Norman Gunston
Encyclopedia
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.
in 1973. Cast member Garry McDonald portrayed Gunston as a dull and talentless local TV reporter from the industrial city of Wollongong - a locale that was the butt of many jokes throughout the series. The Gunston character made enough of an impression for him to be revived in a subsequent comedy mini-series made by the Aunty Jack team, Wollongong the Brave
(1974), in which he starred in a satirical mock documentary Norman Gunston: The Golden Weeks. His segments as Norman in What's On In Wollongong became one of the most popular parts of the Aunty Jack Show, and Norman appeared on the Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong
album along with McDonald's other character, Kid Eager.
television on 18 May 1975. Dubbed "the little Aussie bleeder", (a play on the term "Aussie battler
"), he satirised parochial Australian culture, media "personalities", and egocentric talk show
hosts.
After a faltering start, the Norman Gunston show rapidly gained a huge national audience and the series became the pre-eminent Australian TV comedy program of its day, with McDonald winning a Gold Logie
scoring several pop hits. He is, notably, the only Logie recipient who has received the award in the name of his character, rather than in his own name.
According to McDonald, the Gunston character and his show were initially devised as a parody of an (unintentionally bad) late-night Sydney TV variety show of the early 1970s hosted by expatriate American club entertainer Tommy Leonetti
.
hit "Delilah
", his hilarious version of "Send in the Clowns
" and his heroic interpretation of the Liza Minnelli's
theme-song "Liza with a Z
", which Norman introduced by guilelessly expressing surprise at the fact that no-one except "Miss Lisa Minnulli" had ever attempted the song. McDonald is in real life an accomplished blues harmonica player (he jammed with Frank Zappa
in an interview recording during Zappa's second Australian tour) and many of Norman's musical performances were regularly punctuated by poorly executed and inappropriate harmonica
playing, such as in his rendition of the Billy Joel
signature tune "Piano Man
".
Norman's distinctive interview "shtick" included several recurring features. He habitually presented himself as ill-prepared and under-researched, seeming largely ignorant of and/or uninterested in his guests' achievements, although he was always quick to exploit any chance that their celebrity status might enable him to achieve one of his ambitions, such as being chosen to star in a cigarette ad (which he eventually achieved with 'Dukes' Cigarettes), or winning a Gold Logie.
Norman would further undercut his guests's star status by linking any aspect of their lives and careers to the most mundane features of his own life; he also habitually employed malapropism
s and made a particular feature of mis-pronouncing stars' names, or apparently mistaking them for someone else. In his debut show he repeatedly referred to wealthy Sydney socialite Lady Mary Fairfax as "Mrs Lady Fairfax" and in a later show he introduced progressive union leader Jack Mundey
as "Mister Jack Mondaay" -- a satirical inversion of the Australian habit of pronouncing the morphograph '-day' as '-dee' in the days of the week (e.g. "Sat'dee" for "Saturday").
As the series developed McDonald and his team introduced additional live and pre-taped segments including:
Stage settings were defiantly downmarket and rooted in Australian suburbia and kitsch SL club stylings — after being introduced, bemused guests were offered their choice of dubious delicacies (such as pineapple doughnuts or the infamous Chiko Roll
) from Norman's hot food bar, before being invited to sit on his vinyl-clad "night-and-day" (a venerable Australian term for sofa bed). Perhaps the most memorable example of this was his interview of Edward Woodward and Michele Dotrice, during which he performed his version of Othello
'for the rugby leagues clubs', which involved him squirting tomato sauce over a ventriloquists's dummy, reducing Woodward to helpless laughter.
Gunston's personal appearance satirised club performers and TV interviewers of the time — for the studio segments he wore an ill-fitting blue lurex tuxedo jacket (wrongly buttoned) and the fly on his (too short) trousers was habitually left undone, with the shirt-tail poking out through the zip. Gunston also adopted a deliberately bad comb over
hairstyle to partially cover his balding head. One of his visual trademarks was the small pieces of tissue paper applied to his pasty white face to cover supposed shaving cuts. This comic device
led to his memorable exchange with visiting American actress Sally Struthers
-- noting Norman's apparent shaving cuts, she kindly suggested that perhaps Gunston should use an electric razor; the nonplussed Norman replied "Uh, I do", at which point Struthers collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Gunston performed subversive TV interviews with many major celebrities -- during a Wings
press conference he quipped to Linda McCartney
: 'That's funny, you don't look Japanese.' (referencing Yoko Ono
),; other famous victims included Mick Jagger
, Warren Beatty
, Charlton Heston
, and Muhammad Ali
. Perhaps Norman's most well known interview was with Keith Moon
at Charlton stadium in 1976. Moon famously ended his brief encounter with Norman by tipping Vodka over his head and yelling "Piss off, you Australian faggot" (it's debatable who ended up looking sillier).
McDonald was one of the pioneers of the satirical "ambush" interview technique, which was founded on his considerable improvisational acting skills and precise comic timing. The "Gunston Method" relied on the fact that, especially in the early days of the series, the Norman persona was still relatively unknown in in his home country, and completely unknown outside Australia. Thus, he was successfully able to hide behind the guise of a fully rounded and highly plausible character who appears to be stupid in order to throw his otherwise media-savvy quarry off their guard. This caused various results, from hilarity (Sally Struthers
and Cheech and Chong
), to clever play-alongs like Muhammad Ali ("I'm punchy - what's your excuse?") to bewilderment (Warren Beatty
), to complete outrage (Rudolf Nureyev
, Michael Cole
).
The Gunston technique has since been employed by many comedians. In both style and appearance, Paul Kaye
's character Dennis Pennis was strongly reminiscent of Gunston. It later had a very successful revival thanks to the British satirist Sacha Baron Cohen
through his characters Ali G
, Borat
and Brüno
. Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short
also employed a similar technique with his best-known character, the fawning, morbidly obese celebrity interviewer Jiminy Glick
; another notable resemblance between Glick and Norman is the Glick show's "fairytale" segment "Lalawood Fables", which is very similar to the "Norman's Dreamtime" segments of the Gunston show, in which the host reads a satirical mock-fable (intercut with pre-produced vision) to a group of assembled children. The Australian satirical comedy team The Chaser
have also frequently used the Gunston Method to ambush unwitting targets—examples include the Julian Morrow
character the "Citizens' Infringment Officer", and the team's now-legendary stunt in which they managed to penetrate a tight security cordon around the APEC Forum, despite the fact that Chas Licciardello
was masquerading as Osama Bin Laden
.
