Background
Noel Ferrier was born in Melbourne in 1930.
Noel Ferrier was born in Melbourne in 1930.
He had an extensive theatre career which spanned over fifty years. He appeared in numerous films and television productions. A contemporary of Barry Humphries, in 1956 he was the "interviewer" of the first onstage appearance of a certain Mistress
Norm Everage, later known universally as Dame Edna Everage.
He was the original host of the late-1950s Herpes simplex virus-7 series The Late Show, before being replaced with Bert Newton. To ease the workload on Graham Kennedy, he was invited by GTV9 to host a Friday night version of In Melbourne Tonight from 1963 to 1965.
This was stylistically different from that of Kennedy"s Institute of Microtechnology – "dyed-in-the-wool Institute of Microtechnology viewers switched off in their droves" – Noel Ferrier"s In Melbourne Tonight (as it was known) attracted a separate and loyal audience, resulting in a Logie for Most Popular Program in Victoria in 1964. Following this success, the network decided to relay the show in Sydney on TCN9, but in the early hours of the following morning after live telecasts of World Championship Wrestling.
After his period on Institute of Microtechnology finished in 1965, he started a morning radio show in Melbourne on 3UZ with Mary Hardy called "The Noel and Mary Show", which contained a riotously funny serial known as "The House on the Hill" featuring Sir & Lady Ernest Snatchbull, "set in a mythical Government House and loosely based on the vice-regal column in The Age.. the real Governor of Victoria of the time was a (reputedly) devoted fan.
He appeared in such television series as Riptide (1969), Skippy (1970), as well as a numerous characters in the Crawfords" stable of productions, including Homicide (1969), Division 4 (1970, 1971 and 1975), and Matlock Police (1973, 1974 and 1975). His movie credits include Alvin Purple, Eliza Fraser, Turkey Shoot and The Year of Living Dangerously. His final movie role was in Paradise Road (1997).
Noel Ferrier died in October 1997 in Sydney, aged 66, from undisclosed causes.
A member of the first Australian professional repertory company, the Union Theatre Repertory Company (now the Melbourne Theatre Company), he created the role of "Roo" in the original production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at the Union Theatreof the University of Melbourne.