Former TV quiz show host and radio presenter Malcolm Searle passed away earlier this week at the age of 77.
Tamworth-born Searle was the original host of the Melbourne-based quiz show Coles £3000 Question from 1960 until ill-health forced him to resign in early 1963. He was later one of the ‘Good Guy’ presenters on Melbourne’s popular music radio station 3AK.
Searle then moved to Brisbane as a presenter on the recently-launched TVQ0 before moving to Sydney to host The Marriage Game. He later returned to Queensland, working in the hotel and restaurant industries and maintaining other business ventures.
In the late 1970s, Searle had returned to Brisbane to host the game show Pyramid Challenge for the 0-10 Network.
The funeral for Malcolm Searle was held today in Nambour, Queensland.
Source: Jocks’ Journal
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Actually he was born in Tamworth, on the 7th of July 1931, which would have made him 77. I know this for a fact as I am his niece.
He did a humorous interview with J Lennon in June 1964.
I live in Tamworth and I was originally from Toowoomba . My mother new Malcolm’s mother who worked/owned Mum’s cake shop in Toowoomba. I met Malcolm in Toowoomba in the early 1990′ via a mutual friend Peter Barr.
Hello Sophie, thank you for your comments and I apologise for the errors in this entry. My information was based on articles from TV Times magazines which had him age 46 in August 1978. I have amended my article above accordingly, and of course, sincere condolences to your family at this time.
I appeared on Ten's New Faces in 1969 and managed to get a job with Ten as a freelance booth announcer. They said I was too young for anything on camera. So my first job was with Malcolm on the Marriage Game and I was paid the handsome sum of $26.10. I also discovered that Noritake is pronounced Nora-taa-key. Hehe. How embarrassing.
Also in later years, Malcolm used to own a fish shop in the Wilsonton Shopping Centre in Toowoomba QLD.
I remember our times with Judy, Malcolm, the boys washing dishes. Mal would put a bet on and if he won, he’d come back and say,’Get yourself a can of softdrink.’ He’d always tell me to sit down, that I was a ‘bomb’. The many laughs I’ve shared with the crew at ‘Malcolm Searles.’. My first real job. Never learned to cook, do anything until Judy taught me. So much love for this family, they truly taught me so much, forever grateful for their love 😘
God Bless your Soul Malcolm Searle
And before all that he was an announcer on 4BK/AK in the late 50s&early 60s
I met him in Brunswick Heads NSW.
He relayed his life to me over the course of 3 weekly meetings . Led a full life
Nice guy.
Many years ago, I recall Malcolm Searle on many TV game and Quiz shows. He was terrific and I formed an opinion that he would have been a really nice person off air.
He always displayed manners, courtesy and a very caring attitude to those who were nervous as contestants on his TV shows.
He was fabulous and it would do good to have people like him back on television. Trevor
Hi Trevor, he was a beautiful person off-air, he was my friend and mentor for over 20 years here in Toowoomba, and later at Mt Coolum where he lived with his son’s family. We shared many a late night with conversions about the many ventures he pursued as both a media personality and as hotelier/restauranter in Sydney and here in Toowoomba. He gave me some original photos where he was seen with some of the greats of both TV and Radio/Music including the Beatles, Lorraine Bailey, Chips Rafferty, Don Lane, Ernie Sigley, etc etc. He was a caring man but as with many in the entertainment industry fell into the traps of it. He showed me many ways of avoiding the hazards of life and was always there to guide me in my informative years, he was, in many ways, the father I never had. He lives on in my heart today through the words and inspirations of all those years ago.
When I was a child in the 60’s we holidayed every year at Chelsea. I met and developed a crush on Malcolm when 3AK came to broadcast on the beach. Years later arounf 1971 I was working for the ABC mail desk on William Street Sydney. There was a kind of pub/bar just up the street designed as a kind of faux castle where I went for my favourite lunch of a prawn roll. I was delighted to discover that Malcolm was the owner or manager of the bar and amused him no end when I recounted to him the story of my childhood crush. We had a good laugh about it and I really enjoyed my daily lunches at that place. Malcolm was a lovely, funny, and pleasant person. I’ve only just googled him when something on tv made me remember that time. As I am now 71 I didn’t expect him to still be around but it has made me happy to read all the nice things written here and to remember those happier carefree days. Vale Malcolm. Mary