| Australia's Amateur Hour | |
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| Genre | Talent contest, variety entertainment |
| Presented by |
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| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Homebush West, Sydney |
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Australia's Amateur Hour was a talent quest, broadcast on Australian AM radio from 1940 to 1958,[1] and a television spinoff, which ran for less than a year, 1957–1958.
The radio program began on Sydney's 2UW, compered by Harry Dearth,[2] followed by Dick Fair, who developed it into Australia's most popular Sunday program, each week selecting ten contestants from around 100 hopefuls.[3] From 24 August 1930 the show was broadcast on 2GB, produced and compered by Terry Dear.[4] It was a popular, long-running, program on which many performers appeared.
The television version was also compered by Terry Dear, running from August 1957[5] to February 1958 on Sydney's TCN-9 and Melbourne's HSV-7. The success of the radio version didn't translate to its television cousin, which closed after only seven months, the radio version following shortly after.
- ^ "Dearth, Fair, Dear in Closing Amateur Hour Presentation". Radio and Television Supplement. The Age. 7 November 1958. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ Combe, Diana R. (1993). "Dearth, Henry Alan (Harry) (1908–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 13. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Nancye Bridges (1983). Wonderful Wireless. Methuen. ISBN 045400513X.
- ^ "Terry Dear for Amateur Hour". The Sun (Sydney). No. 12647. New South Wales, Australia. 10 August 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Musgrove, Nan (7 August 1957). "Television Parade". Australian Women's Weekly. p. 10. Retrieved 12 July 2013.