Bruce Mansfield (24 April 1944 – 17 April 2016) was an Australian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

/ radio personality and narrator.

Early career

Mansfield began in radio at age 16, when he won a junior announcer's competition at the

3UZ RSN Racing & Sport (ACMA callsign: 3UZ) is an Australian radio station in Australia. Owned and operated by thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing bodies of Victoria, it broadcasts a sports radio format to Melbourne, and to much of Victori ...

radio station in 1960. The prize was 100 pounds ($200) and a week on-air. He then joined

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 ...

in 1962 as a panel operator and late night announcer.Bruce Mansfield: Profile
. 3aw.com. Retrieved 23 April 2013 In 1964 he joined 3XY presenting the mid-morning program. In 1968, he moved to television and appeared on

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

's ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's main host and ...

'' on the Nine Network's Melbourne station,

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 ...

. He was also known for his portrayal of the Chinese Superman on Channel 9's ''Cartoon Corner''.

Newsreading

Mansfield's television career then took a different direction in 1974 when he joined the Ten Network Melbourne ATV-0 as chief newsreader on ''Eyewitness News''. In 1979, Mansfield and his news reading partner Annette Allison were reassigned to other roles at the station. Mansfield went on to become a voice-over announcer at ATV and also a participant on game shows such as ''Personality Squares''. He was also the announcer for Channel Ten's long-running dating show '' Perfect Match Australia''.

Return to radio

Breakfast show

Mansfield co-hosted (with

John Blackman John Blackman (born 14 July 1947) is an Australian radio and television presenter, voice-artist and comedy writer and author. He is most widely known for his voice-over work for the long-running Nine Network comedy variety show '' Hey Hey It' ...

) the breakfast program on 3AW as the

alter-ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

"Uncle Roy". The pair dominated Melbourne breakfast radio for several years before Blackman departed to rival station

3AK 3AK is the call sign of SEN 1116, an earlier the on-air name of a former Melbourne talk-back radio and music station, which, in 2003, leased its licence to sports network SEN 1116. A number of unusual events and precedents throughout the stati ...

in 1986. Mansfield continued in the role at 3AW with Darren James until the station changed from "Personality Radio" to "Thinking Person's Radio" and the pair were dropped. Both Mansfield and James were picked up by 3AK in 1989. The program lasted until the middle of 1990 when 3AK was taken over by new management. He then became presenter of the drive-time program on community radio station 3INR-FM, broadcasting from the

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 ...

suburb of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

''Remember When'' and ''Nightline''

In 1990, Mansfield joined another TV veteran, Philip Brady, to present the Sunday night nostalgia program ''Remember When'' on 3AW. Six months later they also took over the ''Nightline'' program on a caretaker basis, but went on to stay as the program's full-time presenters; a role they continued until Mansfield's death. Later in the 1990s, Mansfield made a return to television introducing late night movies and also hosting an infomercial program, ''Mansfield's Melbourne'', on Channel 31 in Melbourne. In 1999, Mansfield was sacked from 3AW over allegations that he gave on-air interviews in exchange for free goods and services, in a later development in the cash-for-comment investigations conducted by the then

Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Trib ...

. He went on to present an afternoon program, ''Mansfield's Melbourne'', on

in 2000, before returning to his former role as ''Nightline'' and ''Remember When'' co-host on 3AW in 2001.

Bert Newton and Rove

Mansfield featured as a contributor on

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 ...

's '' Good Morning Australia'', presenting a segment called "Collectables", a nostalgia-related segment. In 2004, Mansfield did the

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

s for a segment on ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, bef ...

'' called "Who's in the Swivel Chair?"

Awards

In 2003, Mansfield, with on-air partner, Philip Brady, won the Australian Commercial Radio Award for Best Networked Program (''Nightline'').

Community work

Mansfield was an Australia Day ambassador in Victoria. On Australia Day, ambassadors go to various Victorian communities to spread the message of national pride, participate in local activities and give a short speech on what being Australian means to them. In March 2013, Mansfield agreed to become an ambassador for the Northern Health Foundation, with a focus on the foundation's bequest program. Northern Health is one of Victoria's busiest public health services.

Death

On 17 April 2016, 3AW announced that Mansfield had died that morning from prostate cancer. He was one week away from turning 72.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, Bruce 1944 births 2016 deaths Radio personalities from Melbourne 3AW presenters Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia)