Blankety’s banter hit boundaries
IT was the late 1970s and the king of television, Graham Kennedy, had the censors pulling their hair out as he and a line-up of comedian celebs, including the cigarpuffing Ugly Dave Gray, pushed the boundaries with a bawdy show, Blankety Blanks.
The signature sound of the show was the constant beeping as producers censored ribald comments. The double entendre was hilarious, but could not be allowed to go to air in prime-time for early evening family viewing.
So what could go wrong if Kennedy and Gray were to team up to run riot at Radio 4GG on the Gold Coast for a week, without anyone hitting the beep button?
Gray was living in Sydney at the time with his wife and children, and would visit the Gold Coast twice a year to do a week-long stint on 4GG. It was a sweet arrangement – 4GG enjoyed a ratings coup whenever the wisecracking Gray was behind the mic, and the Grays in return were treated to five-star accommodation.
But the big coup came when station general manager Barry Ferber said to Gray: “I don’t suppose you could talk Graham Kennedy into coming here for a week? I know you’re very close.’’
Gray loved the Gold Coast so much he and the family later moved here to live.
“I got Graham to one side at Blankety Blanks and said I go to the Gold Coast twice a year. They treat me beautifully and everything is first class,’’ he told the Bulletin this week. “He said, ‘what a great idea, we’d have a ball’.’’
Old-timers from the early 4GG days describe Kennedy – known to viewers as Gra Gra – as a gentleman but also unusual. Kennedy died in 2005 after a long career in television, theatre, film and radio.
Judith Ferber, former partner of Barry and now general manager of the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, says Kennedy exuded star power whenever he walked into the studios and despite her having met a huge line-up of stars in her long association with the radio station, she was almost beside herself with nerves when she hosted drinks Kennedy.
Barry Ferber would have known what he was in for when Gray told him Kennedy was willing to come north to create havoc for two hours each day from noon.
“We did a week on Double G, it was played through all the (affiliated) stations,’’ Gray said. for
“It was completely unrehearsed. Anything we did was. It seemed to work. It was all adlib, we could read each other so well.
“They played it through about 12 other stations. It was a fabulous success.
“I’ve still got a tape of it, every day we did. Just the week.
“We got away with murder. It was very cheeky. Naughty little things.
“It was live, you see. It had unbelievable ratings. Every man and his dog was tuned in.’’
Gray doubts anyone would get away with the banter now.
“Some of the stuff was very near to the bone. Blankety Blanks was completely unrehearsed. Now and again there would be a bleep but 4GG – they never bleeped. Nobody said a word. We were amazed.’’
Gray and Kennedy would come off air at 2pm and look at each other and wonder how they got away with it.
One day Kennedy decided to talk about one of the other Queensland cities where the local radio station was taking their show, and zeroed in on the town’s mayor.
Gray recalls their on-air conversation was along the lines of “we’re being played in all the cities and even going into Whoop Whoop’’.
Kennedy then said of the town’s mayor: “You know he’s gay, don’t you? That’s why his wife threw him out.’’
Gray said that as soon as they were off air he said to Kennedy: “He’ll sue you’’. But there was no backlash. “We never heard a thing,’’ he said. “We’d never get away with it today.’’
Gray said Kennedy told him he knew of the scandal surrounding that mayor and wasn’t making it up.
Gray said he would be unable to attend the 4GG 50years anniversary reunion because he was booked on a cruise. He enjoys the cruise ship scene. “The good thing is the audience can’t get up and walk off down the street.’’
WE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. IT WAS VERY CHEEKY. NAUGHTY LITTLE THINGS