Do you feel lucky, Ossie?
QUESTION
Was Clint Eastwood once interviewed on TV by an ostrich?
YES, the hard-bitten American actor was interviewed by a bird puppet.
On May 31, 1991, Clint Eastwood was in Australia for the opening of Warner Bros Movie World, a film studio theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
A special edition of Nine Network’s popular children’s TV show Hey Hey It’s Saturday was staged live from the venue. It was hosted by Daryl Somers and his long-time puppet partner, Oswald Q. Ostrich, better known as Ossie Ostrich.
Somers was a mainstay of Aussie children’s TV. He first appeared on Hey Hey It’s Saturday in 1971 alongside Aussie Rules footballer Peter McKenna, who was quickly replaced by Ossie.
Unlike Rod Hull and Emu, Ossie wasn’t attached to Somers and he had a voice, supplied by Ernie Caroll.
Ossie would sometimes stray into adult humour: he famously quipped that he preferred male jelly babies because you got a little bit extra!
The irony was that Ossie was an ostrich, an African bird, appearing on TV in Australia, and Rod Hull’s emu was an Australian bird on British TV.
Ossie’s interview with Clint Eastwood was cringeworthy. After the ‘Do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?’ Dirty Harry star plugged his new film White Hunter Black Heart, an uncharacteristically silent Ossie was left shaking.
It was Clint’s birthday so Somers encouraged the audience to sing Happy Birthday to him. Clint remained as cool as a cucumber throughout while Somers seemed increasingly flustered.
Clint wasn’t the only star to feature on the show. Celebrity interviewees included Kurt Russell, Neighbours stars Kylie Minogue and Craig McLachlan, Yahoo
Serious of Young Einstein and Aussie pop star Jackie Love, though frequent referrals to her long legs made for an uncomfortable encounter.
Somers went on to host Australia’s Dancing With The Stars from 2004 to 2007, and the hypnotist show You’re Back In The Room in 2016.
Michael Fowles, Painswick, Glos.
QUESTION Did classical composer Giacomo Puccini sue U.S. singer Al Jolson for copyright infringement?
PUCCINI sued Jolson over the jazz standard Avalon. Named after the Catalina Island resort just off the coast of
California, the number was first performed by Jolson in the Broadway show Sinbad in 1918.
After it was recorded on the Columbia label in 1920, Puccini’s publishers claimed that the melody was based on the aria E Lucevan Le Stelle (The Stars Shine Brightly) from the opera Tosca.
They successfully sued the song’s writers, Al Jolson, Vincent Rose and Buddy DeSylva, for plagiarism and were awarded $25,000 (equivalent to $320,000 today) and all future royalties.
While the song was Jolson’s idea, it is doubtful that he made any contribution to the lyrics.
The song has been widely covered over the years by top vocalists, jazz and swing bands. Stan Henderson, International Al Jolson
Society, Kirkby-in-Furness, Cumbria.
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