Graham Kennedy
| Graham Kennedy | |
|---|---|
Graham Kennedy, (pictured right) appears on screen with American entertainer Don Lane
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| Born |
Graham Cyril Kennedy 15 February 1934 Melbourne, Victoria |
| Died | 25 May 2005 (aged 71) Bowral, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Television personality |
| Years active | 1957–91 |
| Notable work | In Melbourne Tonight Blanketty Blanks Australia's Funniest Home Videos |
| Television | The Graham Kennedy Show |
| Parent(s) | Cyril William Kennedy and Mary Austen Kennedy (née Scott) |
| Awards | Order of Australia, 6x Gold Logie winner. |
Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He was often called "Gra Gra" (pronounced "gray-gray"). Honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia and a six time recipient of the Gold Logie, including the Logie Hall of Fame award, as well as having won the Star of the Year Award in 1959, generally thought of as a fore-runner to the Logies. He is the most awarded star of Australian television. He was often referred to as "The King" or the "King of Australian television". He was best known for his collaborations with Australian entertainer Bert Newton and United States-Australian showbiz personality Don Lane.
Kennedy was born in Camden Street, Balaclava to Cyril William Kennedy and Mary Austen Kennedy (née Scott). Kennedy's mother, who was 18 years old at the time of his birth, was employed at a local picture theatre. His father worked variously as an engineer and handyman, mowed lawns and washed cars. In 1939 he joined the RAAF as an air gunner. Kennedy's first home was a "small, crowded duplex" at 32 Nelson Street, Balaclava. A 20 cm diameter plaque was placed on the property by the City of Port Phillip, coincidentally in the week of Kennedy's death.
When Kennedy was two years old, his parents moved to Carlisle Street, St Kilda, for two years. His parents divorced shortly before World War II and Kennedy was largely raised by his grandparents, "Pop" Kennedy (who had been an electrician at Melbourne's Tivoli, Royal and Bijou theatres) and "Grandma Scott", to whom he remained particularly close until her death. Kennedy later said that he had:
often wished his mother and father had never married. 'I wasn't enamoured of either of them [...] they betrayed me [...] divorce is not too much fun for a little nine-year-old [...]
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Wikipedia