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Daryl Somers dead at 57

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James Henderson

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 8:55:15 PM3/31/08
to

10:37am Car Crash claims TV personality

Born in Melbourne in 1951, Daryl Somers first appeared on TV as a contestant
on the talent show New Faces in 1968, aged just 16.

The teenage drummer sang with the band he'd formed at school and made the finals
but came second to now famous singer John Williamson.

Undeterred, Daryl continued voice lessons with Diane Dubarry and Evie Hayes.
Two years later, in 1970, the 19 year-old won the New Faces final as a solo
vocalist. Daryl made his professional TV debut as the host of the afternoon
kids' show Cartoon Corner on July 14, 1971 each weekday for the next six and
a half years.

October 9, 1971 saw the birth of Hey, Hey It's Saturday, which Daryl co-hosted
with Collingwood footballer Peter McKenna. Eight weeks in, McKenna was replaced
with a stuffed pink ostrich named Ossie, giving birth to one of the most famous
partnerships in Australian TV history. Over the next 28 years, Daryl and Ossie
became household names. The program gradually evolved from an early morning
kid's cartoon show to an adult's evening variety show. The duo released two
LP's going gold many times over and won a multitude of Logies along the way.


In 1976 Daryl hosted the revived music program Bandstand which made him a teen
idol. He hosted the King of Pop Awards in 1976 and 1977, and was himself a
regular singer on the Graham Kennedy, Don Lane and Mike Walsh shows in the
seventies and eighties.

In 1980 Daryl replaced Tony Barber on quiz show Family Feud, hosting the program
for the next three years – and 713 episodes! In June 1982, he was given his
own night time TV variety show – minus Ossie – aptly named The Daryl Somers
Show, which ran for 18 months. The hard work paid off with Daryl winning his
first Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV in 1983
and also being crowned King of Moomba – a Melbourne festival. The Daryl Somers
Show had exposed him to an older audience, and – in February 1984 – TV executives
moved Hey Hey from 8.00am to 9.30pm where it gained a new adult following.
The following year, in June 1985, it was moved to 6.30pm where it stayed for
the next 14 years.

No longer hosting Family Feud and with The Daryl Somers Show finished, 1985
saw Daryl free for a new challenge – the revived Blankety Blanks. Hosting the
early evening quiz show each weeknight put him back in the popularity stakes,
with Daryl winning his second Gold Logie in 1986. In 1987, he sang Waltzing
Matilda and Advance Australia Fair at the then VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground – performing to 120 million people worldwide, his biggest audience
ever! He also sang at the 1996 AFL Grand Final.

In 1988 he hosted the TV Week Logie Awards for the first of five times. He
was invited back in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998. His third Gold Logie came in
1989, marking his place in Australian showbiz history. Ironically, New Faces
– the very show he appeared on in 1968 – returned to TV in 1989 with Daryl
as host and producer!

Over the years, Daryl has continued to play drums, often thrilling Hey Hey
audiences with impromptu jam sessions with guest pop stars including Stevie
Wonder. Tom Jones and John Farnham.

He sang in many pantomimes in the seventies and, in 1988, played Sancho Panza
in the Melbourne and Brisbane run of the George Fairfax Graeme Murphy production
Man of La Mancha. The following year he appeared as the Billiard Marker in
Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark.

An astute businessman, Daryl grew from musician to TV presenter and then producer,
forming his own company with Ernie Carroll – the voice of Ossie Ostrich. Somers
Carroll Pty Ltd went on to own and produce Hey Hey as well many Hey Hey specials
and later the comedy series The Russell Gilbert Show and Gonged But Not Forgotten.
November 21, 1999, marked the final episode of Hey, Hey It's Saturday which
won a record amount of Logies; 12 awards in the comedy flight entertainment
category, and Daryl's 17 other individual awards – including the three prestigious
Gold.

He is a patron of many worthy causes including; Camp Quality, The Lost Dogs'
Home, the West Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO), Generations in Jazz,
Kids Under Cover, and Yarrabah Special School. From 1994- 1999, he fronted
the Northern Territory's international award winning tourism campaign with
the memorable catch cry "You'll never, never know if you never, never go."


