form y separately published work icon The Mavis Bramston Show series - publisher   film/TV   satire   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1964... 1964 The Mavis Bramston Show
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The first satirical/comedy television series produced in Australia, The Mavis Bramston Show was effectively an adaptation of the stage revue format, the genre out of which many of its stars emerged as professional actors. The writers took aim at any number of contemporary issues, people, and social institutions, often garnering a good deal of controversy in the process.

The show's title derived from a long-held Australian theatrical in-joke concerning unimpressive overseas 'stars' brought out to headline local productions but who were in fact either second-rate performers or whose careers were in decline in their own countries. Such people became known as 'Mavis Bramstons.' In the TV series, the joke was played out by having the Mavis character (played by Maggie Dence) appear only at the beginning of each episode, as she arrives at Sydney airport and is greeted by the waiting press.

Notes

  • Notable songs and sketches include 'Oz News'; 'Hazel Phillips Impersonates MM' (song); 'Tomato Sauce' (song); 'Tele-women'; 'The Average Dad'; 'Which is What' (song); 'Lollies in the Park'; 'Race Violence (US)'; 'The Budget's Vicious Circle'; 'A Phone Monologue'; 'A Brand New Country' (song); 'Wedding at Oodnagalaby'; 'A Couple of Calwell Cuties' (song); 'Pioneer Tour of Vietnam'; 'Australians in Marrakesh'; 'I'm Almost Middle Aged' (song); 'Blood Donor'; 'Sponsor a Migrant'; 'My Name is Robert Helpmann' (song); 'Press Conference with Menzies'; 'Mavis Bramston interview'; 'Top 40 from 1918'; '3 Kath Walker poems'; 'Pick a Beast' (game show); 'Friends and Neighbours' (song); 'Admiral of the Old Cinque Ports' (song); 'An Aussie Night Out'; 'We'll Tax ...' (song); 'The Roller Game'; 'A Honeymoon for Three'; 'I'm a Sex Symbol' (song); 'Mrs Jones Speaks for Margarine'; 'The Bags and the Beast Meet Betty Windsor.'

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1964
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Works about this Work

form y separately published work icon Pushing the Boundaries : The Mavis Bramston Show Stephan Wellink , ( dir. Stephan Wellink ) Australia : Inkwell Films , 2022 24749810 2022 single work film/TV

'Television down under was less than a decade old when in 1964, Carol Raye, a UK-born actress and television presenter arrived in Australia from Kenya where she had established the first television station in the capital, Nairobi. Raye settled in Beecroft NSW close to the ATN Channel 7 television studios. Raye had completed a Producers’ course at the BBC and was looking for a role in production. Armed with her credentials, Raye met with Jim Oswin, the General Manager of Channel 7. Oswin employed Raye, who became the first female television executive in Australia. Raye saw that there was an opportunity to produce a show which dealt with biting political and topical satire which was a bold idea, particularly for a commercial network which had more to lose than, say, the politically fence-sitting ABC. Raye pitched the idea to Oswin. The risk was taken and the result was The Mavis Bramston Show, a ground-breaking show on ATN Channel 7 which held record-breaking ratings for two straight years... no seasons in those days – they did forty shows, an hour weekly, every year.

[...]

'The documentary will explore the effect of Mavis Bramston on a rapidly changing Australian society and how this pioneering show set the scene for generations of satirical programs including: Fast Forward, Norman Gunston Show, The Gillies Report, Full Frontal, Frontline, The Big Gig, Clark & Dawe, The Chasers and Mad As Hell.'