Through sheer good luck, Gunston was immortalised in Australian political history when, on the morning of 11 November 1975, McDonald and his film crew - who happened to be in Canberra
at the time - found out that the Labor
government led by Gough Whitlam
had just been dismissed by the Governor-General
Sir John Kerr. On hearing the news, McDonald and his crew raced to Parliament House
, where they were able to film McDonald (as Gunston) briefly addressing the assembled crowd, only moments before Whitlam and the Governor-General's Official Secretary David Smith
appeared for the reading of the now-famous proclamation announcing Whitlam's dismissal.
In 1976, the ABC aired a third season of The Norman Gunston Show. By this stage, increased production budgets afforded Gunston more opportunities for overseas interviews, including Malcolm Muggeridge
, Michael Caine
, John Sturges
, Glenda Jackson
, John Stonehouse
, and Rudolph Nureyev. One memorable encounter with Frank Zappa
ended with Zappa and Norman duetting respectively on guitar and harmonica in a spontaneous blues jam (McDonald is in fact a proficient harmonica player). As the jam concluded, McDonald threw in a witty musical quote from the well-known ABC news theme, an action which also gave a clever nod to Zappa's well-known proclivity for inserting musical quotes such as TV themes into his work.
In November 1976, a specially prepared 45 minute UK Gunston TV special was screened on BBC2 TV. Some of Gunston's guests on the show included Diana Dors
and Tony Greig
.
After the third and final ABC TV season finished in late 1976, Gunston was popular enough to approach commercial TV networks. In particular, the Seven Network
showed interest in producing another Norman Gunston series. Because of McDonald's other commitments, the series did not commence production until early 1978.
Between July–September 1977, Norman Gunston was included in the 8-episode ABC TV series, The Garry McDonald Show. Other characters were also played by McDonald, including Harry Butler
(Harry Butler in the wild), and Mo McCackie
.
aired another Norman Gunston series, which continued over an 18-month period till 1979. Ten 60 minute episodes were produced by John Eastway and ATN7. Highlights of this series were also screened on UK
Channel 4
TV from November to December 1982.
In February and March 1981, Channel 7 aired a program called Gunston's Australia, which intended to show the Gunston character approaching the end of his shelf life. In a satirical reference to personalities like former ABC current affairs host Bill Peach, the series parodied the perennial Australian TV practice of hiring celebrities to host magazine-style programs after leaving the show that had brought them to fame. Wearing a safari jacket and shorts, Gunston travelled around outback Australia
, interfering and adventuring in high and low places in his usual cack-handed manner. This series was later screened from February to March 1983 on UK Channel 4 TV.
In 1985, a 2-hour video was released titled, The Gunston Tapes. This was a compilation of interviews and comic sketches from the first, second and third 1975-1976 ABC TV series. McDonald also temporarily revived the Gunston character for the purpose of narrating the video.
In February and March 1993, McDonald briefly revived the Gunston character for the Channel 7 network. However, by the time the series premiered McDonald was suffering from severe depression, and his much-publicised nervous breakdown and abrupt departure saw the series prematurely terminated. A 3-set DVD compilation of the 1993 series was subsequently released in 2003.
During the late 1990s, Foxtel
's The Comedy Channel
repeated all but the premiere episode from the 1975-76 ABC series. (A previously unaired pilot was screened in place of episode one, which is presumed lost.) This marked the first time the series had been aired since the late 1970s. The same episodes have been screened again, albeit in random order, from 2008 as part of the channel's Aussie Gold
block hosted by Frank Woodley
.
(I might be a Punk but I love ya baby), Sherbet
(Howzat), ABBA
(Salute to ABBA), KISS
(KISS Army), Boz Scaggs
(Nylon Degrees), Billy Ray Cyrus
(Achy Breaky Heart), and Peter Allen
(I Go to Rio) (Allen was present when Gunston parodied him on ABC's pop show Countdown, and didn't seem amused, although he would have been aware of the character having previously appeared on Gunston's ABC show as a guest.)
In 1976, Gunston released an album titled The Popular Ballad Animal, which covered both contemporary and classic era compositions, several of which Norman had performed on his show, including his theme song, "I Who Have Nothing". In particular, notable tracks include Gunston's bizarre but inspired interpretations of Liza Minnelli
's "Liza With a Z", David Gates
' "If", Tom Jones
' "Delilah", Stephen Sondheim
's "Send in the Clowns", "Jailhouse Rock", "Piano Man", "Vesti La Giubba", "A little love and understanding", "Daddy what if?", and the Judy Garland
classic "Over the Rainbow".
In 1978, Gunston released another covers album Nylon Degrees (sending up Boz Scaggs
' Silk Degrees in both title and cover art). His next album, 1984's Join The Dots, included out-takes and previously unreleased rare recordings, title and cover art parodying Culture Club
's Colour By Numbers.
Gunston appeared as a guest harmonica player at Frank Zappa's concert at the Hordern Pavilion
in Sydney, Australia on 20 January 1976 which was later released as FZ:OZ
(2002).
Series 1 episode 2 (May 1975)
Series 1 episode 3 (June 1975)
Series 1 episode 4 (June 1975)
Series 1 episode 5 (June 1975)
Series 1 episode 6 (June 1975)
Series 1 episode 7 (July 1975)
Series 1 episode 8 (July 1975)
Series 1 episode 9 (July 1975)
: Abigail
, Vivienne Garrett
, Candy Raymond
, Philippa Baker, Judy Lynn
, Anne Louise Lambert.
