Australia's Amateur Hour

Australia's Amateur Hour was an important early Australian radio and television program in the form of a talent contest, which was broadcast from 1940 to 1958,[1] which also aired briefly on television from 1957 to 1958.

Australia's Amateur Hour
GenreTalent contest, variety entertainment
Presented byHarry Dearth, Dick Fair, Terry Dear (Dear hosted both the radio and television version)
Country of originAustralia
Production
Production locationHomebush West, New South Wales
Release
Original networkAmalgamated Wireless (Australasia) (radio version) Seven Network and Nine Network (television version)
Original release
  • Radio: 1940 (1940) - 1958 (1958)
  • Television: August 1957 (1957-08) - present

The radio version was originally compered by radio producer Harry Dearth,[2] then by Dick Fair, and finally by Terry Dear (1913-1995). It was a popular, long-running program on which many performers appeared.

The television version was compered by Terry Dear, and ran from August 1957[3] to February 1958. It aired on TCN-9 in Sydney and HSV-7 in Melbourne. The success of the radio version didn't translate onto television, with the television version closing after only seven months, and the radio version shortly after.

Episode status

Some episodes of the radio version are held by the National Film and Sound Archive. Although the television version was kinescoped so it could be shown in both Sydney and Melbourne, it is not known if any such recordings still exist today.

See also

References
  1. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DIVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T7MDAAAAIBAJ&dq=amateur-hour%2018-years&pg=6777%2C1032840
  2. Dearth, Henry Alan (Harry) (1908-1964). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. "Television Parade". Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 7 August 1957. p. 10.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.