Source: Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
‘Mags ’: The Magic and Mesmerising Maggie Dence Anne Pender , 2016 single work biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016; 'At the age of fifteen, Maggie Dence wrote a letter to Chips Rafferty, informing him of her interest in a career as an actress, and asking for advice on how to begin. The popular film actor advised her to take acting classes with Rosalind Kennerdale in Double Bay, or with May Hollingsworth who taught acting at the Independent Theatre in north Sydney.' (Introduction)
The Barry Creyton Show Anne Pender , 2016 single work biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016; 'Barry Creyton is an actor, writer, director and composer who has succeeded as a theatre maker on three continents. He was a much adored television personality early in his career in Australia, when he was catapaulted to stardom as part of the satirical television phenomenon that was The Mavis Bramston Show. Soon afterwards he hosted his own variety show. He has written three highly successful stage plays and appeared on stage and television throughout his career. Creyton has distinguished himself playing and writing comic roles although he has also played dramatic roles, and in recent years he has focused on adapting and directing classic plays. Barry Creyton is a purist who prefers live performance to television, and cautions against a tendency in directors to ‘do a concept production rather than a production which reflects the value of the play’. He has constantly challenged himself throughout his career. As soon as he achieved national celebrity status in the 1960s he decided to leave Australia in order to work where nobody knew him, and test himself in a new environment as a working actor.' (Introduction)
y separately published work icon Number 96, Mavis Bramston and Me David Sale , Fremantle : Vivid Publishing , 2013 Z1933393 2013 single work autobiography 'Two shows changed the face of Australian television forever, and rocked the nation to its foundations. And now, the creator of Number 96 and the Executive Producer of The Mavis Bramston Show takes you behind the scenes of these two controversial, outrageously ground-breaking series for a jaunt through the industry's Golden Years.

These two shows flaunted the unmentionable, destroyed taboos, ridiculed sacred cows and dared to deal with subjects hitherto considered too shocking for polite society. They were condemned from the pulpit, slayed by the critcs, yet adored by an immense majority of viewers.

Actor, script writer, producer and author David Sale's career progressed through the theatres and movie studios of London and Hollywood and the turbulent world of Australia's TV industry, and he takes us with him every step of the way. It's a life that began in war-ravaged Manchester, followed the migrant route to Australia, and - against all odds - hit the heights of show business. It can be summed up in four words.

From Blitz to Glitz!' (Publisher's blurb)
The Ubiquitous Ocker Fred Ludowyk , 2008 single work
— Appears in: Ozwords , April vol. 17 no. 1 2008; (p. 7)
y separately published work icon Australian Television : A Geneology of Great Moments Alan McKee , South Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 2001 Z1632922 2001 single work criticism (taught in 1 units)

Alan McKee examines some key moments in Australian television history, drawing on extensive contemporary evidence as well as presenting detailed analysis of the programs themselves.


y separately published work icon Number 96, Mavis Bramston and Me David Sale , Fremantle : Vivid Publishing , 2013 Z1933393 2013 single work autobiography 'Two shows changed the face of Australian television forever, and rocked the nation to its foundations. And now, the creator of Number 96 and the Executive Producer of The Mavis Bramston Show takes you behind the scenes of these two controversial, outrageously ground-breaking series for a jaunt through the industry's Golden Years.

These two shows flaunted the unmentionable, destroyed taboos, ridiculed sacred cows and dared to deal with subjects hitherto considered too shocking for polite society. They were condemned from the pulpit, slayed by the critcs, yet adored by an immense majority of viewers.

Actor, script writer, producer and author David Sale's career progressed through the theatres and movie studios of London and Hollywood and the turbulent world of Australia's TV industry, and he takes us with him every step of the way. It's a life that began in war-ravaged Manchester, followed the migrant route to Australia, and - against all odds - hit the heights of show business. It can be summed up in four words.

From Blitz to Glitz!' (Publisher's blurb)
The Ubiquitous Ocker Fred Ludowyk , 2008 single work
— Appears in: Ozwords , April vol. 17 no. 1 2008; (p. 7)
y separately published work icon Australian Television : A Genealogy of Great Moments Alan McKee , South Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 2001 10504917 2001 multi chapter work criticism
The Barry Creyton Show Anne Pender , 2016 single work biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016; 'Barry Creyton is an actor, writer, director and composer who has succeeded as a theatre maker on three continents. He was a much adored television personality early in his career in Australia, when he was catapaulted to stardom as part of the satirical television phenomenon that was The Mavis Bramston Show. Soon afterwards he hosted his own variety show. He has written three highly successful stage plays and appeared on stage and television throughout his career. Creyton has distinguished himself playing and writing comic roles although he has also played dramatic roles, and in recent years he has focused on adapting and directing classic plays. Barry Creyton is a purist who prefers live performance to television, and cautions against a tendency in directors to ‘do a concept production rather than a production which reflects the value of the play’. He has constantly challenged himself throughout his career. As soon as he achieved national celebrity status in the 1960s he decided to leave Australia in order to work where nobody knew him, and test himself in a new environment as a working actor.' (Introduction)
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Awards

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Last amended 30 Jun 2022 16:11:25
David Carhill
Hugh Taylor
Influence on:
Mavis Bramston - Reloaded
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