Series 2 episode 1 (September 1975)
Series 2 episode 2 (September 1975)
Series 2 episode 3 (September 1975)
Series 2 episode 4 (September 1975)
Series 2 episode 5 (October 1975)
Series 2 episode 6 (October 1975)
Series 2 episode 7 (December 1975)
Series 2 episode 8 (January 1976)
Series 3 episode 2
Series 3 episode 3
Series 3 episode 4
Series 3 episode 5
Series 3 episode 6
Series 3 episode 7
Series 3 episode 8
Series 1 episode 2 (1978)
Series 1 episode 3 (1978)
Series 1 episode 4 (11 October 1978)
Series 1 episode 5 (1978)
Series 2 episode 1 (1979)
Series 2 episode 2 (1979)
Series 2 episode 3 (29 August 1979)
Series 2 episode 4 (1979)
Series 2 episode 5 Xmas special (December 1979)
Series 1 episode 2 (1981)
Series 1 episode 3 (1981)
Series 1 episode 4 (1981)
Series 1 episode 5 (1981)
Series 1 episode 6 (1981)
Series 1 episode 7 (1981)
Series 1 episode 8 (1981)
episode 1
episode 2
episode 3
episode 4 (hosted by Mary Coustas
as Effie
)
episode 5 (hosted by Maryanne Fahey as Kylie Mole)
episode 6 (Top Gunston part 1)
episode 7 (Top Gunston part 2)
Early years
The Gunston character was originally conceived by comedy writer Wendy Skelcher and first appeared as a minor character in the second series of the cult Australian TV comedy series The Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack Show
The Aunty Jack Show was a Logie Award–winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
in 1973. Cast member Garry McDonald portrayed Gunston as a dull and talentless local TV reporter from the industrial city of Wollongong - a locale that was the butt of many jokes throughout the series. The Gunston character made enough of an impression for him to be revived in a subsequent comedy mini-series made by the Aunty Jack team, Wollongong the Brave
Wollongong the Brave
Aunty Jack's Wollongong the Brave is a collection of four comedy specials derived from the Australian television series, The Aunty Jack Show. The fourth and final episode was the precursor to The Norman Gunston Show. The episodes were filmed in 1974 and were aired during 1975...
(1974), in which he starred in a satirical mock documentary Norman Gunston: The Golden Weeks. His segments as Norman in What's On In Wollongong became one of the most popular parts of the Aunty Jack Show, and Norman appeared on the Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong
Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong
Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong is an album released in 1974, as a spin-off from the cult ABC Television show Aunty Jack. It contains a mixture of songs, and sketches, and along with the single Farewell Aunty Jack is the only audio release from the Aunty Jack crew.-Track listing:The album follows the...
album along with McDonald's other character, Kid Eager.
National Fame
In his later and most famous incarnation, Gunston had evolved to become the unlikely host of his own national TV variety show, The Norman Gunston Show, which premiered with a live broadcast on ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
television on 18 May 1975. Dubbed "the little Aussie bleeder", (a play on the term "Aussie battler
Aussie battler
The term Aussie Battler is an Australian colloquialism referring to "ordinary" or working class individuals who persevere through their commitments despite adversity. Typically, this adversity comprises the challenges of low pay, family commitments, environmental hardships and lack of personal...
"), he satirised parochial Australian culture, media "personalities", and egocentric talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
hosts.
After a faltering start, the Norman Gunston show rapidly gained a huge national audience and the series became the pre-eminent Australian TV comedy program of its day, with McDonald winning a Gold Logie
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
scoring several pop hits. He is, notably, the only Logie recipient who has received the award in the name of his character, rather than in his own name.
According to McDonald, the Gunston character and his show were initially devised as a parody of an (unintentionally bad) late-night Sydney TV variety show of the early 1970s hosted by expatriate American club entertainer Tommy Leonetti
Tommy Leonetti
Tommy Leonetti was an American pop singer-songwriter and actor of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Australia his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" and was used by the Australian TV channel ATN7 in Sydney for station identification into the 1980s...
.
Format
The Gunston show was a subversive parody of the established variety "Tonight Show" format, centering on a weekly roster of celebrity guests who were 'interviewed' by Norman. Genuine musical performances by guest stars were countered by Norman's own unique interpretations of popular songs - he specialised in portraying his lyrics through mime and sign language and frequently punctuated the song with 'dramatic' interjections. Among his memorable performances were his histrionic rendition of the Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
hit "Delilah
Delilah (1968 song)
"Delilah" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in 1968. It was written by Barry Mason, with music by Les Reed.-Success:It reached No 1 in the charts of several countries including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth best selling...
", his hilarious version of "Send in the Clowns
Send in the Clowns
"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she...
" and his heroic interpretation of the Liza Minnelli's
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
theme-song "Liza with a Z
Liza with a Z
Liza with a ‘Z’. A Concert for Television is a 1972 concert film, made for television and starring Liza Minnelli. The film was produced by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. As well as producing, Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing...
", which Norman introduced by guilelessly expressing surprise at the fact that no-one except "Miss Lisa Minnulli" had ever attempted the song. McDonald is in real life an accomplished blues harmonica player (he jammed with Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
in an interview recording during Zappa's second Australian tour) and many of Norman's musical performances were regularly punctuated by poorly executed and inappropriate harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
playing, such as in his rendition of the Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
signature tune "Piano Man
Piano Man (song)
"Piano Man" was Billy Joel's first major hit and his signature song. "Piano Man" was released as a single in November 1st, 1973 and has been on several albums...
".
Norman's distinctive interview "shtick" included several recurring features. He habitually presented himself as ill-prepared and under-researched, seeming largely ignorant of and/or uninterested in his guests' achievements, although he was always quick to exploit any chance that their celebrity status might enable him to achieve one of his ambitions, such as being chosen to star in a cigarette ad (which he eventually achieved with 'Dukes' Cigarettes), or winning a Gold Logie.
Norman would further undercut his guests's star status by linking any aspect of their lives and careers to the most mundane features of his own life; he also habitually employed malapropism
Malapropism
A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
s and made a particular feature of mis-pronouncing stars' names, or apparently mistaking them for someone else. In his debut show he repeatedly referred to wealthy Sydney socialite Lady Mary Fairfax as "Mrs Lady Fairfax" and in a later show he introduced progressive union leader Jack Mundey
Jack Mundey
Jack Mundey is a distinguished Australian union and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wales Builders' Labourers Federation in the famous Green Bans, whereby the BLF led a successful campaign to protect the built and natural environment of...
as "Mister Jack Mondaay" -- a satirical inversion of the Australian habit of pronouncing the morphograph '-day' as '-dee' in the days of the week (e.g. "Sat'dee" for "Saturday").
