Conly John Paget Dease (26 May 1906 – 1 February 1979) was a prominent Australian radio presenter and quiz show host at
2GB, Sydney, and through it, the
Macquarie Radio Network from 1935 until at least 1969.
He was born in
Bhamo,
Upper Burma, son of a lieutenant in the
91st Punjabi Regiment. He completed his schooling after the family's return to Somerset. Rather than follow his father into the army, he migrated in 1923 to South Australia as one of the
Barwell Boys. He was first indentured as a farm labourer to E. H. Mattner of
Clare, South Australia but failed to impress however, and likewise failed in a 1925 apprenticeship to printer Hunter Brothers of Leabrook. In 1928 he began teaching at
Scotch College, Adelaide followed by a stint at Tudor House,
Moss Vale, New South Wales then from 1930–1933 at
Scots College, Sydney.
He was meanwhile building his stage skills with
Doris Fitton's
Independent Theatre
Independent Theatre, formerly known as The Independent Theatre Ltd., was an Australian dramatic society founded in 1930 by Dame Doris Fitton in Sydney, Australia. It is also the name given to the building it occupied from 1939 (then known as the ...
, featuring in productions such as ''Musical Chairs'' and ''Ship of Heaven'' until 1933, when he started working professionally for
J C Williamson in musical comedies.
Radio career
In 1935 he signed up as an announcer with radio 2GB, headquarters of the
Macquarie Radio Network, eventually becoming its chief announcer. He has been named as one of the 'Five D's of Australian Radio' with
Jack Davey,
Bob Dyer, Terry Dear and Harry Dearth. His longest-running program was ''World Famous Tenors''. Other programs include ''Nature Speaks'' (sponsored by
Edward Hallstrom) 1947 – 54. As a volunteer he recorded approximately two hundred
Talking Books for the Blind.
''The Quiz Kids''
In 1942 he began the program for which he is now best remembered, ''
The Quiz Kids''. Modelled on a US program of the same name (one of whose panel members was the young
James D. Watson), its format involved a panel of five Sydney schoolboys and girls aged 11 to 15, who were challenged by questions sent in by listeners from all around Australia. The listener was rewarded with cash and sponsors' products in the event of no 'Quiz Kid' supplying a satisfactory answer. A separate panel in
Melbourne was used for six weeks each year. Dease played the avuncular quizmaster. In all publicity photographs and public appearances he wore an academic gown and mortarboard, as were the panel members, many of whom, such as NSW premier
Neville Wran, senior academics John Lambert, Jack Goldring and James Seymour Hagan, were to achieve eminence as adults.
Barry Jones, who later went on to become a
Labor politician, was a member of the Melbourne panel in 1947 and 1948. Others included Sue Pearson (mother of
Christopher Pearson Chris or Christopher Pearson may refer to:
* Chris Pearson (boxer) (born 1990), American boxer
* Chris Pearson (politician) (1931–2014), first premier of the Yukon
* Christopher Pearson (Vermont politician) (born 1973), Vermont state legislator
* ...
), David Low, Nola Manning, Michael Connors, Leon Smith,
Yvonne Cossart, Milton Osborne, Alana Conlan, Tom Kalmar, Annette Cumine. The first team in 1942 consisted of James Hagan, Bernard Lake, Alan Mitchell, Audrey Baker and Dorothy Revie. The program was broadcast on 2GB Sunday 7:30pm; Tuesday 8pm from 1943; Sunday 7:30pm from 1959 and was terminated on 14 October 1962.
[ Sponsors were ]Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...
1942–1944; Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
1944–1958(?). The program was revived for television on ABC Television from 1964–1968 after an abortive simulcast attempt in 1957.
Acting career
Dease was an active supporter of live theatre, helping Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
establish the Mercury Theatre in 1946.
Apart from parts in episodes of various TV series (''Chopper Squad'', ''Case for the Defence'', ''Certain Women''), he played Sir Hubert Wilkins in the 1946 movie '' Smithy'', 'Whitty' in the 1970 movie '' Ned Kelly'' and newsreader 'Ken' in the successful 1978 movie '' Newsfront''. He was also in demand as commentator on newsreels and travelogues such as ''The Dance of the Eyes''.
Personal life
Dease was elected vice-president of Actors Equity but forced to resign in 1948 after being labelled a Communist. Always of left-wing political persuasion, he was associated with the Aid Russia Committee Paper and presented a paper at the Congress of Friendship and Aid to the Soviet Union in Sydney Town Hall, 30 August 1941. In 1972 he appeared in a Labor Party advertisement under the slogan '' It's Time'' although he was an Australia Party candidate for the federal seat of Evans. He joined the Labor Party in 1974.
Dease married Margaret Mary Mildred 'Greta' Lofberg in December 1938. She commenced divorce proceedings in 1944. He remarried in 1948 to Rankura 'Kura' Margery De Villiers Walmsley née East. They were still married until his death in 1979. He was also survived by children John, Sarah, and Geoffrey.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dease, John
1906 births
1979 deaths
Australian radio personalities
20th-century Australian male actors
Australian schoolteachers
People from Kachin State
British people in British Burma
British emigrants to Australia