Apr 17 2012

Remembering: Piffy The Bell Ringer (with bonus interview)

Piffy The Bell Ringer

Throughout the 2 seasons of The Late Show, a segment called Toilet Break would be played, around 3/5 of the way into the show. Season 1 played excerpts from The Saturday Show from the late 70s to early 80s, and Season 2 were highlights from the 80s talent show Pot Luck, hosted by Ernie Sigley and judge Bernard King. But more on that in a later post.

One of the most well known and popular Pot Luck Toilet Break segments was from Episode 4 in 1993, where a clip of an 8 year old boy playing bells was shown. His name? Piffy The Bell Ringer.

Even though it was 4 episodes in of viewing Pot Luck segments, it was enough to develop a new fan base and popularity. During that week, viewers wrote in (pen and paper style!) and demanded more Piffy. Other than the cameo appearance from the audience, Piffy also joined sparring partners Graham And The Colonel for their sports news updates, demonstating what he did best – ring bells. Even Tom Gleisner took the mickey out of him at one stage, dressing up as Piffy.

As part of the 20 year anniversary, we tracked down Remi Broadway (aka Piffy) who was ever so polite to answer a few questions about his appearance on Pot Luck and The Late Show all those years ago.

“Piffy” – where did that name come from?

As a 7 yr old I played the role of Wee Willy Winky in a Christmas pantomime. At one point my character said indignantly, “He called me ‘Winkle PIFFLE’.” The family thought it was so cute they started to called me ‘Piffy’.
Where did you get the idea of playing bells? Do you still dust off the bells to play at parties?
It’s an old family talent. My father was taught by his father and he passed it on to me.

Are there certain brand bells you need to get the right tones and sound for?

I’m not aware of any other tuned Sheep / Cow bells out there. I only have the one set and it’s been in my family for generations.

Can you remember what it was like to perform on Pot Luck? Did Ernie Sigley and Bernard King make you feel comfortable?

I don’t remember much as I was only 9. I do remember that I won the heat and for some reason it had to be re-filmed. Fortunately I won the second time around but the prize was $1500 worth of silverware. Not much use for a 9 yr old but I still have it 25 years later. I also remember being extremely embarrassed when Ernie asked mum if I had a nickname and she said “Piffy”. As a kid I was very embarrassed by the name.
Had you heard of The Late Show before you were invited to be on it?
No, I was 15 and not in the habit of watching late night television. I first heard about it when a friend told me he’d seen me.

Are you aware that after all this time, you still have a cult following?

I’m not sure about a cult following! But I do get recognised from time to time, usually when I least expect it, like standing at the urinal.

Can you remember the atmosphere in the studio at ABC?

Yes, the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. The D-Generation were extremely fun to work with and made me feel really comfortable.

Did you get new-found popularity in school and with your mates after your appearance? Does that still happen today?

I don’t know about popularity but I certainly got attention. My mates are used to me popping up on TV so it doesn’t happen today.

Have you used this attention from The Late Show to get you further in your performing career?

That’s a tough question. I have been working as an actor since but I don’t think my role as Piffy has influenced any of the auditions.

What are you up to now? 

Now I’m the proud owner of Central Lounge Bar & Dining in Surfers Paradise (www.centrallounge.com.au). I haven’t played the bells for a few years but I’m still entertaining people every day with delicious food and the best cocktails in town. Shameless self-promotion, I know, but it’s true! If your readers want a bit of a laugh they should check out www.chooseyourowntube.com – it’s an interactive sitcom I directed a few years ago with my brother.

Thank you heaps to Remi for taking the time to respond to the hard-hitting A Current Affair style questions laid out to him. Remi also has an official site, so check out his showreel and other works: www.remibroadway.com

Here’s the original Pot Luck performance for your viewing pleasure.

Apr 17 2012

Tony Martin Talks Capril on 3RRR

Source: tonywilson.com.au

Regular visitors of this site would know of Tony Martin and author Tony Wilson occasionally pairing up on 3RRR as The Two Tones, and the odd on-air fill in on ABC774 Melbourne for Jon Fontaine. For the next 5 weeks, Tony Wilson will be filling in for the 3RRR show Spoke.

As mentioned previously, the month of April is being celerated as Capril, raising awareness of depression. Wilson decided to call up Martin to chat about the origin behind Capril  (from Martin’s old Triple M radio show Get This), as well as red light camera tickets, mX and Andrew Bolt bagging. Yes, there’s even a bit of television talk. It sounds like that Martin’s obsession with The Sopranos has been fulfilled with the FX TV series Sons Of Anarchy. Think Sopranos on motorbikes.

Don’t forget to hit up Capril.org for more information.

If you do need to talk to someone about any issues, no matter how small or large they are, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14 or SANE Australia on 1800 18 SANE (7263)

Apr 14 2012

Dude Looks Like A Logie!