As the series developed McDonald and his team introduced additional live and pre-taped segments including:
- "Norman's Dreamtime" -- a mock-fairytale segment in which Gunston regaled a group of increasingly bored children with readings from a book of iconic Australian fables, with titles such as "Why Underpants Ride Up"
- "Consumer Straight Talk" -- helpful tips on alternative uses for everyday household items, which later evolved into the even more grandiose-sounding "Spaceship Southern Hemisphere"
- a weekly review of the show's ratings over previous weeks, with suggestions on how viewers and the studio audience might help them skyrocket; later in Series 1 this focused on Norman's increasingly desperate campaign to win the coveted Gold Logie -- which is, ironically, exactly what transpired at the 1976 Logies.
- in Series 2 Gunston presented (but did not appear in) a 3-minute satirical 'micro-soap' called Checkout Chicks, which parodied current Australian TV soap operas and starred actresses well known for their appearances in such programs, including Number 96 stars AbigailAbigailAbigail was the wife of Nabal; she became a wife of David after Nabal's death .In the passage, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, and Abigail attempts to placate David in order to stop him taking revenge...
and Philippa Baker, Class of 74Class of 74Class of '74 was a secondary school-based, daily soap opera produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and screened on the Seven Network in Australia starting March 1974. The main characters were a mix of teachers and other school personnel, and students. The series was aimed at a teenage audience...
star Anne Louise Lambert, who went on to star in Picnic at Hanging Rock (in which McDonald also appeared in a 'straight' role).
Stage settings were defiantly downmarket and rooted in Australian suburbia and kitsch SL club stylings — after being introduced, bemused guests were offered their choice of dubious delicacies (such as pineapple doughnuts or the infamous Chiko Roll
Chiko Roll
The Chiko Roll is an Australian savoury snack, inspired by the Chinese egg roll and spring rolls. It was designed to be easily eaten on the move without a plate or cutlery. The Chiko roll consists of beef, celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, onion, green beans, and spices in a tube of egg, flour and...
) from Norman's hot food bar, before being invited to sit on his vinyl-clad "night-and-day" (a venerable Australian term for sofa bed). Perhaps the most memorable example of this was his interview of Edward Woodward and Michele Dotrice, during which he performed his version of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
'for the rugby leagues clubs', which involved him squirting tomato sauce over a ventriloquists's dummy, reducing Woodward to helpless laughter.
Gunston's personal appearance satirised club performers and TV interviewers of the time — for the studio segments he wore an ill-fitting blue lurex tuxedo jacket (wrongly buttoned) and the fly on his (too short) trousers was habitually left undone, with the shirt-tail poking out through the zip. Gunston also adopted a deliberately bad comb over
Comb over
A comb over or combover is a hairstyle worn by bald or balding men in which the hair on one side of the head is grown long and then combed over the bald area to minimize the display of baldness. A variation of the comb over where baldness is concealed by long hair combed in three separate...
hairstyle to partially cover his balding head. One of his visual trademarks was the small pieces of tissue paper applied to his pasty white face to cover supposed shaving cuts. This comic device
Comedic device
A comedic device is used in comedy to write humor in a common structure. They can become so common that they are difficult for writers to use without being perceived as cheesy.-Double entendre:...
led to his memorable exchange with visiting American actress Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
-- noting Norman's apparent shaving cuts, she kindly suggested that perhaps Gunston should use an electric razor; the nonplussed Norman replied "Uh, I do", at which point Struthers collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Gunston performed subversive TV interviews with many major celebrities -- during a Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
press conference he quipped to Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
: 'That's funny, you don't look Japanese.' (referencing Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
),; other famous victims included Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. Perhaps Norman's most well known interview was with Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
at Charlton stadium in 1976. Moon famously ended his brief encounter with Norman by tipping Vodka over his head and yelling "Piss off, you Australian faggot" (it's debatable who ended up looking sillier).
McDonald was one of the pioneers of the satirical "ambush" interview technique, which was founded on his considerable improvisational acting skills and precise comic timing. The "Gunston Method" relied on the fact that, especially in the early days of the series, the Norman persona was still relatively unknown in in his home country, and completely unknown outside Australia. Thus, he was successfully able to hide behind the guise of a fully rounded and highly plausible character who appears to be stupid in order to throw his otherwise media-savvy quarry off their guard. This caused various results, from hilarity (Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
and Cheech and Chong
Cheech and Chong
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
), to clever play-alongs like Muhammad Ali ("I'm punchy - what's your excuse?") to bewilderment (Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
), to complete outrage (Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, Michael Cole
Michael Cole
Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
).
The Gunston technique has since been employed by many comedians. In both style and appearance, Paul Kaye
Paul Kaye
Paul Kaye is an English comedian and actor. He achieved notoriety in 1995 portraying the character of Dennis Pennis, a shock interviewer on The Sunday Show...
's character Dennis Pennis was strongly reminiscent of Gunston. It later had a very successful revival thanks to the British satirist Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
through his characters Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
, Borat
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
and Brüno
Bruno
Bruno is a male given name. It is derived from the Germanic word brun meaning "brown". It is also one of the most frequent Italian surnames. It also occurs very frequently in continental Europe and parts of Brazil as a given name for men and boys...
. Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
also employed a similar technique with his best-known character, the fawning, morbidly obese celebrity interviewer Jiminy Glick
Jiminy Glick
Jiminy Glick is a fictional character portrayed not entirely by Martin Short in the TV series Primetime Glick , the subsequent film Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, and Short's Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me...
; another notable resemblance between Glick and Norman is the Glick show's "fairytale" segment "Lalawood Fables", which is very similar to the "Norman's Dreamtime" segments of the Gunston show, in which the host reads a satirical mock-fable (intercut with pre-produced vision) to a group of assembled children. The Australian satirical comedy team The Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
have also frequently used the Gunston Method to ambush unwitting targets—examples include the Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
character the "Citizens' Infringment Officer", and the team's now-legendary stunt in which they managed to penetrate a tight security cordon around the APEC Forum, despite the fact that Chas Licciardello
Chas Licciardello
Chas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
was masquerading as Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
Through sheer good luck, Gunston was immortalised in Australian political history when, on the morning of 11 November 1975, McDonald and his film crew - who happened to be in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
at the time - found out that the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government led by Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
had just been dismissed by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
Sir John Kerr. On hearing the news, McDonald and his crew raced to Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
, where they were able to film McDonald (as Gunston) briefly addressing the assembled crowd, only moments before Whitlam and the Governor-General's Official Secretary David Smith
David Smith (Australian public servant)
Sir David Iser Smith, KCVO, AO, is a retired Australian public servant. He was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia between 1973 and 1990, serving Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen and Bill Hayden.-Biography:David Smith was born in 1933,...
appeared for the reading of the now-famous proclamation announcing Whitlam's dismissal.
