
The 'King of television' crown presented to Graham Kennedy on 23 December 1969 during his last episode of the television show In Melbourne Tonight (IMT).
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When Network Nine newsreader Eric Pearce presented the crown, he told Graham:
'For over twelve-and-a-half years you have been the king of entertainers. You have written a chapter in the history of Australian television. You have become a legend in your own lifetime. You have made IMT a way of life.'
Encrusted with faux pearls and lined with satin, the crown was a replica of one worn by King Henry IV of England and restored by the IMT production team for the farewell. It was rumoured to have previously been worn by actors Sir John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Robert Taylor.
Source: Graeme Blundell, King: The Life and Comedy of Graham Kennedy
Notes by Jennifer Coombes
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.