The 54th Annual TV Logie Awards are around the corner, which The D-Generation/Working Dog are regular attendees to the the awards.

The year is 1998. The Working Dog team have three successful seasons of the current affairs piss-take Frontline under their belts. The 40th Annual TV Week Logie Awards are being shown on national television, thanks to Channel 9. Season 3 of Frontline is up for 4 nominations: Most Popular Comedy Program, Most Outstanding Series, Most Outstanding Actor (Rob Sitch), Most Outstanding Achievement In Comedy.

The night goes on, and the bubbles flow. Working Dog win 2 awards out of the 4 (Most Outstanding Achievement In Comedy, Most Outstanding Series), but the announcement is further into the night. When winning, you’ve had a few drinks under your belt… and here’s the result.

*hic!*

The 2012 54th TV Week Annual Logie Awards – Sunday, April 15 at Crown Casino and broadcast on Channel 9.

Apr 03 2012

Sports Fever! S01E10 Review

Never push the button.

They did it! They can’t of! They really did it! They grew up! Santo, Sam and Ed went all golden ticker-tape for their 100th series finale episode of Sports Fever! Primed with their Scarlett Butternut Brain Snaps, Santo Cilauro, Sam Pang and Ed Kavalee summarised the world of the oblong and round footballs and an early submission of Dive Dive Dive! After a quick ad break, the Aussie cricket fans were more than excited while the Windies fans danced on with highlights of the English cricket fans admiring the good cross-section of birds on the ground.

Sam showed the exciting golf tournament, while the team briefly ‘crossed the ditch’ to get an update of the A League. Special guest Trevor Marmalade reported on the Dubai World Cup and all things horse racing around the world, especially the story of the “horse that could” and just didn’t stop. The horse not stopping, that is – not Trevor.

Black bands were worn in respect after the death of Darts champion Jocky Wilson, who, passing away at the age of 62, was disappointed that diabetes made him stop drinking during the game. We Watched It So You Didn’t Have To received an entry from Ten Pin Bowling that Ed sat down to watch… with tender love making demonstrated to the special ball, especially if you yell “Who do you think you are? I am!”. A pilot episode for Santo, Sam and Ed’s new show Come Off It was shown with some terrific sizzle. Will it have enough traction though? Come off it!!

Many fumble and tumble entries of Silky Skills as always, while Ed spoke to Bazza and Dave, supporters of the Australian Cricket team, who must share the same DNA as Santo and Sam – with happy wives in tow. With a delightful Pfister reference for Bin Night, too many puns used for a Sicilian Open that justified Santo’s bin failures for the year.

Good news though – Santo did mention that Santo, Sam & Ed’s Sports Fever! will return quicker than you can say shuszesa… shurshaesha.. umm.. come back as soon as possible!

Until then: interact with the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and catch what you can on Plus7 before it’s gone.

Apr 02 2012

Remembering: Musical Finale

Pete “Aerosmith” Smith

Season Two. At the end of each episode of 1993, Tony Martin would introduce a musical finale to play over the end of the credits. It was usually a large, well known artist or band that was requested.

Tony would rely on his partner-in-crime Mick Molloy to chase down the talent to do their musical number. However, at the ‘last minute’, Mick would reveal that he misheard Tony, and screw up the booking by getting someone with a similar name or one that rhymed with the artist to perform the song.

The only time Mick would get it right was the final episode with Don Lane singing Saturday Night.

Thanks to the hard work by Steve,  the list of the perfomers were:

Syd Heylen = Van Halen – Jump / Panama
Pete Smith = Aerosmith – Dude Looks Like A Lady
Mike Whitney = Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Ron Barassi = Shirley Bassey – Goldfinger
Gabriel Gaté = Frenté – Accidentally Kelly Street
Lester Ellis = Vangelis – Chariots of Fire
Jimmy Hannon = Jimmy Barnes – Working Class Man
Norman Yemm =  REM – Losing My Religion
Donnie Sutherland = Dame Joan Sutherland – Toreador
‘Baby’ John Burgess = Baby Animals – One Word
Max Walker = Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Wanna have Fun
Dr Harry Cooper = Alice Cooper – Department Of Youth
Joan Kirner = Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – I Love Rock And Roll
Rex Hunt = T Rex – Get It On
Simon Townsend = Pete Townsend (The Who) – Who Are You
David Boon = David Byrne (Talking Heads) – Once In A Lifetime
Brian Bury = Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Grassby, Grills, Nudge & Plumb = Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Teach Your Children
Hayley Lewis = Huey Lewis & The News – Hip To Be Square
Don Lane = Don Lane – Saturday Night Is The Lonelist Night Of The Week (the only correct one!)

Tony was recently interviewed on ABC702 Sydney radio by Adam Spencer about the musical finales and how they came about. (ABC site)

and now for the fun factor – here’s Pete!

Mar 31 2012

Capril 2012: Are You Cape-able?

