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John Doyle (comedian)

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John Doyle
Born
John Patrick Doyle

(1953-03-09) March 9, 1953 (age 73)
Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia
Other namesRampaging Roy Slaven
Occupation(s)Entertainer, actor, writer, comedian, radio host
Years active1980s–present
Known forPortraying Rampaging Roy Slaven; Roy and HG; This Sporting Life; Changi; Marking Time
Notable workThis Sporting Life, Changi, Marking Time, Club Buggery, The Dream

John Patrick Doyle AM (born 9 March 1953) is an Australian entertainer, known for his work as an actor, writer, comedian, and radio host, most famously portraying the character Rampaging Roy Slaven.

Early life and education

Doyle was born in 1953 in Lithgow, New South Wales and was raised in a Catholic household with a strong appreciation for music, alongside three sisters and one brother. His mother ran a business while his father worked as a railway fettler. He attended De La Salle Academy in Lithgow, where he held the position of prefect. In 1973, Doyle completed a Diploma of Teaching (Secondary English/History) at Newcastle Teachers' College. He later obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Newcastle (NSW) in 1978.

Starting his professional journey with the Hunter Valley Theatre Company, Doyle simultaneously taught at Glendale High School near Newcastle. After seven years dedicated to education, he moved to Sydney to join the Sydney Theatre Company.

Radio

Doyle’s radio career took off in 1985 when he introduced his character "Rampaging" Roy Slaven on Triple J’s Friday breakfast program. Drawing inspiration from iconic television sports commentators such as Rex Mossop, Slaven is an exaggerated persona representing a confident and skilled "sporting everyman." This character humorously claims to have competed for Australia across all sports and boasts connections with figures from sports, entertainment, and politics, embodying Australian ideals like fairness and integrity. The name "Roy Slaven" is derived from a notable family originating from Doyle’s hometown, Lithgow.

During this period, Doyle encountered comedian Greig Pickhaver, a Flinders University alumnus who had created a similar satirical sports commentator character named HG Nelson on Melbourne’s early 1980s radio show Punter to Punter. Both personas parody Australian sports broadcasting figures and share a deep enthusiasm for sporting honesty.

Together, they launched "Roy and HG" with the debut of This Sporting Life on Triple J in early 1986. Initially an improvised four-hour comedy segment, the show quickly gained cult status. Doyle and Pickhaver developed a unique satirical approach that affectionately yet sharply critiqued sport, entertainment, and celebrity culture. Beyond their weekly broadcast, they produced satirical coverage for major sporting events such as the State of Origin series, NRL and AFL Grand Finals—dubbed the Festivals of the Boot—and the Melbourne Cup, occasionally performing live before audiences.

Alongside This Sporting Life, Doyle hosted a two-hour mid-afternoon program on ABC’s 2BL Sydney during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He cultivated a dedicated audience through his extensive expertise and interviewing prowess. Doyle personalized existing segments and frequently collaborated with specialists including cooking expert Barbara Lowery; Sydney Opera House media contact David Brown ("The Salty Sea Dog"); gardening authority Angus Stewart ("The Doctor Of The Dirt"); pop music journalist Bruce Elder ("The Professor of Pop"); and TV Guide editor Tony Squires.

His broadcasting style often involved subverting conventional segment formats with humor and digressions aimed at entertaining listeners or provoking guests. Recurring topics included exploring an unexplained noise disturbing patrons at the Sydney Opera House and critiquing deficiencies in the venue’s women’s restroom facilities.

Although elements of Doyle’s "Slavenesque" humor occasionally appeared on 2BL, he and Pickhaver maintained a clear distinction between their personal identities and their Roy and HG characters—rarely appearing together publicly—and Doyle did not perform overtly as Roy during this timeframe. He managed a demanding workload presenting weekday afternoon shows on 2BL alongside his Saturday four-hour slot on This Sporting Life plus an early television adaptation of the program.

In 2013, This Sporting Life was honoured by being added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.