In 1976, the ABC aired a third season of The Norman Gunston Show. By this stage, increased production budgets afforded Gunston more opportunities for overseas interviews, including Malcolm Muggeridge
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
, Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, John Sturges
John Sturges
John Eliot Sturges was an American film director. His movies include Bad Day at Black Rock , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , The Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra .-Career:He started his career in Hollywood as an editor in 1932...
, Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
, John Stonehouse
John Stonehouse
John Thomson Stonehouse was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is perhaps best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974...
, and Rudolph Nureyev. One memorable encounter with Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
ended with Zappa and Norman duetting respectively on guitar and harmonica in a spontaneous blues jam (McDonald is in fact a proficient harmonica player). As the jam concluded, McDonald threw in a witty musical quote from the well-known ABC news theme, an action which also gave a clever nod to Zappa's well-known proclivity for inserting musical quotes such as TV themes into his work.
In November 1976, a specially prepared 45 minute UK Gunston TV special was screened on BBC2 TV. Some of Gunston's guests on the show included Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
and Tony Greig
Tony Greig
Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
.
After the third and final ABC TV season finished in late 1976, Gunston was popular enough to approach commercial TV networks. In particular, the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
showed interest in producing another Norman Gunston series. Because of McDonald's other commitments, the series did not commence production until early 1978.
Between July–September 1977, Norman Gunston was included in the 8-episode ABC TV series, The Garry McDonald Show. Other characters were also played by McDonald, including Harry Butler
Harry Butler
William Henry "Harry" Butler CBE is an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant. He is a populariser of science and natural history for both child and adult audiences and, as conservation consultant to the Barrow Island oilfield and many other projects, has played a major role in...
(Harry Butler in the wild), and Mo McCackie
Roy Rene
Roy Rene , born Harry van der Sluys, was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of the 20th century. Roy Rene was born in Adelaide in the 15 of February 1892 with the name Harry van der...
.
Channel 7 years
In 1978, the Australian Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
aired another Norman Gunston series, which continued over an 18-month period till 1979. Ten 60 minute episodes were produced by John Eastway and ATN7. Highlights of this series were also screened on UK
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...
Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV from November to December 1982.
In February and March 1981, Channel 7 aired a program called Gunston's Australia, which intended to show the Gunston character approaching the end of his shelf life. In a satirical reference to personalities like former ABC current affairs host Bill Peach, the series parodied the perennial Australian TV practice of hiring celebrities to host magazine-style programs after leaving the show that had brought them to fame. Wearing a safari jacket and shorts, Gunston travelled around outback Australia
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
, interfering and adventuring in high and low places in his usual cack-handed manner. This series was later screened from February to March 1983 on UK Channel 4 TV.
In 1985, a 2-hour video was released titled, The Gunston Tapes. This was a compilation of interviews and comic sketches from the first, second and third 1975-1976 ABC TV series. McDonald also temporarily revived the Gunston character for the purpose of narrating the video.
In February and March 1993, McDonald briefly revived the Gunston character for the Channel 7 network. However, by the time the series premiered McDonald was suffering from severe depression, and his much-publicised nervous breakdown and abrupt departure saw the series prematurely terminated. A 3-set DVD compilation of the 1993 series was subsequently released in 2003.
During the late 1990s, Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
's The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
repeated all but the premiere episode from the 1975-76 ABC series. (A previously unaired pilot was screened in place of episode one, which is presumed lost.) This marked the first time the series had been aired since the late 1970s. The same episodes have been screened again, albeit in random order, from 2008 as part of the channel's Aussie Gold
Aussie Gold
Aussie Gold is a television programming block on Foxtel’s the Comedy Channel, which was formerly hosted by Australian comedian Frank Woodley. The block plays on Saturday nights from 7:30pm and celebrates the very best in Australian comedy....
block hosted by Frank Woodley
Frank Woodley
Frank Woodley is an Australian comedian who is best known for his work alongside Colin Lane as part of the comedic duo, Lano and Woodley. The two performed together for almost 20 years in live shows, a television series and an album of comedic songs, before deciding to pursue individual careers...
.
Recording career
Gunston's single record releases sold sufficiently well to enter the Australian top 40 charts. Parody tributes included Punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
(I might be a Punk but I love ya baby), Sherbet
Sherbet (band)
Sherbet was one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. Their biggest singles were "Summer Love" and "Howzat" , both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the UK. Though the band's success in the U.S...
(Howzat), ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
(Salute to ABBA), KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
(KISS Army), Boz Scaggs
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hit singles in the United States, along with the #2 album, Silk Degrees. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour.-Early life and career:Scaggs was born in Canton,...
(Nylon Degrees), Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
(Achy Breaky Heart), and Peter Allen
Peter Allen
Peter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, with one, Arthur's Theme, winning an Academy Award in 1981...
(I Go to Rio) (Allen was present when Gunston parodied him on ABC's pop show Countdown, and didn't seem amused, although he would have been aware of the character having previously appeared on Gunston's ABC show as a guest.)
In 1976, Gunston released an album titled The Popular Ballad Animal, which covered both contemporary and classic era compositions, several of which Norman had performed on his show, including his theme song, "I Who Have Nothing". In particular, notable tracks include Gunston's bizarre but inspired interpretations of Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
's "Liza With a Z", David Gates
David Gates
David Gates is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the group Bread, which reached the tops of the musical charts in Europe and North America on several occasions in the 1970s. The band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame...
' "If", Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
' "Delilah", Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's "Send in the Clowns", "Jailhouse Rock", "Piano Man", "Vesti La Giubba", "A little love and understanding", "Daddy what if?", and the Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
classic "Over the Rainbow".
In 1978, Gunston released another covers album Nylon Degrees (sending up Boz Scaggs
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hit singles in the United States, along with the #2 album, Silk Degrees. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour.-Early life and career:Scaggs was born in Canton,...
' Silk Degrees in both title and cover art). His next album, 1984's Join The Dots, included out-takes and previously unreleased rare recordings, title and cover art parodying Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
's Colour By Numbers.