It’s that time of the year – the time where you can dust off your Superman costume and wear it proud down at the shopping centre.

Capril started out as a running joke on Get This with Tony Martin, Ed Kavalee and Richard Marsland, which Tony put the call out to the listeners to send in photos of themselves wearing capes in general public. They had 30 days (all of April) to complete the task and submit their shots. The most creative and amusing photo proof would be chosen and win a prize from the ever-expanding Kavalee’s prize cupboard.

However, in early December 2008, Marsland unfortunately took his own life after a long battle with depression, which shocked and stunned his family, friends and fans. With the dedication of Get This followers, they created Capril: Are You Cape-able? – raising awareness and supporting Beyond Blue – an organisation creating support and awareness of depression.

How do you participate?

There is plenty of information that explains Capril , all on the site www.capril.org, follow Capril on Twitter, and check it out and try and raise some coin for Beyond Blue.

As Richard would say – ‘Nice crackle!’

If you do need to talk to someone about any issues, no matter how small or large they are, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14 or SANE Australia on 1800 18 SANE (7263)

Mar 27 2012

Pictures Of You S01E01 Review

Straight after the grand final of My Kitchen Rules (running 10 minutes overtime), the newest production from the Working Dog offices Pictures Of You hit the ground running. After a warm and brief introduction from host Brian Nankervis, the show started.

A simple concept, a whopping 1.63 million viewers watched the guests in the spotlight for the premiere episode. Comedians Anh Do and Shane Jacobson were the basis for the beginning. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, Nankervis displayed photos of the subjects past on clean framed cardboard and allowed each guest enough time and space to explain their stories and feelings behind each photo. Anh went into the history on how his family came to Australia and how they dealt with sea pirates, along with brushes with death itself. Jacobson spoke about his bringing-up, his new child with an amusing middle name,  his sporting attempts and even his appearance on the dating show Man-O-Man.

If you missed the show, the most recent episode will be available for 7 days on Plus7.

Mar 26 2012

Sports Fever! S01E09 Review

Source: 7Mate

Episode 9 of Sandra, Simone and Elle’s Sports Fever! hopped along after a hernia operation and a 30 month dry run. Summarising the One Day International Cricket within a few minutes that would make a New Zealand spectator stay awake for more than five minutes, the start of  the AFL season launch was bounced down, and Tommy Raudonikis just didn’t rate the NRL at all. The round ball – Soccer – received its regular reports update.

Santo Cilauro introduced a new segment – Dive Dive Dive – which showed all the hallmarks of the Cup Fever! Rivaldo Award. The regular Silky Skills made an extra long appearance due to clumsy nominations. While we were shown that chicken parmigiana is a specialty serve during Women’s Boxing, Special guest Olympic Swimmer Michael Klim joined the desk to explain his failed olympic try-out comeback and new Olympic Swimming contenders.

Sam Pang ripped open the Sports Fever! Mailbag to respond to viewer Sonya’s ‘complaint’ about the guys cracking lame jokes – so they responded with the Seoul Running Marathon. Regular journo Chris Jones swung by for more round-up of sports which Santo, Sam and Ed Kavalee may have missed, getting a dirty joke in by accident over Tiger Woods.. but he blew it. Squash champion Donna Urquart was put into the Aussie Bronze hall-of-fame, with “Frank and Frank” report back to Sports Fever! via satellite for more prancing horse routines. The ever-popular Bin Night popped up, with most jokes bouncing their way into the bin.

As always, you can watch catch-ups on Plus7, and discuss the show on the official Facebook page and Twitter account.

Mar 22 2012

What used to be on just before The Late Show?

I remember sitting through an entire episode of Birds of a Feather before The Late Show aired, aged 15/16. I meticulously set up the VHS with a blank tape, and made sure that the aerial was set up correctly to avoid any interference. The remote control was in hand, ready for me to hit record just a few seconds before the ABC ident started, lest I accidentally miss the first few seconds of the actual show. Anyway, this old TV Week program guide from October 1992 proves that it wasn’t always Birds of a Feather before The Late Show. There are also plenty of other cultural references during this Saturday night’s TV programming for you to enjoy! Click to view full-size image.

The Late Show in context.

Mar 22 2012

Mick Molloy Returning for Before The Game

Source: Ch 10

Other than Santo, Sam and Ed’s Sports Fever!, The Late Show‘s other sports nut regular Mick Molloy is returning to the small screen for more AFL commentary for Channel 10’s Before The Game.

Molloy returns with fellow footy enthusiasts Dave Hughes, Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann, Samantha Lane, Andrew Maher and Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald for some serious AFL banter and ranter, in time for the 2012 AFL Premiership season. As always, a side dish of comedy will be served up to compensate for the fan base of humour.

Before The Game will return to the screen Saturday March 24 from 6:30pm on Channel 10 only in Melbourne, and ONE HD for the rest of the country.