The Graham Kennedy Show

The Graham Kennedy Show

Company type	Television series
Industry	Television entertainment
Founded	19 September 1972
Founder	Graham Kennedy
Defunct	1975
Fate	Ended
Headquarters	Melbourne , Australia
Area served	Australia
Key people	Graham Kennedy, Bob Phillips, Peter Faiman, Brian Rangott
Products	Variety and comedy television program

The Graham Kennedy Show was an Australian late-night variety and comedy series that debuted on 19 September 1972 on the Nine Network.

Following his departure from hosting In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) in December 1969 due to fatigue, Graham Kennedy made a comeback with this series after special broadcasts in November 1971 and March 1972. The program, produced by Bob Phillips and Peter Faiman, preserved much of the IMT style, including Brian Rangott leading the GTV band. Beginning in 1973, the show incorporated more liberal comedic content, resulting in an Adults Only (AO) classification.

In March 1975, Kennedy became the center of controversy when a live broadcast featured a "crow-call" that resembled the expletive "fuck". This incident led to a prohibition on his live appearances and his sudden exit following management’s censorship of the episode aired on 16 April 1975. Subsequent hosting duties were taken over by Noel Ferrier and Daryl Somers.

Crow call incident

On 3 March 1975, during a live commercial for Cedel hairspray, Kennedy mimicked a crow with a sound resembling "faaaaaaark." The Adelaide station reportedly cut the transmission immediately after. This event triggered hundreds of viewer complaints and widespread media criticism, prompting the Australian Broadcasting Control Board to request Kennedy to "show cause" why he should not be suspended from broadcasting. Kennedy refused and suggested legal proceedings if restrictions were imposed. Consequently, he was barred from live broadcasts and required to pre-record his appearances.

Subsequent accounts indicate that the crow-call segment might have been pre-recorded, and that declining ratings compared to rival Ernie Sigley could have contributed to the controversy.

Prior instances of profanity on Australian television include Kevin Crease’s inadvertent use of "fucking hell" during a live advertisement on Adelaide Tonight in the 1960s, which did not provoke complaints. Furthermore, at the February 1973 Logie Awards, actor Michael Cole caused a stir by uttering "shit" during his acceptance speech aired nationally.

Criticism of Doug McClelland

Following the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal’s mandate that Kennedy’s shows be recorded "indefinitely," the network utilized this policy to remove his pointed criticism of Senator Doug McClelland, then Minister for the Media, regarding insufficient support for local content regulations in the 16 April 1975 broadcast.

Kennedy resigned from Nine soon after this dispute, just six weeks post the "crow call" controversy.

His censored remarks accused McClelland of falsely claiming credit for a supposed surge in television production despite a 30% decline in employment and labeled his point system ineffective. He condemned the influx of low-cost imported programs undermining domestic content and called for McClelland’s dismissal along with abolishing his ministerial portfolio.

During that episode, Kennedy hinted that guest Daryl Somers might succeed him if he departed. Off-camera, he informed the studio audience he intended to repeat his comments on ABC's This Day Tonight should censorship occur. He reiterated this threat on-air alongside Bert Newton, effectively restating his initial critique. Kennedy also disparaged McClelland as "not all that literate" and insisted that "he has to go."

The opening segment was removed prior to broadcast, prompting Kennedy’s resignation in protest. However, he ultimately did not follow through with delivering his remarks on ABC; an ABC representative stated he concluded it "would not be in his interests" to appear.

At this time, Australian television content was a highly debated topic. Despite government efforts such as community broadcasting initiatives and ABC’s rock station 2JJ, local television programming remained limited. The Whitlam government refrained from enforcing unpopular quotas due to concerns over backlash, even as the industry advocated for increased domestic content.

Television networks resisted local content requirements because they profited from inexpensive American imports, especially following tariff reductions in 1973 that lowered costs further. The "TV - Make It Australian" campaign, supported by Kennedy and actors from Crawford Productions, advocated for greater local programming. The cancellation of Crawford’s police dramas in 1975 is widely interpreted as network retaliation against this activism. Blundell argues that Kennedy’s removal by Nine was similarly connected to his political views and support for Australian content amid an approaching federal election.

Home media

In May 2013, Umbrella Entertainment issued a DVD collection containing four episodes of The Graham Kennedy Show, which included rare, unedited footage such as the full version of the edited McClelland comments.

For Kennedy's 60th birthday celebration, Ray Martin explored the GTV-9 videotape archive and brought attention to the tape of the contentious crow-call segment, marked with a warning stating "Never to be broadcast again."

External links

• – uncut McClelland remarks that were never aired.