In March 2020, Doyle reunited with Pickhaver to revive their Roy Slaven and HG Nelson characters for the weekly radio program Bludging on the Blindside.

Television

In 1984, Doyle took on the role of English cricketer George "Gubby" Allen in the well-regarded Network Ten miniseries Bodyline.

During the early 1990s, "Roy and HG" shifted to ABC-TV with the show This Sporting Life. While it achieved modest success, its impact was somewhat constrained by the "talking head" style. They revitalized the format by merging it with a satire of Australian variety shows, resulting in Club Buggery. This program aired for two seasons (one under the title The Channel Nine Show) and gained a devoted following, earning them a Logie Award.

Upon their transition to the commercial Seven Network in the late 1990s, they garnered record-breaking television ratings and international acclaim with their late-night commentary during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, titled The Dream. The show's acclaim led to their participation in the Olympic Closing Ceremony. Their appearances extended to Seven Network’s programs such as The Monday Dump and The Nation Dumps, and they replicated their success with The Dream during both the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Additionally, they featured on The Channel Nine Show and Planet Norwich.

Alongside his comedic endeavors, Doyle cultivated a notable career writing serious television drama. His initial significant project was the ABC-TV miniseries Changi, which delved into the lives of young Australian soldiers held at Changi POW camp during World War II. Originally envisioned as a sitcom inspired by Hogan's Heroes, Doyle reimagined it as a dramatic work employing magic realism to explore war's effects on youth.

In 2003, he completed Marking Time, a drama that confronts racial and cultural conflicts in Australia through the story of an Anglo-Celtic boy forming a relationship with an Afghan refugee girl in a rural community.

Doyle also created and starred in several environmental documentary series starting with Two Men In A Tinnie (2006), which examined ecological damage to Australia's Murray-Darling river system alongside biologist Dr. Tim Flannery. Their partnership continued with Two In The Top End (2008), focusing on northern Australia; Two On The Great Divide (2012), which journeyed along the Great Dividing Range; and Two Men in China (2014).

In 2013, Doyle released the miniseries Building Australia, which explored the architectural heritage and history of Australian homes.

Theatre

Doyle's play Pig Iron People was staged in 2008 by Sydney Theatre Company at the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre. Another of his theatrical works, Vere (Faith), co-produced by Sydney Theatre Company and South Australia's State Theatre Company, was performed during October and November 2013.

Personal life

Doyle met his wife Deanna, a visual artist, while both were involved with the Hunter Valley Theatre Company; they graduated from Newcastle Teachers' College in 1973. The couple currently live in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney.

He serves as Patron of Autism Spectrum Australia, driven by his younger sister Jen's autism diagnosis at age ten. Doyle’s late father battled dementia, an experience that inspired his play Vere (Faith). Both parents passed away in 2012, while his sister Jen died in early 2020.

Honours

Doyle's profound influence on Australia's cultural scene through theatre, radio, and television was honoured with an honorary Doctorate of Letters awarded by the University of Newcastle in 2001. He was the featured speaker for the 2005 Andrew Olle Media Lecture and has served as host for the AWGIE Awards on several occasions, including solo appearances in 2012 and 2015, as well as co-hosting in 2002 alongside Pickhaver, portraying their characters Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson.

On 14 June 2010, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his contributions to media as a presenter and entertainer, along with his charitable work, particularly supporting the United Nations Children's Fund within Australia.


|- ! scope="row" | 1981 | | City of Newcastle | Newcastle Drama Award | | Outstanding achievement in theatre | [1] |- ! scope="row" | 1989 | This Sporting Life | AWGIE Awards | Comedy - Any Medium | | Shared with Greig Pickhaver | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1990 | This Sporting Life | AWGIE Awards | Comedy - Any Medium | | With Greig Pickhaver | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1991 | This Sporting Life | AWGIE Awards | Comedy - Any Medium | | Collaborated with Greig Pickhaver | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1992 | This Sporting Life | AWGIE Awards | Comedy - Any Medium | | Together with Greig Pickhaver | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1993 | This Sporting Life | AWGIE Awards | Comedy | | In partnership with Greig Pickhaver | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1995 | The World of An | AWGIE Awards | Comedy | | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1996 | Club Buggery | AWGIE Awards | Comedy Revue/Sketch | | [2] |- ! scope="row" | 1998 | Club Buggery | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | With Greig Pickhaver | [3] |- ! scope="row" | 2001 | 

| AWGIE Awards
| Fred Parsons Award
| 
| Shared with Greig Pickhaver
|Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
|-

