Radio production company.
Grace Gibson Productions (GGP) is Australia's longest established radio production and program syndication company. It produces, supplies and represents a wide variety of program features from local and international production houses (including New Zealand, the Pacific and Caribbean). Gibson was brought to Australia in 1934 by 2GB General manager A. E. Bennett to set up ARTRANSA (the American Radio Transcription Service of Australia). The objective was to sell and 'Australian-ise' American radio soap stories for the station. Among the American shows she bought to Australia during the 1930s and early 1940s were Pinto Pete and His Ranch Boys, Frank Watanabe and the Honourable Archie, Chandu the Magician, and Jimmy Allen's Air Adventure.
In 1944, Gibson founded Grace Gibson Productions, setting up operations in Savoy House, Bligh Street, Sydney. The building at that stage also housed radio stations 2GB, 2UE and the Australian Record Company (ARC). The first show she made was the documentary series Here are the Facts. The company went on to develop a number of very popular 'daytime' soapies - notably Doctor Paul, which ran for 4634 episodes over 21 years and was heard on over 48 radio stations in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and the West Indies. Other successful serials included Portia Faces Life and Life Can Be Beautiful. Gibson also had much success with radio dramas and thrillers such as Night Beat, Dossier on Dumetrius, Cattleman, and I Christopher Macauley. Comedy serials produced by Gibson include Chickenman, Chuck Chunder, Captain Kremmen, and the comedy/thriller Mr and Mrs North.
In 1952 Grace Gibson Productions moved to the BAP studios at 60 Hunter Street, Sydney. Gibson had earlier purchased the building and renovated it to meet her production and administrative requirements. The company moved again in 1972 to ADC House, 77 Pacific Highway, North Sydney. Gibson sold the business in 1978 to Capital City Broadcasters (Canberra). The company continued to produce its most popular radio serial of all-time The Castlereagh Line, however. Although running only for 910 episodes it is still heard on many commercial and community radio stations to this day. In 1984 Grace Gibson productions was again sold, this time to Alexis Albert (formerly associated with radio station 2UW). The company has been owned and operated by Bruce Ferrier since 1991.
Grace Gibson Productions also represents popular long-form music shows from overseas syndicators, including Dick Clark's Rock Roll and Remember, The Classics, Legends of Jazz, Backtrax 80s (and Backtrax 90s), Casey Kasem's American Top 10 (and Casey Kasem's American Top 20), House of Blues and Country Giants. For the New Zealand and South Pacific Island markets the company also supplies Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and Ryan Secrest's American Top 40.
[Some information in this entry has been sourced from Richard Lane's The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama (q.v., 1994)]