Gunston appeared as a guest harmonica player at Frank Zappa's concert at the Hordern Pavilion
Hordern Pavilion
The Hordern Pavilion is a building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground. "The Hordern", as it is affectionally known by Sydneysiders, has been an architecturally and socially significant Sydney landmark since its construction in 1924...
in Sydney, Australia on 20 January 1976 which was later released as FZ:OZ
FZ:OZ
FZ:OZ is a live album by Frank Zappa, released in 2002 as a two-CD set and is the first release on the Vaulternative Records label from the Zappa Family Trust...
(2002).
Program History
- 1973 The Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack Show was a Logie Award–winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
(ABC TV - six B/W episodes). - 1974 Wollongong the Brave (ABC TV).
- 1975 The Norman Gunston Show - season 1 (ABC TV - nine 30 minute colour episodes).
- 1975 The Norman Gunston Show - season 2 (ABC TV - eight 30 minute colour episodes).
- 1976 The Norman Gunston Show - season 3 (ABC TV - eight 30 minute colour episodes).
- 1976 The Norman Gunston Show (UK BBC TV one-off 60 minute special).
- 1977 The Garry McDonald Show (ABC TV - eight 30 minute colour episodes).
- 1978-79 The Norman Gunston Show (7 Network - ten 60 minute episodes).
- 1981 Gunston's Australia (7 Network 1981 - eight 30 minute episodes).
- 1993 The Norman Gunston Show (7 Network - five 30 minute episodes).
1975 season 1 ABC TV Episodes
Series 1 episode 1 (18 May 1975)- Premier Norman Gunston Show episode filmed at ABN2 Gore Hill, Sydney TV studios. Norman Gunston interviews Mary Fairfax, Kerrie Biddell, and Rolf HarrisRolf HarrisRolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
.
Series 1 episode 2 (May 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Prince Leonard and Lord Davies from the Hutt River Province, Western Australia; Rick Morosi (Junie MorosiJunie MorosiJunie Morosi is an Australian businesswoman, who became a public figure in the 1970s through her relationship with Dr Jim Cairns, Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam Labor government...
's brother); Colleen HewettColleen HewettColleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
before her departure overseas; Mrs Phillis Johnson; and Edward WoodwardEdward WoodwardEdward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
. Norman's dreamtime segment. Gunston concludes the show by performing "Keep You Satisfied".
Series 1 episode 3 (June 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Stratford JohnsStratford JohnsStratford Johns, born Alan Edgar Stratford-Johns, was a popular British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, created by Troy Kennedy-Martin.-Early life:Johns...
; Chelsea BrownChelsea BrownChelsea Brown, born , Chicago, Illinois, is an African-American actress who appeared as a regular performer in comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.Guest roles include appearances in Marcus Welby, M.D., Ironside, Matt Lincoln...
; Mrs Andrea (local talk back radio personality); and Fred NileFred NileFrederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
. Norman's dreamtime: "How Josyln Mathew got her spots". Consumer straight talk: Chewing gumChewing gumChewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
special report. Gunston concludes the show by performing "If (They Made Me a King)If (They Made Me a King)"If " is a popular song.The music was written by Tolchard Evans, the lyrics by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell. The song was written in 1934, but the most popular versions were recorded in 1950-1951...
".
Series 1 episode 4 (June 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Ray BarrettRay BarrettRaymond Charles "Ray" Barrett was an Australian actor. He was one of the more popular leading men on British television in the 1960s, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters . Back in Australia he was a leading man in many TV series over the years.-Biography:Barrett was...
; Edith Dahl, and Jack ThompsonJack Thompson (actor)Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
. Australian rock group Skyhooks perform "Horror Movie". Norman's dreamtime segment: "Why underpants ride up". Consumer straight talk: Venus flytrap.
Series 1 episode 5 (June 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Jack MundeyJack MundeyJack Mundey is a distinguished Australian union and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wales Builders' Labourers Federation in the famous Green Bans, whereby the BLF led a successful campaign to protect the built and natural environment of...
; Paul Graham, Warren BeattyWarren BeattyWarren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
. Australian harmonica performing trio, The Horrie Dargie Trio, perform Theme From "Shaft" by Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
. Paul Graeme wrestles alligator. Gunston performs "Sweet CarolineSweet Caroline"Sweet Caroline" is a pop song written and performed by Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16, 1969, as a single. It was later released on December 9, 1972 as a part of Diamond's Hot August Night album. There are three distinct mixes of this song...
".
Series 1 episode 6 (June 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews the Carlton Football teamCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
in their dressing room; Mike WilleseeMike WilleseeMichael Willesee is an Australian television presenter.Mike Willesee came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ABC's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight , where his aggressive style quickly earned him a reputation as a fearless political interviewer.-Career:Willesee figured...
; Marcia HinesMarcia HinesMarcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
; and Dr. Bertram WainerBertram WainerBertram Wainer was a Melbourne doctor who successfully campaigned for legal access to abortion for women in Victoria. In the process he received multiple death threats from the police and survived at least three attempts on his life, including shootings and arson...
. Gunston reports on "The joys of funny business". Gunston concludes show by performing "Liza with a ZLiza with a ZLiza with a ‘Z’. A Concert for Television is a 1972 concert film, made for television and starring Liza Minnelli. The film was produced by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. As well as producing, Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing...
".
Series 1 episode 7 (July 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Al GrassbyAl GrassbyAlbert Jaime Grassby, AM , Australian politician, was Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Labor government. He initiated sweeping reforms in immigration, human rights, and is often known as the father of Australian "multiculturalism".-Early life and state politics:Born Albert Grassby in...
; Bobbie Sykes; Little PattieLittle PattieLittle Pattie is the stage name of Australian singer, Patricia Thelma Amphlett OAM later Patricia Thompson, who performed as a 1960s surf pop singer and then in adult contemporary music...
; and Cheech & Chong. Norman's dreamtime segment: "The beach umbrella finds Mr. Right". Consumer straight talk segment. Gunston closes show by performing "I Got You BabeI Got You Babe"I Got You Babe" is a 1965 #1 single by American pop music duo Sonny & Cher.-Background and composition:Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the lyrics to and composed the music of the song for himself and his then-wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Session...
" with Little Pattie.
Series 1 episode 8 (July 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Michele DotriceMichele DotriceMichele Dotrice is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Betty, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, which ran from 1973 to 1978....
; Edward WoodwardEdward WoodwardEdward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
; Beatrice FaustBeatrice FaustBeatrice Faust AO is an Australian author and women's activist. She was a co-founder of Women's Electoral Lobby and President of the Abortion Law Repeal Association of Victoria.-Biography:...
, and Peter WherrettPeter WherrettPeter Wherrett was an Australian motoring and motor sport journalist and race car driver.Wherrett learned to drive when his parents got their first motor car when he was twelve...
. Consumer straight talk segment: super shopping trolley reviewed by Peter Wherrett. Gunston closes show by performing "Out of Sight, Out of Mind".
Series 1 episode 9 (July 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Garry Glitter. Norman Gunstan stands outside Parliament HouseOld Parliament House, CanberraOld Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the house of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 as a temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament after its relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra,...
CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Gunston performs "Here Come the Jets". Gunston promotional film for "Something or Other" brand cigarette commercial. Norman's nymphette 1975 competition final. Consumer straight talk - Norman's last eight video tapes. ABC chairman, Professor Downing announces new Norman Gunston series due to commence in early September 1975. Gunston concludes show by performing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me".
1975 season 2 ABC TV Episodes
Season Two featured recurring sketch, The Checkout Chicks. This sketch, a send-up of melodramatic soap operas set in a supermarket, mostly featured former cast members of the then-popular serial Number 96Number 96 (TV series)
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
: Abigail
Abigail (actress)
Abigail is an actress who emigrated to Australia in 1968 and via the media of television became one of that country's significant sex symbols of the mid-1970s. Although born in England, she was educated in France. Her mother was a Ceylonese of Dutch Burgher/Eurasian ethnicity...
, Vivienne Garrett
Vivienne Garrett
Vivienne Garrett is an Australian-based theatre and television actor. She was born in Sydney and now lives in Perth. Garrett graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1970....
, Candy Raymond
Candy Raymond
Candida Raymond is an Australian actress active in film during the 1970s and early 1980s. she attended St Ives High School in Sydney. She is the sister of actress Victoria Raymond....
, Philippa Baker, Judy Lynn
Judy Lynn
Judy Lynn Kelly , who performed as Judy Lynn and was born Judy Lynn Voiten, was an American country music singer and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Idaho in 1955....
, Anne Louise Lambert.
Series 2 episode 1 (September 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Joe FrazierJoe FrazierJoseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
; Muhammad AliMuhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Lady Fairfax; and Winifred AtwellWinifred AtwellUna Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as...
. Special report on GI cordial nutrition. Norman's $400,000 slice of the good life competition. Gunston commences show with "Colour my world" and concludes with "Pinball Wizard".
Series 2 episode 2 (September 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
; Junie MorosiJunie MorosiJunie Morosi is an Australian businesswoman, who became a public figure in the 1970s through her relationship with Dr Jim Cairns, Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam Labor government...
; Peter AllenPeter AllenPeter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, with one, Arthur's Theme, winning an Academy Award in 1981...
; and Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
. Episode one of Checkout Chicks. Spaceship Southern Hemisphere incorporating consumer straight talk. Gunston concludes show with "Send in the clowns".
Series 2 episode 3 (September 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Australian rock group Ayers Rock; Denise Drysdale; and President Nixon's security guard. Special announcement to the nation regarding Norman's false girlfriend. Norman's dreamtime: "Why the orange juice gets swished around in that glass thing". Junior jaws kitchen tidy bin review.
Series 2 episode 4 (September 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Hugh HefnerHugh HefnerHugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, Don Dunston, and Barry Crocker.
Series 2 episode 5 (October 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Renée GeyerRenée GeyerRenée Rebecca Geyer is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's World", "Heading in the Right Direction" and "Stares and Whispers" in the 1970s and...
; Paul & Linda McCartney; Denny LaineDenny LaineDenny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
; and radio talk-back priest Fr. Jim McLaren. Special report on keeping pets in units.
Series 2 episode 6 (October 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
; The SeekersThe SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
; and Miss Australia 1975; Sally StruthersSally StruthersSally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
. Checkout chicks. Special report on LA smog verses Australia smog. Gunston concludes show by performing Vesti La Giubba.
Series 2 episode 7 (December 1975)
- Norman Gunston interviews Debbie Byrne; Senator Albert Field; Michael ColeMichael ColeMichael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
; and Vidal SassoonVidal SassoonVidal Sassoon, CBE is a widely recognised British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, "Bauhaus-inspired" hair style, also called the bob...
. Norman Gunston appears on the steps of Parliament House with Gough Whitlam - 11 November 1975. Gunston concludes show with "Delilah".
Series 2 episode 8 (January 1976)
- Norman Gunston interviews Edith HeadEdith HeadEdith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
; and Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. Norman's dreamtime: "Why Aunty Pat took the kittens to the vet". Norman look alike awards 1975. Gunston concludes show with "I who have nothing".
1976 season 3 ABC TV Episodes
Series 3 episode 1 (September 1976)- Norman Gunston interviews Malcolm MuggeridgeMalcolm MuggeridgeThomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
; Frank Hardie; The Ink SpotsThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
; and Rudolf NureyevRudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
. Gunston reports on the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Gunston concludes show with ABBA melody.
Series 3 episode 2
- Norman Gunston interviews Julie Ismay, Miss Australia 1976; Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
; Brenda Kristen; Tim Taylor; and Tony GreigTony GreigAnthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
(from BBC2 UK special). Norman attempts to speak with UK prime minister. Special report on Cambridge University life. Gunston concludes show with "A taste of water".
Series 3 episode 3
- Norman Gunston interviews Australian Olympic team; Diana Trask; Margaret Fulton; and John StonehouseJohn StonehouseJohn Thomson Stonehouse was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is perhaps best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974...
. Norman's dreamtime: "How the garden hose got where it is today". Special report on storing food under the house. Gunston concludes show with "Howzat".
Series 3 episode 4
- Norman Gunston interviews 1976 ABC chairman; Fred Daley; and Glenda JacksonGlenda JacksonGlenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
. 1976 budget report. Royal marines song contest. Norman will do his best segment: "How hundreds and thousands are made". Report on farming in your own flat. Gunston concludes show with "Don't tell me what to say".
Series 3 episode 5
- Norman Gunston interviews Leyland Brothers; John SturgessJohn SturgessJohn Sturgess was a hunting and racing artist and lithographer who worked mainly for the Illustrated London News between 1875 and 1885, and also exhibited widely in the London galleries, in particular at the Royal Society of British Artists and also at the Royal Hibernian Society in Dublin...
