We’re celebrating turning 60 with THREE special editions of TV WEEK magazine, full of retro wonder and a look back at some of the biggest moments in television (and their stars, of course).
Swinging back to the sixties, we commemorate the era that expanded our viewing horizons with more networks and even more shows. Relive the glory days with a scroll back in time.
Lorrae Desmond
1961: Four Corners debuted and changed the way TV current affairs were presented. The show spent most of the decade following the involvement in the Vietnam War.
1962: Actress and singer Lorrae Desmond became the first woman to win a coveted Gold Logie.
Homicide
1964: The premiere of police drama Homicide broke new ground in TV and quickly attracted a loyal following. When the show wrapped up in 1977, 510 episodes had aired.
Channel Ten
1964: Network Ten arrived! TV’s domination by Seven, Nine and the ABC was challenged by the arrival of a third commercial network. ATV0 premiered first in Melbourne in 1964, then TEN10 Sydney launched in 1965, and other cities followed.
1964: Also that year, satire became the name of the game in The Mavis Bramston Show starring Maggie Dence.
Playschool
1965: Two children’s favourites launched and captured the imagination of the nation. That “funny old fellow” Humphrey B Bear hammed it up in Here’s Humphrey, and in 1966, the Play School cast began entertaining littlies.
Skippy The Kangaroo
1968: A marsupial became one of TV’s biggest stars with the premiere of Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. The family favourite followed Sonny (Garry Pankhurst) and his pet kangaroo. Skippy soon became a worldwide hit.
Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton
1969: Graham “Gra Gra” Kennedy won his third Gold Logie in 1969. In Melbourne Tonight had made him a star, but later in the year he quit the show due to exhaustion.
