Australia A to Z
Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1970-71

Genre: satirical sketch comedy
Duration: 14 x 30 min eps
Medium: videotape, B&W

Credits

Producer: Bill Munro
Writers: John O'Grady, Maurice Wiltshire

Cast:
Noel Ferrier (host)
with
Peter Adams
Jeff Ashby
Max Cullen
John Derum
Ted Hepple
Ric Hutton
Audine Leith
Don Pascoe
Shane Porteous
Graham Rouse

Notes

Hosted by Noel Ferrier, this revue-style series followed in the Mavis Bramston tradition and took a satirical look at aspects of Australian way of life in an A-Z format. It was the follow-up to the earlier GREATER ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE GLORIOUS ANTIPODES.

Writer John O'Grady is the son of John O'Grady Sr, who is better known by his nom de plume "Nino Culotta", under which he wrote several satirical novels including They're A Weird Mob, which was filmed by Michael Powell in 1966.

Co-writer Maurice Wiltshire was a leading comedy writer in the UK in the '50s and '60s. He has many film and TV credits but his best known work includes co-writing four episodes of THE GOON SHOW with Larry Stevens (in Series 8, when Spike Milligan was ill) and he was a contributing writer to the long-running DICK EMERY SHOW (1963-81).

Many of the cast went on to success in subsequent years. Ferrier was a regular and popular presence on film, stage and TV until his death in the 1990s. John Derum is best remembered for his role as Narrator Neville in the first series of The Aunty Jack Show. Max Cullen (brother of the late Cul Cullen) is one of Australia's most popular actors, with a long list of stage and screen credits; in recent years he has been a regular segment presenter on the Nine Network's "Sunday" program. The late Jeff Ashby went on to star in the shortlived OUR MAN IN CANBERRA, which eventually mutated into OUR MAN IN THE COMPANY. Don Pascoe has enjoyed a long career in film, stage and TV; likewise Shane Porteous, who began his acting career in Brisbane, where one of his first TV appearances was as Brisbane's version of horror movie host "Deadly Earnest", and he went on to star in many top-rating programs including BELLBIRD, CERTAIN WOMEN for the ABC and his best known role as Dr Elliott in A COUNTRY PRACTICE in the 1980s.

References/Links

Albert Moran
Moran’s Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS, 1993

Tony Harrison
The Australian Film and Television Companion, Simon & Schuster, 1994

Biography of Maurice Wiltshire
http://telegoons.org/Bios/Bio_MW.htm

Special thanks to Alastair Roxburgh

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