tvtimes_021278 The Sullivans’ amazing Grace…
Actress Lorraine Bayly is made to look considerably older than her 36 years when playing the motherly Grace Sullivan in The Sullivans – with make-up applied to add wrinkles and darken her cheeks, having her hair tied back and wearing loose-fitting dresses.  In fact, when she is not in Grace Sullivan mode, she is barely recognised in public.  But when asked how long we can expect to see Grace on screen: “Well, we are negotiating at the moment and I’ve signed to continue to next year.  There’s a strong possibility that Grace will be there when the war ends in 1945.”

…is also TV’s golden girl
The SullivansLorraine Bayly (pictured, with co-stars Richard Morgan and Steven Tandy) has become the highest-paid series actress in the history of Australian TV.  The actress, who recently won Best TV Actress at the 1978 Sammy Awards, is not saying exactly what she is being paid but it is reported to be more than $1000 a week.  Meanwhile, the cast of The Sullivans are about to take a four-week break over Christmas and Bayly will also be taking an extended break during  1979 for a trip to Brazil. 

American TV accents ousting the ocker!
A survey of Australian TV commercials has found that almost one in three are using American-accented dialogue.  This compares to around ten per cent of commercials shown on British television.  The study, carried out by the University of Melbourne, showed that the ocker Aussie accent was rarely used in prestige commercials and that, except for big names like Paul Hogan, it was used more in program content rather than commercials.

kerrymcguireBuddha’s golden ransom
The telemovie Puzzle, one of a series of telemovies made between Australia’s ABC and international Trans-Atlantic Enterprises, was originally to feature American actress Tina Louise.  A last minute withdrawal by Louise saw the role of glamorous Claudine Cunningham played by Australian actress Wendy Hughes.   To screen on ABC this week, Puzzle also features Robert Helpmann, Kerry McGuire (pictured) and US actor James Franciscus.

Briefly:
Colleen Hewett and Michael Aitken played husband and wife in ABC‘s The Truckies, and now have again been cast as partners for an upcoming guest appearance in Seven‘s Cop Shop.

Robert Coleby, one of the cast of ABC‘s new series Patrol Boat, will be joined in one episode by seven-year-old daughter Anja.  The young actress also appeared in an episode of Coleby’s previous series Chopper Squad.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
“I would very much like to congratulate anyone who had anything to do with Against The Wind.  It is a great pity that there aren’t more shows like it.” N Webster, QLD.

“I would like to add my voice to the many praising The Truckies.  With a bit of luck we may have another series.  Our family always enjoys the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas which ABC has occasionally shown, and hope for more.” J Williams, VIC.

“As Countdown is primarily for teens and pre-teens, it should be more selective with the film clips chosen to be featured.  One in particular is Deadlock Holiday by 10cc, which in my opinion was very suggestive.  Film clips of this nature should only be shown to mature audiences.  Countdown viewers are at a very impressionable age and could be influenced in the wrong way.”  B Baker, SA.

“I would like to congratulate Neil Inall and his excellent team of reporters on Horizon 5.  It is a pleasure to be able, daily, to view this program which is very interesting and informative.” H Kerns, QLD.

What’s On (December 2-8):
HSV7‘s summer tennis coverage continues with all-day coverage, from 11.00am to 6.00pm each day, of the women’s Federation Cup from Melbourne and the Toyota Women’s Classic from Sydney.

ABC has live coverage from Brisbane of the cricket First Test on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11.55am to 7.00pm.

Wednesday night includes the series final of The Inventors on ABC, with the announcement of the winner of The Inventors Award selected from the 72 who have featured on the show during the year.  Presenting the award will be David Port, son of panelist Leo Port who passed away earlier in the year. Later in the evening, a Holiday special, Bill Peach In China, takes a rare look at life and tourism in China.

The Mike Walsh Show finishes up for 1978, ending its second year at the Nine Network after moving across from the 0-10 Network.

Sunday night movies are Dirty Weekend (HSV7), Goodbye Columbus (GTV9) and The Hornet’s Nest (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 2 December 1978.  ABC/ACP

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