; Donald Smith; and Mary WhitehouseMary WhitehouseMary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
. Gunston concludes show with "Jailhouse Rock".
Series 3 episode 6
- Norman Gunston interviews Jack Brabham; and Malcolm Fraser. Gunston concludes show with "Piano Man".
Series 3 episode 7
- Norman Gunston interviews Caroline Jones; Delilah; and Diana DorsDiana DorsDiana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
(from BBC2 UK special). Marathon telethon 1976. Norman's dreamtime: "How the shaving cream gets in a lather". Gunston concludes show with duet with Delilah.
Series 3 episode 8
- Norman Gunston interviews Vera Lynn, Margaret Thatcher, and George Davis. Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
pours vodka bottle over Norman's head.
BBC2 45-minute Norman Gunston special
(19 November 1976)- Michael Caine, Diana Dors, Tony Greig, Glenda Jackson, Malcolm Muggeridge, Diane Solomon.
1978-1979 ATN7 Episodes
Series 1 episode 1 (5 April 1978)- Interviews: Henry WinklerHenry WinklerHenry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
, Phil SilversPhil SilversPhil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
, Charles Collinson, Billy CarterBilly CarterWilliam Alton "Billy" Carter III was an American businessman who promoted Billy Beer, was a candidate for Mayor of Plains, Georgia, and was the younger brother of United States President Jimmy Carter.-Early years:...
. Guests include: John Singleton, and Colleen HewettColleen HewettColleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
.
Series 1 episode 2 (1978)
- Interviews: James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, James FranciscusJames FranciscusJames Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
, Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
, Elke Summer. Guests includes: Bob Simpson, Judy Connelly, 'Saturday Night Fever' take off.
Series 1 episode 3 (1978)
- Interviews: Dawn FraserDawn FraserDawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
, Ian 'Molly' Meldrum, John FarnhamJohn FarnhamJohn Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
and Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
.
Series 1 episode 4 (11 October 1978)
Series 1 episode 5 (1978)
Series 2 episode 1 (1979)
Series 2 episode 2 (1979)
Series 2 episode 3 (29 August 1979)
Series 2 episode 4 (1979)
Series 2 episode 5 Xmas special (December 1979)
- Summary: Norman Gunston's Christmas special includes take off of Blondies' single "Heart of Glass"; interviews with Karen Black; Lee MarvinLee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
; hippies in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco; Leif GarrettLeif GarrettLeif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
; Elliot Gould; Henry WinklerHenry WinklerHenry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
; Ed Asner; George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
; Zsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
; Ricky Schroder; the Bee GeesBee GeesThe Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
; Robert StigwoodRobert StigwoodRobert Stigwood is an impresario and entertainment entrepreneur who relocated to England in 1954...
. Also shows Norman Gunston doing songs "Use Your Hanky" and a take-off of the "Rocky" theme.
Gunston's Australia 1981 ATN7 episodes
Series 1 episode 1 (February 1981)- Summary: Garry Mcdonald (Norman Gunston) in a runners starting position under a banner with 'GI book of records' wearing summer clothing and a backpack.
Series 1 episode 2 (1981)
- Summary: Garry Mcdonald (Norman Gunston) wearing safari jacket and shorts crouching as he uses spakfilla on a red dirt hill. An Ansett-ana bag sits nearby (the same bag appears in the 1993 series).
Series 1 episode 3 (1981)
- Summary: Garry Mcdonald (Norman Gunston) as Dr. Strange 1981; Grammy awards report.
Series 1 episode 4 (1981)
Series 1 episode 5 (1981)
Series 1 episode 6 (1981)
Series 1 episode 7 (1981)
Series 1 episode 8 (1981)
The Norman Gunston Show
(Seven Network - February to March 1993)episode 1
- Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, Ian BothamIan BothamSir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, Dr John HewsonJohn HewsonJohn Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
, musical guest Girlfriend, Gunston sings 'Acky Breaky Heart'
episode 2
- Paul MercurioPaul MercurioPaul Joseph Mercurio is an Australian actor, dancer and TV presenter. Mercurio is well-known for his lead role in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom . His father was the character actor Gus Mercurio.- Biography :...
, Billy CrystalBilly CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
, Julian ClaryJulian ClaryJulian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
, musical guest Sonia DadaSonia DadaSonia Dada is a Chicago-based rock/soul/rhythm and blues band, which tours with anywhere from six to eight members. The band formed in 1990, when founding member Daniel Pritzker heard three future members singing in a subway station...
, Gunston sings 'Simply Irresistible '
episode 3
- Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Lionel RichieLionel RichieLionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Laurie and Noeline Donaher, musical guest Mahotella QueensMahotella QueensThe Mahotella Queens are a South African singing group formed in 1964 comprising Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola...
, Gunston sings 'I will always love you'
episode 4 (hosted by Mary Coustas
Mary Coustas
Mary Coustas is an Australian television personality. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character "Effie": a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian...
as Effie
Effie
"Effie" is an outrageous comedic character played by Australian actress Mary Coustas. Coustas depicts a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian....
)
- Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
, Bryan BrownBryan BrownBryan Neathway Brown, AM is an Australian actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Sydney, the son of John Brown and Molly Brown, a house cleaner who worked as a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet. He grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown and began working at...
, Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
, Gough WhitlamGough WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, Warwick and Joanne Capper, Brian Austen Green, musical guest The Dukes
episode 5 (hosted by Maryanne Fahey as Kylie Mole)
- Jeff FenechJeff FenechJeff Fenech is a retired Australian boxer and a three-time world champion who is now a boxing trainer.-Boxing career:...
, Jane FlemmingJane FlemmingJane Christina Flemming is a former Australian Olympic track and field athlete. She completed her HSC in 1982 at Mater Christi College, Belgrave...
, Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
, Colonel Tom ParkerColonel Tom Parker"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
, musical guest Peter AndrePeter AndréPeter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
episode 6 (Top Gunston part 1)
- repackaged highlights from previous series
episode 7 (Top Gunston part 2)
- repackaged highlights from previous series
External links
- Norman Gunston on nostalgia central
- Search the National Film and Sound Archive National Collection of Screen & Sound for Gunston's radio interview and television appearances
- Norman Gunston at Laughterlog.com - Article, episode guide and list of recordings