John Alan McKellar (13 August 1930 – 6 September 2010) was an Australian writer, primarily of comedy revues or musical theatre. His most critically acclaimed and popularly attended work was ''
A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down
Bex was a strong compound analgesic which was popular in Australia for much of the 20th century. It came in the form of APC (aspirin–phenacetin–caffeine) tablets or powder, containing 42% aspirin and 42% phenacetin plus caffeine.
Bex ...
'' which premiered at Sydney's
Phillip Street Theatre
The Phillip Street Theatre (succeeded by the Phillip Theatre) was a popular and influential Australian theatre and theatrical company, located in Phillip Street in Sydney that was active from 1954 and 1971 that became well known for its intimate s ...
on 18 September 1965 and ran for more than 250 performances. He was the resident writer at that theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s he provided the slogan, "The drink you have when you're not having a drink" to advertise
Claytons
Claytons is the brand name of a non-alcoholic, non-carbonated beverage coloured and packaged to resemble bottled whisky. It was the subject of a major marketing campaign in Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, promoting it as "the d ...
non-alcoholic beverages. Most of his humour involved
social satire where typical self-mockery was developed into an art form. Some of his works provided vernacular phrases used in
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
including "is Australia really necessary", "A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down", and "But I wouldn't want to live there".
Biography
McKellar was born on 13 August 1930 in
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
to Rupert McKellar, a commercial traveller, and Winifred née Lehman.
He grew up with his sister Margaret and brother Clive in
Waverley Waverley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott
** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel
* Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...
.
McKellar was educated at St Charles School and
Waverley College
, motto_translation = Virtue alone ennobles
, location = 131 Birrell Street
, city = Waverley, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, type = Independent early learni ...
– run by the
Christian Brothers.
At the same school were two of his neighbours, Jerry Donovan and
Lance Mulcahy
Lance Mulcahy (17 April 1931 – 26 January 1995) was an Australian-born composer of musicals and revue.
Biography
Mulcahy began his career in the 1950s writing for intimate revue, notably for the Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney. In the UK, he ...
and when McKellar attended
Sydney Teachers College
The Sydney Teachers' College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until the end of 1981, when it became the Sydney Institute of Education, a part of the ne ...
, Donovan and Mulcahy were enrolled at the adjacent
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...
.
McKellar worked as a teacher before returning to Sydney to become a full-time writer.
The trio collaborated for university productions of musicals, with McKellar writing lyrics.
On 12 February 1953 McKellar, Donovan and Mulcahy wrote and/or performed a musical revue, ''Metropolitan Merry-Go-Round'', for their professional debut at the
Metropolitan Theatre in
Kings Cross.
It was produced by William Orr, who subsequently established the
Phillip Street Theatre
The Phillip Street Theatre (succeeded by the Phillip Theatre) was a popular and influential Australian theatre and theatrical company, located in Phillip Street in Sydney that was active from 1954 and 1971 that became well known for its intimate s ...
which show-cased works by McKellar.
Further revues followed and then, in 1955, the trio travelled to the United Kingdom where they wrote sketches and material for cabarets.
McKellar returned to Phillip Street Theatre and became its resident writer.
From 1964 McKellar periodically travelled to the United States attempting to stage a Broadway production. From February to April 1965, ''Is Australia Really Necessary?'', was staged at the
Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne
The Tivoli Theatre was a major performing arts venue in Melbourne's East End Theatre District, located at 249 Bourke Street. The theatre's origins dated from 1866, with various remodelling and rebuilding throughout its history. Its final building ...
with McKellar providing lyrics.
The title provided a vernacular phrase in
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
.
On 18 September 1965 his play, ''
A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down
Bex was a strong compound analgesic which was popular in Australia for much of the 20th century. It came in the form of APC (aspirin–phenacetin–caffeine) tablets or powder, containing 42% aspirin and 42% phenacetin plus caffeine.
Bex ...
'', premiered at Phillip Street Theatre and ran for more than 250 performances.
[.][.] The cast included
John Ewart
Jon Ewart (06th May 1996) is a British television and film actor. Ewart attended the prestigious National Youth Theatre, Identity School of Acting and has appeared in many successful Television shows.
Biography Career
Ewart, who was born in M ...
,
Gloria Dawn,
Ruth Cracknell
Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedienne and author, her career encompassing all genres including radio, theatre, television and film. She appeared in many dramatic as we ...
and
Reg Livermore
Reginald Dawson Livermore (born 11 December 1938) is an Australian actor, singer, theatrical performer and former television presenter.
Childhood
From a young age, Livermore demonstrated an interest in the performing arts. Regular outings to ...
.
McKellar's play popularised the phrase, "A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down", which "quickly became a common Australian saying".
The play is McKellar's most critically acclaimed and popularly attended work.
In the 1970s he provided the slogan, "The drink you have when you're not having a drink" to advertise
Claytons
Claytons is the brand name of a non-alcoholic, non-carbonated beverage coloured and packaged to resemble bottled whisky. It was the subject of a major marketing campaign in Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, promoting it as "the d ...
non-alcoholic beverages. McKellar moved to the US and became involved in antique textiles, setting up a business there for almost 20 years.
In 1981 McKellar reconnected with Mulcahy for a musical-comedy, ''Keystone'', which was composed by Mulcahy with book by McKellar who also co-wrote the lyrics with Dion McGregor.
In January 1982 it was performed at the
McCarter Theater
McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.
...
in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reviewer,
Mel Gussow
Melvyn Hayes "Mel" Gussow (; December 19, 1933 – April 29, 2005) was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for ''The New York Times'' for 35 years.
Biography
Gussow was born in New York City and grew up in Rockville ...
found "
tis an intimate vest-pocket musical ... smallness leads to some novel double-teaming". Overall Gussow was disappointed as "the approach demands a much keener sense of style and of comedy than is demonstrated ...
a very basic level, ''Keystone'' is just not funny enough".
In 1996 McKellar returned to Australia where he wrote and directed a play, ''Virtual unReality'', which was performed in May at the Tilbury Hotel,
Woolloomooloo
Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is in a low ...
.
In December 2006, he wrote ''Attack of the Granny Boomers'', which was performed at the Parade Theatre, Kensington.
McKellar died on 6 September 2010, aged 80 years.
Most of his humour involved
social satire where typical self-mockery was developed into an art form.
References
External links
Portrait of John McKellarat
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 ...
, photo by Greg Power, July 2005.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKellar, John
1930 births
2010 deaths
Australian musical theatre lyricists
20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights