DEADLY
EARNEST
Melbourne - Ralph Baker
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HAS MOVED
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Last revised: March 14, 2009.
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Way, way, back
in the 1960's, way before Elvira,
a favourite amongst Australian students was Deadly
Earnest ,
the TV schlock horror host on the O-Ten Network.
Late on Friday nights, the atrocious old sci-fi and
horror films became compulsory viewing, solely because of
the gothic master of ceremonies. |
RALPH BAKER
played the role of Deadly Earnest in Gothic style on ATV-0.
Taking on the role after moving to Channel 0 from GTV-9, Ralph
had previously worked in the props department as well as
appearing in comedy sketches on the original IMT (In
Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy).
Supporting
Deadly were the unforgettable characters of
CLAW (played by Ralph's left hand)
HOOF (played by Ralph's foot)
IGOR (the
missive devouring sound-effect)
Lily the skeleton.
Robynne B asks:
Who
does the good job on his face ?
The
'good job' is completely natural ...
with a smidgin of help from CLAW !
Allan says:
I
remember seeing Deadly hacking away with an axe on an old
hessian sack, apparently with a person inside it, then
saying
"
See...that's what you get for changing channels ! "
Then he turned to the camera and said meaningfully to the
audience:
"Now
think about it ..."
|
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Steve
writes:
Melbourne's Deadly occasionally evidenced a wayward, wilfull foot
called 'Hoof' trying to lead him in directions he didn't want to
go.
As for 'Claw', one night Deadly had had enough of his
shennanigans and nailed him to the table. This event was the
stuff of schoolyard legend for years afterwards. "Remember
the night when ...?"
Peter
G recalls:
I remember
Deadly Earnest...
When I was very young..I used to sit up with my Dad on Friday
nights to watch him...then try to stay awake through the horror
films. Usually I did.
My memories of this time would be late 60's on. Deadly had Egor
in the drain like grid in the floor. He would talk to him and
Egor would be growling, Snarling , Howling...etc... with the mist
and light oozing through the grill. Claw would grab Deadly
around the throat. Something else I remember was the late
night TV ads for "Kevin Dennis Holden"...
"Good
Morning Mr Doubleday"
In 1969, a guest appearance was made by D.E. in this ATV-O comedy
series, in the episode entitled "A
Sidecar Named Desire". Ralph was
originally Assistant Producer on the series, eventually becoming
Producer.
Deadly also presented "The Outer Limits" in 1972, in
the earlier time slot of 7:30pm.
A
waxwork of Deadly was created in the 1970s by the wax
works in St Kilda. After that closed, it moved to Echuca.
Paul E. advises that Echuca has now closed too, but he
has tracked Waxy Deadly down to the Gold Coast Wax Museum and they also have the
Queensland Deadly !
If you are planning visit, check first to see if the
Deadlies are on display. |
 |
Deadly Earnest at_______
London
Wax Museum
Opposite
Luna Park, Melbourne
|
|
For a long time, many people
believed that Ralph had since passed away, including
silly old me, but rumours
of his death are somewhat exaggerated
!
--
|
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Ralph is alive and well, and
thoroughly enjoying life as a Puppeteer with his own
puppet theatre:-
|
- Pinnacle Puppet Theatre -
In August
of 2003, the current production was
"The Three Little Pigs With A Twist".
1977 Interview from Carol George's
column "Theatre Scene" in the Melbourne entertainment
newspaper "Scene" April23-29 1977...
 |
Remember Deadly Ernest?
__How could you forget him! Horrible jagged
fangs, vampirish voice, and Claw, his left handed buddy.
Not to forget Igor, the man eating, roaring monster.
Deadly Ernest was the creepy compere of those late night
Channel 0 horrors.
__But more than that, he became almost a
cult figure, with a huge following of fascinated viewers.
Deadly Ernest has, of course, long been laid to rest,
along with Claw and Igor. The terrible trio are now no
more than just a dusty memory in most people's minds. |
__But the man behind that ghoulish creation,
Ralph Baker, lives on. And he still has fond memories of
Ernest, the character a lot of his colleagues used to say was
his "alter ego."
__"They all used to say that out at Channel
0," said Ralph laughing. "But honestly, Deadly was
definitely not me."He was quite a change of character
for me. I would never do or say the things Deadly came out
with."
__Ralph's show business colleagues envied him a
lot too. For as Deadly, he could do stacks of horrible things
that they couldn't.
__"I could say 'This film is terrible' if I
wanted - and get away with it. All those things that
television people would love to be able to say - and can't -
I could."
__For some odd reason - which neither Ralph nor
Deadly could ever work out - Ernest, Claw and the
unforgettable Igor attracted a strong following from the
"student population." People often used to ask
Ralph to ''do a Deadly Ernest.'' But strangely, he could
never ever talk like Deadly unless he was in full drag.
__"It was odd," agreed Ralph. "I
could never ever - and still can't - talk like Deadly unless
I had the teeth in, and costume and makeup on."
Deadly
Embrace |
__At the time of Deadly's reign on
television, an odd incident took place. One night Ralph
took his wife along to a costume ball. He was often
invited to be the judge of the best horror costume and
naturally, he always went along in the full gear.
__"After we arrived home, Beryl said to
me that she felt like she hadn't been with me. She said I
was a complete stranger to her when I dressed up as
Deadly." "Like another person." |
__The real Ralph spent nearly 15 years in
television on the production side. He began on Channel 9 with
the old IMT crew, doing the odd madcap sketch with The King
as well as working in the props department.
__Ralph has also been heavily involved in
amateur theatre for many years, mainly working as a producer
for Festival. Now he's producing the Heritage Musical Theatre
of Waverley's latest piece, Okalahoma, which will be on at
the State College Theatre. Burwood, from April 21-23. (1977)
Related
Sites:
my email-id is rj4oz-web at yahoo.com.au
Sadly
actress Maila Nurmi,
who played VAMPIRA,
one of the original TV horror hosts
of the 1950s
has passed away, age 86.
R.I.P
|
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Dead Links: ________(Gone
But Not Forgotten)
This is an AMATEUR
fan site, operating under FAIR USE
provisions.
It is NOT associated with any professional organization the O-Ten
Network, TV Scene, Brian's Speed Shop, nor any of the artists,
licencees or rights-holders of whatever kind, including Deadly
Ernest himself ! All trademarks and copyright belong to their
respective owners. NO attempt is made to supersede copyright, etc,
etc, etc. Any other appropriate disclaimers too. Apologies in
advance to any-one I may have offended in the content of this or
any other page. The answer is 42. There's only one "O"
in Melbourne, but there's 8 in Woolloomoolloo.