In 2000, he was appointed deputy chair of the Council of ScreenSound Australia,
the national screen and sound archive. He is also chair of the Federal Government's
Contemporary Music Touring Program. In 2002, he was appointed the # 1 ticket
holder at his beloved Geelong Football Club.

He returned to the stage in July 2003, playing Harry MacAfee in the 1960s musical
Bye Bye Birdie and in 2004 he produced "Once In A Lyall", an album featuring
his good friend and renowned saxophonist Graeme Lyall. He is married to Julie
da Costa, a former senior artist with the Australian Ballet. They have performed
together twice – in the 2002 and 2003 Australian Ballet School production of
The Nutcracker at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl as Clara's parents.

Daryl became an ambassador for the Alice Springs Masters Games in 2002. In
the January 2004 Australia Day Honours List, Daryl was awarded Medal of the
Order of Australia for service to the television and entertainment industries,
to charitable organisations and to the community.

Hosting series one of Dancing with the Stars in late 2004 for the Seven Network
marked his return to television after a five year absence. It's unprecedented
ratings success led the resurgence of Seven as Australia's top network.

In November 2005, he released a CD Songlines on his own label called "Now Hear
This!" Meanwhile Dancing With The Stars, which regularly attracts more than
two million viewers each week is about to begin Series Seven.

BTW, Daryl is alive and well. Happy April Fools Day.

--
James Henderson
- News Network -

TG'sFM

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 9:08:35 PM3/31/08
to
On Apr 1, 10:55 am, "James Henderson" <jhender...@newsnetwork.net>
wrote:

> 10:37am Car Crash claims TV personality
>
> Born in Melbourne in 1951, Daryl Somers first appeared on TV as a contestant
> on the talent show New Faces in 1968, aged just 16.
>
> The teenage drummer sang with the band he'd formed at school and made the finals
> but came second to now famous singer John Williamson.
>
> Undeterred, Daryl continued voice lessons with Diane Dubarry and Evie Hayes.
> Two years later, in 1970, the 19 year-old won the New Faces final as a solo
> vocalist. Daryl made his professional TV debut as the host of the afternoon
> kids' show Cartoon Corner on July 14, 1971 each weekday for the next six and
> a half years.
>
> October 9, 1971 saw the birth of Hey, Hey It's Saturday, which Daryl co-hosted
> with Collingwood footballer Peter McKenna. Eight weeks in, McKenna was replaced
> with a stuffed pink ostrich named Ossie, giving birth to one of the most famous
> partnerships in Australian TV history. Over the next 28 years, Daryl and Ossie
> became household names. The program gradually evolved from an early morning
> kid's cartoon show to an adult's evening variety show. The duo released two
> LP's going gold many times over and won a multitude of Logies along the way.
>
> In 1976 Daryl hosted the revived music program Bandstand which made him a teen
> idol. He hosted the King of Pop Awards in 1976 and 1977, and was himself a
> regular singer on the Graham Kennedy, Don Lane and Mike Walsh shows in the
> seventies and eighties.
>
> In 1980 Daryl replaced Tony Barber on quiz show Family Feud, hosting the program
> for the next three years - and 713 episodes! In June 1982, he was given his
> own night time TV variety show - minus Ossie - aptly named The Daryl Somers

> Show, which ran for 18 months. The hard work paid off with Daryl winning his
> first Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV in 1983
> and also being crowned King of Moomba - a Melbourne festival. The Daryl Somers
> Show had exposed him to an older audience, and - in February 1984 - TV executives

> moved Hey Hey from 8.00am to 9.30pm where it gained a new adult following.
> The following year, in June 1985, it was moved to 6.30pm where it stayed for
> the next 14 years.
>
> No longer hosting Family Feud and with The Daryl Somers Show finished, 1985
> saw Daryl free for a new challenge - the revived Blankety Blanks. Hosting the

> early evening quiz show each weeknight put him back in the popularity stakes,
> with Daryl winning his second Gold Logie in 1986. In 1987, he sang Waltzing
> Matilda and Advance Australia Fair at the then VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne
> Cricket Ground - performing to 120 million people worldwide, his biggest audience

