Keith Smith (4 September 19172 June 2011) was an Australian broadcaster, radio and television personality, and writer.

Biography

Edward Keith Smith was born in

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 ...

in 1917. He was taken out of school at age 13, as his parents could not afford to keep him there. He went to work in a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, doing painful and exhausting work, before being offered an apprenticeship as a signwriter. He started selling his comedy sketches to radio stations and appearing in radio plays for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. He served in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during World War II. On discharge in 1946, he moved to Sydney, where his career as an actor and writer took off. Smith's most popular program was ''The Pied Piper'' (initially radio, later on television), in which he conducted candid interviews with children. He also devised and wrote (with veteran radio writer George Foster) the scripts for the 13 episodes of the television series ''

Mrs. Finnegan ''Mrs. Finnegan'' is an Australian situation comedy series which screened on the Seven Network in 1970 to 1971. It followed a widow and her son living in a Sydney suburb. Cast * Delore Whiteman as Jessie Finnegan * Reg Gorman as Darby Finnegan ...

'', which appeared on

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 ...

channel

ATN ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the first four licences (two in Sydney, two ...

7 from 1970 to 1971. He published the parenting book ''How to Get Closer to Your Children'' in 1985 and two volumes of ''Supernatural!: Australian Encounters'' in 1991 and 1993, about ghost sightings in Australia. He also wrote the social history work ''Australian Battlers Remember: The Great Depression'', published in 2003. Smith lived his last years as a recluse. He died in Sydney on 2 June 2011, aged 93."Pied Piper's chats with children led to laughter and insights"
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'', 7 June 2011. Retrieved on 28 April 2017.

Writing

*''The Bear with Bad Eyes''; illustrated by Jiri Tibor Novak; Little Lilyfield, 1987 *''How to Get Closer to Your Children''; Waratah Press, 1985 *''The Migrant Mouse''; illustrated by Bruno Jean Grasswill; Little Lilyfield, 1988 *''The Palace of Signs : Memories of Hard Times and High Times in the Great Depression''; Sun, 1991 *''World War II wasn't All Hell''; Hutchinson Australia, 1988 *''The Pig that was Different''; illustrated by Mary Ferguson; Bow Press in association with Hutchinson Australia, 1988 *''Keith Smith's Riddle Book from Outer Space''; Rigby, c. 1964 *''A Word from Children''; Rigby, 1960 *''Ogf: Being the Private Papers of George Cockburn, Bus Conductor, a Resident of Hurstfield, a Suburb of Sydney, Australia''; Ure Smith, 1965 *''Australian Battlers Remember: the Great Depression''; Random House, c. 2003 *''The Pied Piper: Keith Smith's Riddle Book for Children''; Rigby, 1960 *''T.V. Jokes for Children''; Rigby, 1972 *''T.V. Jokes for Children 2''; Rigby, 1972 *''Keith Smith's T-V Picture Puzzle Book. No. 1''; Rigby, 1973 *''Keith Smith's T-V Picture Puzzle Book. No. 2''; Rigby, 1973 *''Keith Smith's Dum Dora Jokes'', illustrations by Eva Wickenberg; Rigby, 1977 *''TV Cook Book for Kids''; Rigby, 1972 *''Keith Smith's Knock! Knock! Jokes''; illustrations by Eva Wickenberg; Rigby, 1977 *''Keith Smith's Riddle Round Up''; illustrations by Eva Wickenberg; Rigby, 1977 *''Supernatural!: Australian Encounters''; Pan, 1991 *''Supernatural No. 2: More Australian Encounters''; Pan MacMillan, 1993 *''The Time of their Lives!: Remembering Yesterday's Australia''; Allen & Unwin, 1993

References

External links

*''Keith Smith'
Austlit
(18 December 2007). Retrieved 12 August 2008.
Interview with Keith Smith - The Pied Piper
"Remember When" (radio program),

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 ...

(Melbourne), 28 March 1993. Interviewed by

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 ...

and Philip Brady. Includes some recorded excerpts from Smith's "Pied Piper" program. Retrieved on 1 May 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith 1917 births 2011 deaths Australian children's writers ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Australian television presenters 3AW presenters Writers from Melbourne Television personalities from Melbourne