''New Faces'' was an Australian

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

that preceded the British show of the same name, produced at GTV-9 Melbourne. The program began in 1963 under the name ''Kevin Dennis Auditions'', sponsored by the new car dealership,

Kevin Dennis Motors Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, which was run by Kevin Dennis ( Dennis Gowing), who was also a well known face on Australian TV from his catchy 'Update' TV Commercials in the 1960s–70s, which were featured during the breaks of the popular show. The program ran on Saturday mornings. The program name soon changed to ''Kevin Dennis New Faces'', and later simply ''New Faces'', becoming a Sunday night prime time show. The program began as a vehicle for rags-to-riches Melbourne businessman, Kevin Dennis, to promote his business. Australian journalist

Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for V ...

, in remembering Kevin Dennis said: Originally hosted by Frank Wilson from 1963 to 1976, and then by

Bert Newton Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie award-winning entertainer and radio, theatre and television personality and presenter. Newt ...

from 1976 to 1985, the show featured two serious judges, such as

Bobby Limb Robert "Bobby" Limb AO, OBE (10 November 1924 – 11 September 1999) was an Australian-born entertainment pioneer, comedian, band leader and musician and legend of radio, television and theatre of the 1960s and 1970s, he also founded the film a ...

, Geoff Brooke, Rod McLennan and Tim Evans. Contestants would compete in heats, with the winners competing in finals. Many of its contestants later became famous, including

Daryl Somers Daryl Paul Somers (né Schulz; 6 August 1951) is an Australian television personality and musician, and a triple Gold Logie award-winner. He rose to national fame as the host and executive producer of the long-running comedy-variety program '' ...

Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...

The Hawking Brothers The Hawking Brothers were an Australian country music band, formed in 1955 and disbanded in 1985. They initially started as a duo by the brothers Russell (1931–1976) and Alan (1933–1988). For the five-piece version, the Hawking Brothers & t ...

Col Elliott Col Elliott (born 1949) is an English-born Australian stand-up comedian who has been active since the early 1970s, based mainly on character based comedy. He has released more than 20 albums, 6 DVDs and many performances in thousands of live sho ...

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...

and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

Contestants and winners

* The Spinning Wheels Contestants; later recorded for HMV and had a number of records in the charts 1964 *

Liv Maessen Liv Maessen is an Australian pop singer who had hits in the early 1970s with " The Love Moth", " Knock, Knock Who's There?" and " Snowbird". In 1969, Maessen had finished second in the ''New Faces'' talent show. Her prize included a recording c ...

Heat winner and Runner-up 1969 *

Grand Final Runner up 1970 * John Williamson Grand Final Winner 1970 * Susie Coles Grand Final Winner 1971 *

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

and Keith Webb Grand Final Winners (

SAS-10 SAS, formerly SAS-7 and before that SAS-10, is a television station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the Seven Network. History SAS-7 was originally known as SAS-10, an affiliate of what became Network Ten. It commenced broadcasting ...

Adelaide) 1971 *

Shane Bourne Shane Bourne (born 24 November 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and television host. Career 1970s Co-founded Australian band Bandicoot with Mick Fettes (formerly of the band Madder Lake). The ...

Heat Winner 1972 *

Grand Final Winner 1973 *Rave (Shepparton pop band) Grand Final Winners 1972 *

contestant 1971 * Maria Mercedes contestant 1973 *Lyn Bryant (now Billie Wilde) Grand Final Winner 1976 * Debby Jean (Baker) Grand Final Winner 1977 *

Martin Lass Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

Grand Final Winner 1982 *

Contestant 1983 * Michelle French Grand Final Winner 1984 *

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

Offered record deal on live TV auditions 1990 *

Jerson Trinidad Jerson is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jerson Cabral (born 1991), Dutch footballer * Jerson Monteiro (born 1985), professional soccer player * Jerson Ravelo (born 1977), boxer from the Dominican Republic * Jerson Ribeiro (b ...

Grand Final Winner 1993

Revivals

From 1989

hosted and produced the program on

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 t ...

. In 1992,

hosted the program on Network Ten, running until 1993.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0989784, name=New Faces 1960s Australian game shows 1970s Australian game shows 1980s Australian game shows 1990s Australian game shows 1963 Australian television series debuts 1985 Australian television series endings 1992 Australian television series debuts 1993 Australian television series endings Australian variety television shows Black-and-white Australian television shows Network 10 original programming Nine Network original programming Talent shows

Contestants and winners

Revivals

See also

References

External links