> ever! He also sang at the 1996 AFL Grand Final.
>
> In 1988 he hosted the TV Week Logie Awards for the first of five times. He
> was invited back in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998. His third Gold Logie came in
> 1989, marking his place in Australian showbiz history. Ironically, New Faces
> - the very show he appeared on in 1968 - returned to TV in 1989 with Daryl

> as host and producer!
>
> Over the years, Daryl has continued to play drums, often thrilling Hey Hey
> audiences with impromptu jam sessions with guest pop stars including Stevie
> Wonder. Tom Jones and John Farnham.
>
> He sang in many pantomimes in the seventies and, in 1988, played Sancho Panza
> in the Melbourne and Brisbane run of the George Fairfax Graeme Murphy production
> Man of La Mancha. The following year he appeared as the Billiard Marker in
> Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark.
>
> An astute businessman, Daryl grew from musician to TV presenter and then producer,
> forming his own company with Ernie Carroll - the voice of Ossie Ostrich. Somers

> Carroll Pty Ltd went on to own and produce Hey Hey as well many Hey Hey specials
> and later the comedy series The Russell Gilbert Show and Gonged But Not Forgotten.
> November 21, 1999, marked the final episode of Hey, Hey It's Saturday which
> won a record amount of Logies; 12 awards in the comedy flight entertainment
> category, and Daryl's 17 other individual awards - including the three prestigious

> Gold.
>
> He is a patron of many worthy causes including; Camp Quality, The Lost Dogs'
> Home, the West Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO), Generations in Jazz,
> Kids Under Cover, and Yarrabah Special School. From 1994- 1999, he fronted
> the Northern Territory's international award winning tourism campaign with
> the memorable catch cry "You'll never, never know if you never, never go."
>
> In 2000, he was appointed deputy chair of the Council of ScreenSound Australia,
> the national screen and sound archive. He is also chair of the Federal Government's
> Contemporary Music Touring Program. In 2002, he was appointed the # 1 ticket
> holder at his beloved Geelong Football Club.
>
> He returned to the stage in July 2003, playing Harry MacAfee in the 1960s musical
> Bye Bye Birdie and in 2004 he produced "Once In A Lyall", an album featuring
> his good friend and renowned saxophonist Graeme Lyall. He is married to Julie
> da Costa, a former senior artist with the Australian Ballet. They have performed
> together twice - in the 2002 and 2003 Australian Ballet School production of

> The Nutcracker at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl as Clara's parents.
>
> Daryl became an ambassador for the Alice Springs Masters Games in 2002. In
> the January 2004 Australia Day Honours List, Daryl was awarded Medal of the
> Order of Australia for service to the television and entertainment industries,
> to charitable organisations and to the community.
>
> Hosting series one of Dancing with the Stars in late 2004 for the Seven Network
> marked his return to television after a five year absence. It's unprecedented
> ratings success led the resurgence of Seven as Australia's top network.
>
> In November 2005, he released a CD Songlines on his own label called "Now Hear
> This!" Meanwhile Dancing With The Stars, which regularly attracts more than
> two million viewers each week is about to begin Series Seven.
>
> BTW, Daryl is alive and well. Happy April Fools Day.
>
> --
> James Henderson
> - News Network -

You find the false reporting of a television personality funny do
you? What if his family or friend read this?

^Ebony-Temuchin^

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 9:12:08 PM3/31/08
to

I agree with you, what if they read the subject and the first line and
were too upset to read right down to the bottom line.

How about we ring old Mrs Henderson and say Hey James is dead. Died in a
car accident and after she hangs up say Just joking.
--
"If someone had told me in 1989 that the BBS I started would eventually
become Usenet" - Douglas

http://groups.google.com.au/group/aus.photo/msg/01b383a7d3a33dc3

fish..

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 10:37:31 PM3/31/08
to
In article <47f187f3$1...@x-privat.org>, jhend...@newsnetwork.net says...
>

>


Would have been funnier if it was true...

TG'sFM

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 9:48:37 PM3/31/08
to
On Apr 1, 12:37 pm, fish.. <fishca...@tanksville.com> wrote:
> In article <47f187f...@x-privat.org>, jhender...@newsnetwork.net says...

>
>
>
> Would have been funnier if it was true...