! scope="row" | 2001 

| The Dream
| Logie Awards
| Most Outstanding Comedy Program
| Nominated
| Alongside Greig Pickhaver
| [3]
|-

! scope="row" | 2001 

| Changi
| AACTA Awards
| Best Screenplay in a Television Drama
| Nominated
|
[4]
|-

! scope="row" | 2001 

| Changi
| AACTA Awards
| Best Telefeature or Miniseries
| Nominated
|
[4]
|-

! scope="row" | 2002 

| Changi
| Logie Awards
| Most Outstanding Mini Series or Telemovie
| 
|
[5]
|-

! scope="row" | 2002 

| Changi episode Private Bill
| AWGIE Awards
| Miniseries (Original)
| 
|
[5]
|-

! scope="row" | 2002 

| Changi episode Seeing is Believing
| AWGIE Awards
| Miniseries (Original)
| Nominated
|
[5]
|-

! scope="row" | 2004 

| Marking Time
| AACTA Awards
| Best Screenplay in Television
| 
|
[6]
|-

! scope="row" | 2004 

| Marking Time
| AACTA Awards
| Best Telefeature or Mini-Series
| 
| With producer John Edwards
[6]
|
|-

! scope="row"  ||  2004  ||  Marking Time  || NSW Premier's Literary Awards  || Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting  ||   ||   || [7] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2004 || Marking Time - episodes 1 & 2  ||  AWGIE Awards  || Television Award - Mini-Series (Original)  ||   || Episodes 3 & 4 also nominated || Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name 

|-

! scope="row" || 2004 || Marking Time || Logie Awards of 2002 || Most Outstanding Mini Series or Telemovie || Nominated || || [8] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2004 || The Cream || Logie Awards of 2004 || Most Popular Sports Program || Nominated || With Greig Pickhaver || [3] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2005 || The Dream in Athens || Logie Awards of 2005 || Most Popular Sports Program || Nominated || With Greig Pickhaver || [3] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2006 || Two Men in a Tinnie || SPAA Awards || Best Documentary ||   ||   || [3] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2009 || Two in the Top End || Logie Awards of 2009 || Most Outstanding Factual Program || Nominated ||   || [3] 

|-

! scope="row" || 2013 || Vere (Faith) || Sydney Theatre Awards || Best New Australian Work || Nominated ||   ||

Published works

  • Nelson, H. G. and Slaven, Roy, Pants off, this sporting life, ABC Enterprises, Crows Nest, NSW, 1989, 143 pages.
  • Slaven, Roy (illustrated by Bill Leak), This is the south coast news and I'm Paul Murphy, ABC Enterprises, Crows Nest, NSW, 1990.
  • Nankervis, Brian; Slaven, R.; Nelson, H. G., Boys and balls, Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, NSW, 1994, 257 pages.
  • Nelson, H. G.; Slaven, Roy; Mombassa, Reg, Petrol, bait, ammo & ice, Pan Macmillan, 1996, 220 pages.
  • Doyle, John, Changi, ABC Books, Sydney, 2001, 289 pages.
  • Doyle, John & Flannery, Tim, Two men in a tinnie: with John Doyle and Tim Flannery, Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited and Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd., 2006 [DVD].
  • Doyle, John, The pig iron people, Currency Press, Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2008, 87 pages.
  • Doyle, John, Blessed: The Breakout Year of Rampaging Roy Slaven, Hachette, Sydney, NSW, 2021, 304 pages.

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named uninews
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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named afi2004
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named austlit
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named rgmspeaker
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