''The Tarax Show'' was an early Australian children's TV 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 Melbourne running from 1957 to 1969.

Synopsis

Denzil Howson who was then Assistant Program Manager at GTV9, was asked by Norman Spencer to develop a daily children's program. A pilot of the show was kinescope recorded onto film. The program started on Melbourne's

on 21 January 1957 (only two days after the official opening of GTV9), debuting from the Myer Emporium Lonsdale St store window, as the GTV9 studios in Bendigo Street, Richmond were still under construction. Normally the program was produced from GTV-9, but some editions were taped at

ATN-7 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, ...

in Sydney to help build the audience there. Beginning under the name ''The Happy Show'', the first host was

Happy Hammond Harry Montague Hammond (7 May 1916 – 1 April 1998), professionally known as Happy Hammond, was an Australian comedian, radio host and children's television show host, and television producer. Biography and broadcasting career Happy Hammond wa ...

, who had come to television from radio. The program was sponsored by Tarax Drinks from April 1957, with the name changing to ''The Tarax Happy Show''. After Happy Hammond departed, the program was simply ''The Tarax Show'', hosted by Geoff Corke (''King Corky, King of the Kids'') and later by Norman Swain (known as ''Uncle Norman'' on the Tarax Show) ... he too had come from radio (known as "Billy Bouncer on 3KZ's 'Children's Hour' show each morning before school). Melbourne

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

Ron Blaskett and his mischievous doll, Gerry Gee, named for GTV-9, were featured for several years. Gerry was very popular, spawning a variety of merchandise, including a range of ''"Gerry Gee Junior"'' dolls. Ron Blaskett's ventriloquist act was the first variety act to appear on the channel. He also starred in spin-off programs ''The Adventures of Gerry Gee'' and ''Do You Trust Your Wife''. In 2009, a retrospective DVD was released ''"You, Me and Gerry Gee"'', following on from the book of the same name. The most popular segment in the early years of the show was ''Girl Next Door'', where Gerry would talk over the fence to a girl from his class, originally

Elaine McKenna Elaine McKenna Evans (, 24 March 19376 January 1992), was an Australian singer and actress. She is known for her television appearances from the late 1950s to the 1960s, particularly on GTV-9's ''Tarax Show'' and ''In Melbourne Tonight''. For h ...

, later Patti McGrath (

Patti Newton Patricia Anne Newton (née McGrath; born 4 February 1945) is an Australian singer, actress, dancer, stage performer and radio and television presenter. Life and career Prior to her marriage, Newton worked under her birth name, Patti McGrath, w ...

). Other segments included ''Banjo Club, Pura Prize Time, Speaking of Animals, TV Stars of Tomorrow, TV Gym,'' Stan Stafford's ''Bunkhouse, Friends in Blue, How It Works, Dog Shop'' and ''Tiny's Story''. Musical accompaniments were provided by Margot Sheridan (piano) and Laurie Wilson (organ).

Cast

Over time, the show's cast included Susan-Gaye Anderson, Bernard The Magician (Alf Gertler), ''Joffa Boy'' (

Joff Ellen Joff Ellen (born Raymond Charles Ellen; 20 May 191524 December 1999), was an Australian entertainer, actor and comedian. Career During World War II he performed vaudeville acts to the troops and after the war did comedy shows on Melbourne rad ...

), ''Professor Nitwitty'' (Denzil Howson), ''Professor Ratbaggy'' (

Ernie Carroll Ernest Carroll (26 May 1929 – 30 March 2022) was an Australian puppeteer, entertainer, radio and television personality, comic writer, television producer and comic strip writer, most recognised for his role as the sidekick opposite Daryl Som ...

), Gael Dixon, ''Prince Philip'' ( Philip Brady), ''Daisy the Cow'' and ''Freddo Frog''. Ron Barassi gave instruction on Australian Rules Football. Ossie Ostrich (Ernie Carroll) went on to star in '' Hey Hey It's Saturday'', appearing with

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 '' ...

for 24 years on TV. Ernie Carroll also drew the cartoon character ''Joy-belle'' and worked as producer. ''Uncle Norman'' joined the show after a long radio career at

3KZ Gold 104.3 (call sign: 3KKZ) is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Gold 104.3 is part of the Pure Gold Network (which itself is a part of the Australian Radio Network) and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency. History 3K ...

. His very first appearance on the TV show involved arriving down a slide, but he broke his leg in the process; ''Joffa'' improvised a little ditty about ''Uncle Norman'' breaking his leg, but when it became clear that it was not a joke, he was rushed to hospital. It was two months before he was well enough to appear again. ''The TV Dentist'' caused some consternation with management, by suggesting that it did not matter which brand of toothpaste was used, and saying soft drink will rot your teeth - the program was sponsored by a soft drink company, and included ads for toothpaste. '' Freddo Frog'' appeared both as a cartoon and a costume character at different times. The animated version was one of the first Australian produced cartoon series on TV. Young performers who later went on to become stars include

Denise Drysdale Denise Anne Christina Drysdale (born 5 December 1948) is an Australian television presenter, variety entertainer, actress, singer, dancer and comedian. She is often affectionately known as ''Ding Dong'', a nickname invented by fellow performer ...

Roma Egan Roma Jean Egan (born 1948) was a child actress on Australian television, and an Australian ballet dancer and teacher. She was notably a senior soloist for The Australian Ballet, and variously performed for the Queensland Ballet, Basel Ballet, ...

Wendy Stapleton Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/ rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronte ...

and

Marty Rhone Marty Rhone (born Karel Lawrence van Rhoon, 7 May 1948, Soerabaja, Dutch East Indies) is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, actor and talent manager. In July 1975 his single, " Denim and Lace", peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Mu ...

. Due to budget cuts, the show was replaced by ''Uncle Norman'' and ''Joffa Boy'' hosting cartoons with the occasional brief comedy sketch. After the duo left GTV-9, that format was used for the successor program ''Cartoon Corner''.

References

Bibliography

External links

*{{imdb title, 0288400, The Tarax Show
Gael Dixon photo
at the State Library of Victoria
Denzil Howson Archive

National Film & Sound Archive

''Tarax Show''''Happy Show''Joff EllenGerry Gee
Australian variety television shows Australian children's television series Nine Network original programming Australian television shows featuring puppetry Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) Black-and-white Australian television shows 1957 Australian television series debuts 1969 Australian television series endings