Actors - Ian Turpie

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Ian Turpie

	Actors - Ian Turpie

Ian Turpie is a former Australian television celebrity known primarily for hosting a long-running game show called The Price Is Right. The show later continued, although with a new host, Larry Emdur.

Born in Melbourne in 1943, Ian began his entertainment career at the age of 10, when he was accepted at the prestigious Hector Crawford Drama School and gained recognition as a juvenile actor working in radio and theatre.

He starred in a number of radio programmes alongside Sir Robert Helpmann and June Bronhill, and featured in the top rating series D24, which became one of the most dominant and influential programmes in Australian radio history.

During Ian's teens, he discovered a passion for music and focused on playing guitar, songwriting and singing. By the age of 16, Ian was a seasoned radio and stage performer, touring Australia in such hits as Peter Pan, Auntie Mame
and Bye Bye Birdie
, and appearing in several National Theatre Productions including Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Television soon beckoned, and Ian made regular appearances on Bandstand, Time for Terry and The Graham Kennedy Show. In 1964, Ian played a bank robber in the original episode of the programme that was to become a TV phenomenon — Homicide.

His natural talents as musician and compere were recognized at 21, when he replaced Johnny O'Keefe for a stint as national television compere on Sing Sing Sing Following this experience, Ian was chosen to host the top rating teenage variety show The Go!! Show.

In the 1970s, Ian moved to Sydney to work the club circuit, and continued to make guest appearances on numerous television shows including The Mike Walsh Show, The Bert Newton Show, A Guy Called Athol and the ABC variety series, Follies.

In the 1980s, Ian's name became famous as host of the highly successful, frenzied game show The New Price is Right. This was followed by other game shows including Press Your Luck and Supermarket Sweep.

In the 1990s, Ian developed cult status following a regular, four-year stint as Club President on Roy & HG's Club Buggery. Known as the "Giant of the G Chord", he performed renditions of such classics as Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit
, and, complete with suspenders, The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Time Warp.

Less serious Club Buggery appearances in Turps about the House, Captain Ajax and Sam Stain showcased his comedic talents.

Awards

Logie Award, Best Light Entertainment, Turpie Tonight
Penguin Award, Best Light Entertainment, The New Price is Right
Penguin Award, Best Light Entertainment, The New Price is Right

TV Host/Compere

Sing, Sing, Sing (replacing Johnnie O'Keefe)
The Go!! Show
Time for Terry co-host with Terry O'Neill
Surprise, Surprise — co-host with Tommy Hanlon Jnr
The New Price is Right
The Price is Right
Newlyweds Game
Press Your Luck, Ch 7
Supermarket Sweep
Club Buggery (with Roy & HG)
Turpie Tonight

TV Specials

The Young Entertainers
This is your Life (with Mike Monroe)
Love is in the Air
Long Way to the Top
All the Way
TV Guest Appearances
Theatre Royal
Revue 7
TeenTime
Kommotion
Bandstand (Brian Henderson)
Steve Vizard Tonight
Bert Newton Show
Blankety Blanks (Graham Kennedy)
Family Feud (Rob Brough)
The Fat (Tony Squires)
Mike Walsh Show
Don Lane Show
Hey Hey It's Saturday (Daryl Sommers)
Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Penthouse Club (Mary Hardy)
Bandstand
A Guy Called Athol
Follies
The Melbourne Show

TV Acting

Homicide, bank robber in original episode
The Magic Boomerang
Always Greener

Films

A Funny Thing Happened Down Under (Olivia Newton-John)
Heaven's Burning, cameo as used car salesman (Russell Crowe)
Kissing Kimberley Cooper (Tropfest)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Ian Turpie ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Ian Turpie; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay