Reply at peterb@granths.sa.edu.au
From Peter Badenoch
]]>Hard to pick a moment from the show. Asking Ray Charles why he wore those sunglasses all the time . . . Or to Hugh Heffner, who stood as usual by the pool with an arm around a bimbo: ‘And when are you and the little lady gonna tie the knot?’ The best interviews were with Americans who lacked the irony gene.
Back home was fun too. He anticipated Barry Humphries in format: Norman was a no-talent with his Own Show. He sang! – eat your heart out Phoebe. He tripped over things. He was desperately sincere. But he met with match with Edward ‘Callan’Woodward (?) who could have played up but wouldn’t, just snarled.
On radio you miss the cigarette papers (what was that stuff called?) with which he staunched his shaving cuts.
Hit the Beeb for a revival. Oops, no. It’s one of the many comic programs which could not longer be aired. Just imagine the response to the Ray Charles line.
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