What sort of animal would find Daryl's death as funny?

The Man From Havana

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 9:58:01 PM3/31/08
to

I certainly didn't find that funny....eh news network huh ?
Must work for the Daily Terror.

Ian Galbraith

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 10:11:35 PM3/31/08
to
On 1 Apr 2008 02:55:15 +0200, James Henderson wrote:

[snip]

> BTW, Daryl is alive and well. Happy April Fools Day.

Well d'uh! That hardly needed to be said. A lot of effort for little
result.

--
"Artists and their surrogates who fall into the trap of seeking
recompense for every possible second use end up attacking their own best
audience members for the crime of exalting and enshrining their work." -
Jonathan Lethem

TG'sFM

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 10:18:14 PM3/31/08
to
On Apr 1, 12:11 pm, Ian Galbraith <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> On 1 Apr 2008 02:55:15 +0200, James Henderson wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > BTW, Daryl is alive and well. Happy April Fools Day.
>
> Well d'uh! That hardly needed to be said. A lot of effort for little
> result.

"A lot of effort"? I'm not certain, but I'm willing to bet that he
didn't type the whole post longhand.

Alan Parkington

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 1:22:24 AM4/1/08
to

"Daryl Somers" <nos...@usenet.fake> wrote in message
news:fss2aj$l2j$1...@aioe.org...
> FUCK OFF TROLL


how distasteful. making a false statement that someone is dead.

TG'sFM

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 2:48:49 AM4/1/08
to
On Apr 1, 3:22 pm, "Alan Parkington" <patr...@iheartaustralia.com.au>
wrote:

I've read some distasteful comments over the years, but this false
report of someones death really sickens me. What sort of animal would
get his kicks out of such a stunt? I hope the mainstream media pick
up on this post, and expose the author for all to see. Let's see how
funny he thinks his actions are then. It's people like him who are
going to cause the internet to be shut down on all of us. And when it
is shut down, I hope all the online businesses that rely on the
internet for thier day to day incomes sue his sorry arse for all it's
worth (probably not much though). The owners of ebay, smeggy.com,
trading post and news limited should start taking legal action against
this fool NOW.

David Springthorpe

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 2:53:51 AM4/1/08
to
On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:48:49 -0700 (PDT), "TG'sFM" <suv...@yahoo.fr> wrote:

>I've read some distasteful comments over the years, but this false
>report of someones death really sickens me.

Again, oh the sanctimony. I have no example to hand, but I recall that this is
exactly the kind of bullshit you've perpetrated in the past.

Big LN

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 3:02:16 AM4/1/08
to
"James Henderson" <jhend...@newsnetwork.net> wrote in message
news:47f187f3$1...@x-privat.org...
> for the next three years - and 713 episodes! In June 1982, he was given
> his
> own night time TV variety show - minus Ossie - aptly named The Daryl
> Somers
> Show, which ran for 18 months. The hard work paid off with Daryl winning
> his
> first Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV in
> 1983
> and also being crowned King of Moomba - a Melbourne festival. The Daryl
> Somers
> Show had exposed him to an older audience, and - in February 1984 - TV
> executives
> moved Hey Hey from 8.00am to 9.30pm where it gained a new adult following.
> The following year, in June 1985, it was moved to 6.30pm where it stayed
> for
> the next 14 years.
>
> No longer hosting Family Feud and with The Daryl Somers Show finished,
> 1985
> saw Daryl free for a new challenge - the revived Blankety Blanks. Hosting
> the
> early evening quiz show each weeknight put him back in the popularity
> stakes,
> with Daryl winning his second Gold Logie in 1986. In 1987, he sang
> Waltzing
> Matilda and Advance Australia Fair at the then VFL Grand Final at the
> Melbourne
> Cricket Ground - performing to 120 million people worldwide, his biggest
> audience
> ever! He also sang at the 1996 AFL Grand Final.
>
> In 1988 he hosted the TV Week Logie Awards for the first of five times. He
> was invited back in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998. His third Gold Logie came
> in
> 1989, marking his place in Australian showbiz history. Ironically, New
> Faces
> - the very show he appeared on in 1968 - returned to TV in 1989 with Daryl

