''Sunnyside-Up'' was a black and white weekly variety program produced at

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...

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 ...

, during the late 1950s until the mid 1960s. Surviving

Kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

episodes sometimes presented the title in three words as “Sunny Side Up“ and with a 3-letter acronym.

Synopsis

The program has its genesis as a TV version of the popular radio variety program ''The Happy Gang'' on sister radio station 3DB. The first TV edition of ''The Happy Gang'' appeared on

on 30 August 1957 at 9.30pm and broadcast every Friday. From 23 May 1958, under the direction of producer Alf Spargo, the program was revamped with a refreshed line-up and a new title, ''Sunnyside Up''. Original ''Happy Gang'' cast members Dick Cranbourne and John Stuart were dropped from the revamped show. The new ''Sunnyside Up'' was hosted in front of a live audience by race-caller and radio broadcaster Bill Collins, with comedy by Syd Heylen (''Sydney from Sydney''), ''Honest'' John Gilbert, Syd Hollister, Maurie Fields and

Val Jellay Valerie Muriel Jellay (born Valerie Jelly; September 1927 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian vaudevillian, actress, soubrette, dancer, author and TV personality. At the time of her death, she was the widow of fellow Australian vaudevillian, ...

. Singers included Shirlene Clancy, Ron Lees, Val Ruff, Tony Jenkins and Neil Williams. The Chordaires were a regular vocal group, as well as The Thin Men from 1960 to 1965 before they moved to Sydney to work on television there. Musical selections were eclectic and ambitious from latest pop hits, overseas show tunes, to operetta and contemporary ballet. A relatively large studio orchestra for television was under the direction of Jimmy Allan. The final episode of ''Sunnyside Up'' appeared on HSV-7 on 17 June 1966. A reunion of the cast of ''Sunnyside Up'' was planned for March 1973 as part of HSV-7's coverage of the opening of the annual Moomba Festival, but the segment was dropped at the last moment when the production was outsourced to

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfor ...

Notable Guests

Helen Reddy and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

also appeared on the show before gaining fame overseas.

Logie Awards

Host Bill Collins won a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

in 1959 in the ''Outstanding Performance'' category. The program, which was produced and written by Spargo, won a state award in 1962 for Most Popular Program in Victoria.

Theme

The theme song played under the opening titles and sung by the full cast in the finale was "(Keep Your) Sunny Side Up" by DeSylva, Brown and Henderson from the 1929 American musical film '' Sunny Side Up''. The predecessor program was ''Club Seven''. The successor was ''The Penthouse Club.''

Similar program in Adelaide

ADS-7 Adelaide had a similar program ''On The Sunnyside'' compered by Blair Schwartz, with Mary MacGregor, Mary McMahon, Lynn Seward, Mike Neil, Rick Paterson, Angela Stacey, Ian Boyce and the ADS7 Ballet. The ''"Over The Fence"'' comedy segment featured Peter Celier and Max Lawler. In 1962 ''On The Sunnyside'' became ''The Sunnyside Show''.TV Week Adelaide 1962, 15 Sep, pp.14-15

External links

IMDB
Pictures at the State Library of Victoria
Patti Brittain in costumeSyd Heylen & Bill CollinsSyd Heylen in costume''Honest'' John GilbertJacki ClancyClub 7
predecessor program

References

Seven Network original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) 1950s Australian television series 1960s Australian television series