Deadly Earnest
Encyclopedia
Horror host
Horror hosts are a particular type of television presenter, often tasked with presenting low-grade films to television audiences. This tradition is primarily American, though there have been a few international hosts over the years.-Film Packages:...
active on Australian television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
between 1961-1978. Originated as a live (pre-video machine) host of a horror film package for Perth's TVW-7 by 1961, the character was most active between 1966-1972 when adopted by the 0-10 Network. Broadcast weekly, Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies featured mainly b-grade horror movies introduced by local actors with a tongue-in-cheek characterization. The program was notorious for showing the absolute dross of supernaturally themed cinema, even going so far as to present the Worst Movie of the Year on at least one occasion.
History
While the character was originated by TVW-7 musical director Max Bostock, it is not known how long this version continued. Revived in Sydney by Ian Bannerman in 1966, the idea was evidently so successful that local variants soon turned up in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. Varying widely in appearance and personality, each version took a vaguely sardonic approach to the subject matter, frequently ridiculing whatever film he happened to be hosting. The show was popular with student audiences, who apparently tuned in more for the commentaries than for the actual movies (which according to at least one observer were little short of atrocious).
Character style
Ian Bannerman in particular was notable for his dry wit, withering ad-libs and black humour parodies of contemporary advertisements. Billed as a 'Dead-Pan Ghoul', Bannerman's Earnest resembled an undead 1960s 'mod' complete with sideburns and horn-rimmed glasses. In addition to Bannerman's solo appearances, Deadly Earnest was sometimes accompanied by two 'ghoulish assistants' during commercial breaks — possibly members of Bannerman's sideline band, The Grave Situation. Although the character's occupation was never specified, the show's opening sequence suggested he was some kind of 'zombified' undertaker (as suggested by his wheeling a casket across the rooftop of the then newly constructed Channel 10 Television Centre at North Ryde and through the studio's darkened corridors).Featured films
While the majority of films featured on Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies were stereotypical AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
'schlock
Schlock
Schlock is an English word of Yiddish origin meaning "something cheap, shoddy, or inferior "In the field of science, "schlock" refers to shoddy or unreliable results....
', a smattering of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Japanese productions were thrown in every so often for good measure. Genre was not restricted exclusively to horror, but included sci-fi, suspense, mystery and even the odd matinee serial dredged up from the 1940s. The chief unifying element was the consistently poor quality of the material - the term "Aweful Movie" could often be applied in more than one sense - which was, evidently, part of the show's appeal.
Actors portraying Deadly Earnest
- Ralph Baker (ATV-0 Melbourne)
- Ian Bannerman (TEN-10 Sydney)
- Max Bostock (TVW-7TVWTVW can mean:*TVW, a Seven Network owned station in Perth, Western Australia*TVW, a public affairs network in the state of Washington*"tvw", the false branding callsign of WISC-TV's digital subchannel and Madison, Wisconsin's MyNetworkTV affiliate...
Perth 1961) - Hedley Cullen (SAS-10 Adelaide 1967-1974, 1975, 1978; TVW-7TVWTVW can mean:*TVW, a Seven Network owned station in Perth, Western Australia*TVW, a public affairs network in the state of Washington*"tvw", the false branding callsign of WISC-TV's digital subchannel and Madison, Wisconsin's MyNetworkTV affiliate...
Perth 1975) - Shane Porteous (TVQ-0TVQTVQ is the Brisbane television station of Network Ten in Australia.TVQ may also refer to:* TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting, a television station in Fukuoka, Japan...
Brisbane)
Max Bostock was appointed CEO of TVW-7 in 1977, received an MBE in 1980 and became Executive Director of Network 10 before retiring in 1986. Little else is known of Bannerman, who is believed to be dead. Hedley Cullen died in 1994 and no footage was known to exist of him as Deadly Earnest until SAS-7 (formerly SAS-10) celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005 when three clips were discovered while researching a television special. One clip of Baker introducing a movie exists, and in mid-2010 footage of him in character was recovered from a current affairs show held by the National Film and Sound Archive. A Facebook group has been set up devoted to the hosts, and is associated with some new research.