Interview about 1961 Europe trip
TCN9 reporter John Godson interviews a relaxed Graham Kennedy on 9 August 1961. Graham has arrived in Sydney after a three-week overseas trip, sponsored by Australian shirt manufacturer Glo-Weave. Kennedy mentions his interest in European fashion, visiting a Rome television station (RAI) and attending various live shows in Paris and London.
This interview is one of the earliest known surviving with Graham as interviewee. Graham did not consider himself a strong interviewer and did not regularly interview guests on television, beyond the earliest years of In Melbourne Tonight.
It's not clear where this interview screened, although it was likely filmed either for inclusion on a TCN9 Sydney news edition or a Sydney-based evening variety program.
Five years earlier, interviewer John Godson cemented his own place in Australian television history. His voice was the first heard on the opening night of regular television broadcasting in Australia. On 16 September 1956, Godson was heard (though not seen) introducing the name of the station (TCN 9), prior to Bruce Gyngell's opening words: 'Good evening ... and welcome to television.'
Notes by Simon Smith