Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Entertainer born into a comedy family; his parents were the double act Callan and Emery; he started in chorus and worked in journalism.
On the island
Eight records
All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor
Dick Emery (child performance; not a formal recording)
Dictate reason: quoted in context of memories; no formal disc selection given for a proper record.
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:22What did [your parents] call themselves?
They call themselves Callan and Emery.
Presenter asks
1:35Did you travel with [your parents] as a youngster?
Uh yes, not as far afield. I I travelled uh with them in England. Um I actually I went on tour when I was three weeks old.
Presenter asks
2:36Was it taken for granted that you'd go into the profession?
No.
Presenter asks
3:27What did you do when you left school?
I was an office boy. And after that? Uh after that, oh, many things. I went on a farm, but I'm afraid it was no good for me. Then uh I uh went into journalism with my mother, helped her out on many things she did in journalism, writing myself. Uh then I was in chorus in show business, did a lot of chorus work.
Presenter asks
5:12What happened when the war was over?
Uh I was still in the gang chair. Because, uh, fortunately for all of us, you know, coming out of the raft, What does one do? You know, some of them go to um if they've been apprenticed electricians they they would get a job. But uh if we hadn't had gang show to come out to, there'd have been nothing. And uh R Ralph Reeder devised the w what we call the Civvy Street Gang Show.
Presenter asks
7:14When did you start doing television?
Uh well I started immediately uh after the uh Educating Artie series with Peter Brough'cause he put on an Educating Artie on telly. Uh then I did a a television uh series called Two's Company with Libby Morris, which kept me out of television for nearly two years. You came unstuck, did you? Oh, I came unstuck. They said this boy could never hold a show on his own.
“I was a very cheerful little thing, though, on tour.”
“my mother wanted me to have a home life. because having been on tour all those years. So uh she um did a wonderful job. She ch she gave up show business and she took up journalism.”
“I had a not a good schooling.”
“this enabled me to learn to fly. That's uh uh I don't think it did me very much good as a as an artist, uh the the army game, uh but uh at least I was in uh London for forty weeks uh earning jolly good money and uh I thought now is the time I'm going to have a go at flying and I learnt to fly.”