlie Sanford Brill (born January 13, 1938, Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian. Acting Brill's first motion picture was ''The Beast of Budapest''. He appeared in '' Blackbeard's Ghost'' and ''The Amazing Dobe ...

and

Mitzi McCall Mitzi McCall is an American comedian and actress. Life and career Television In the early 1950s, then known as Mitzi Steiner, McCall had the ''Kiddie Castle'' program on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received national attention in 1 ...

'', ''

Bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

'', ''

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian character actor, televisio ...

's Sound of Music'' and ''

The Don Lane Show ''The Don Lane Show'' was an Australian television talk show which aired twice a week on the Nine Network from 1975 to 1983. The show was created by Don Lane who co-hosted it with Bert Newton. Channel Nine was reluctant to cast Bert Newton, ...

''. His most prominent role was as the musical director of ''

''. and its successor ''

'' During the program's run he employed three bands which were rotated week to week. A firm advocate of live music on television, he often battled with the management of the network. During his time at Nine, he composed the theme songs for ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'', ''

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

'' and ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...

'', the latter being originally composed for the wedding of his first wife's cousin. From 1984 to 2002, Harvey was also the musical director of Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne at the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct ...

before his successor

John Foreman John Foreman may refer to: * John Foreman (musician) (born 1972), Australian musician * John Foreman (producer) (1925–1992), American film producer * John Foreman (footballer) (1913–1964), English footballer See also * Jon Foreman (born 1976), ...

took over in 2003.

Post television career

Following the cancellation of ''Midday'', Harvey was sacked from Nine after 38 years on 6 May 1999. He appeared briefly on Sydney radio station

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 ...

alongside

Kerri-Anne Kennerley Kerri-Anne Kennerley (née Wright; born 22 September 1953) is an Australian television and radio presenter, actress and singer. She has more than 50 years in the industry, and is an inductee into the Logie Hall of Fame. Kennerley was a co-host ...

in 2000. In 1998, Harvey was appointed as the joint patron of the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

alongside Tommy Tycho who had been sole patron since 1981. They both continued in this role until 2005, with Harvey also serving as chairman in 1998 and from 2000 to 2002. Harvey returned to studying in 2002, receiving his Associate in Music, Australia in organ in 2004 from the Australian Music Examinations Board and four years later his licentiate from

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

. In October 2008, Harvey donated to the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

his collection of 5,000 original arrangements and in 2011, he began teaching music in his studio at home. In 2017, Harvey still performed in live theatre, taking to the stage to play piano in his comedy

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

''Senior Moments'' with Lex Marinos, Benita Collings and

John Derum John Bernard Derum (born 9 January 1946) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. He has also directed and produced for theatre companies throughout Australia and for television. Career Theatre Derum walked in on Wal Cherry's ...

Awards

Harvey was a recipient of the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

during the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to the community as a musician and entertainer, and through support for charitable organisations". Harvey was a patron for ConnecTeD (Friends of the Connective Tissue Dysplasia,

Children's Hospital at Westmead The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

), from 1992.

Personal life

Known as a practical joker and for making "wild bets", he grew a beard as a result of losing a 1965 bet to

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 ...

on a football match. Harvey married fellow television personality Penny Spence and they had two children together: Eugenie in 1968 and Charlotte two years later. They lived together in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

. He lived in the village of Berrima in the Southern Highlands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

with his second wife of years, Katrina. Katrina also worked at Nine as the long-time personal assistant to executive

Sam Chisholm Samuel Hewlings Chisholm AO (8 October 1939 – 9 July 2018) was a New Zealand-born Australian media executive who was a significant figure in the Australian media. Career Chisholm attended King's College, Auckland. Chisholm had been f ...

. He died on the Gold Coast in March 2019, aged 83.

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Geoff 1935 births 2019 deaths Australian conductors (music) Australian pianists Australian television personalities English conductors (music) English pianists English emigrants to Australia English television personalities Musicians from London Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 21st-century British conductors (music)