> as host and producer!
>
> Over the years, Daryl has continued to play drums, often thrilling Hey Hey
> audiences with impromptu jam sessions with guest pop stars including
> Stevie
> Wonder. Tom Jones and John Farnham.
>
> He sang in many pantomimes in the seventies and, in 1988, played Sancho
> Panza
> in the Melbourne and Brisbane run of the George Fairfax Graeme Murphy
> production
> Man of La Mancha. The following year he appeared as the Billiard Marker in
> Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark.
>
> An astute businessman, Daryl grew from musician to TV presenter and then
> producer,
> forming his own company with Ernie Carroll - the voice of Ossie Ostrich.
> Somers
> Carroll Pty Ltd went on to own and produce Hey Hey as well many Hey Hey
> specials
> and later the comedy series The Russell Gilbert Show and Gonged But Not
> Forgotten.
> November 21, 1999, marked the final episode of Hey, Hey It's Saturday
> which
> won a record amount of Logies; 12 awards in the comedy flight
> entertainment
> category, and Daryl's 17 other individual awards - including the three
> prestigious
> Gold.
>
> He is a patron of many worthy causes including; Camp Quality, The Lost
> Dogs'
> Home, the West Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO), Generations in
> Jazz,
> Kids Under Cover, and Yarrabah Special School. From 1994- 1999, he fronted
> the Northern Territory's international award winning tourism campaign with
> the memorable catch cry "You'll never, never know if you never, never go."
>
>
> In 2000, he was appointed deputy chair of the Council of ScreenSound
> Australia,
> the national screen and sound archive. He is also chair of the Federal
> Government's
> Contemporary Music Touring Program. In 2002, he was appointed the # 1
> ticket
> holder at his beloved Geelong Football Club.
>
> He returned to the stage in July 2003, playing Harry MacAfee in the 1960s
> musical
> Bye Bye Birdie and in 2004 he produced "Once In A Lyall", an album
> featuring
> his good friend and renowned saxophonist Graeme Lyall. He is married to
> Julie
> da Costa, a former senior artist with the Australian Ballet. They have
> performed
> together twice - in the 2002 and 2003 Australian Ballet School production
> of
> The Nutcracker at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl as Clara's parents.
>
> Daryl became an ambassador for the Alice Springs Masters Games in 2002. In
> the January 2004 Australia Day Honours List, Daryl was awarded Medal of
> the
> Order of Australia for service to the television and entertainment
> industries,
> to charitable organisations and to the community.
>
> Hosting series one of Dancing with the Stars in late 2004 for the Seven
> Network
> marked his return to television after a five year absence. It's
> unprecedented
> ratings success led the resurgence of Seven as Australia's top network.
>
> In November 2005, he released a CD Songlines on his own label called "Now
> Hear
> This!" Meanwhile Dancing With The Stars, which regularly attracts more
> than
> two million viewers each week is about to begin Series Seven.

Never been a huge fan of the man but your bio of him is impressive. Your
April Fools attempt has just won Darryl another fan. (Although Kate Ritchie
will win the Gold).

'Onya


TG'sFM

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 3:15:33 AM4/1/08
to
On Apr 1, 4:53 pm, David Springthorpe <david.springtho...@idxx.com.au>
wrote:

Obviously you have me confused with another person. Whoosh.

Shake And Bake

unread,
Apr 1, 2008, 6:21:46 AM4/1/08
to
April Fools, morons.
Message has been deleted

Daryl Somers

unread,
Mar 31, 2008, 9:14:59 PM3/31/08
to
FUCK OFF TROLL

I hope you get anal cancer!!

James Henderson wrote:
>
>
> 10:37am Car Crash claims TV personality
>


--
Posted at www.Usenet.com.au

ashleyf...@gmail.com

unread,
Apr 9, 2019, 4:37:21 AM4/9/19
to
James Henderson you're a right royal Fuckwit mate.

Jeßus

unread,
Apr 10, 2019, 5:01:36 AM4/10/19
to
On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 01:37:20 -0700 (PDT), ashleyf...@gmail.com
wrote:

>James Henderson you're a right royal Fuckwit mate.

You're posting from google groups and replying to some ancient troll
post... guess who's the fuckwit?
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