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(Above: Nicky Whitta and his sidekick in the studio at Bourke Street. The sheets of paper were filled with names of sponsors, many of whom would never get mentioned. Photo from King – The Life and Time of Graham Kennedy by Graeme Blundell)

In 1949, Graham was offered a job as copy boy for the ABC in the evenings and Sundays, he took the job as it gave him the opportunity to actually enter Radio Studios. He then moved on to 3AW as a turntable operator and then to 3UZ in the Record Library.

In 1950, Graham got his opportunity when his idol, Nicky Whitta, known by all as Nicky, was lured to 3UZ to do a morning session. At first Nicky had brought his own panel operator and comedy foil, Alf Thesinger, with him, but thanks to the introduction of National Service, Alfie was called up and Graham was given the job.

Graham was said to have been ‘forever grateful’ to the Government for this opportunity and he never looked back.

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Nicky took the young man under his wing and according to Graham, Nicky became ‘a surrogate father’. Their session was 11.00 am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday. Nicky was a laid back broadcaster, he had a comfortable old chair and he used to lean close to the microphone and talk directly to the listener as though they were the only one he was talking to. Often the listener was referred to as ‘Mum’,’love’, ‘darl’. It was an amazing talent. Nicky also had a talent for rubbishing the ads that led to some arguments with some of the advertisers, but also led to large sales of the items being discussed. Personally I feel that this is where Graham picked up this style that he later put to good use on IMT (In Melbourne Tonight).

Nicky could weave a dozen advertisements into a story of Little Red Riding Hood, making it all up as he went along. One gimmick they developed was to play part of one recorded ad, then immediately fade in another. A voice would say: ‘The best cure for unsightly corns and bunions is –‘, and another announcerish voice chimed in with ‘LAXETTES!’

Every session the team did was predicated on the idea of satirising the sponsors, the great majority having no objection to their products being pilloried, panned, denigrated or even physically destroyed, while Melbourne listened and then went out and bought.

Often, Nicky and Graham would play the recorded advertisements at the wrong speed, Graham slipping them on the turntable at standard instead of Microgroove speed to save time. They would read out ‘adverts’, as Nicky liked to call them, simultaneously, with a couple of recorded commercials playing loudly in the background.

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Initially many people were surprised when Graham was chosen to be Nicky’s panel operator and comic feed. Graham was was a very shy, quiet and polite young man, whereas Nicky could be a larrikin. Nancy Lee, Nicky’s wife, indicated that she didn’t think that Graham would work out, whereas one of Nicky’s sons remembers that Nicky was unsure at times and Nancy Lee would encourage Nicky to continue with Graham. Whichever way it was, it worked.

Graham was an instinctive comedy feed for Nicky and the two of them had an almost mental telepathy operating. Graham went from being quiet and only responding to Nicky’s lead, to an active participation and even leading at times. Very soon the mail bag was arriving with mail addressed to them both. There were ups and downs as with many such partnerships, Nicky was hard on Graham and even tried to get him sacked a couple of times, but their act together was said to be the greatest double act of all time in Australian Radio. It is a shame that so few examples of the two of them working together survive to this day. Fortunately, thanks to the generosity of Jamie Kelly, long-time radio show collector, we have a couple of examples here for you.

In 1956 the partnership ended with the passing of Nicky, who had suffered a heart attack at home. 150,000 people were said to have lined the route to the Crematorium at Springvale. At the time, it was said to have been the biggest funeral in the history of Melbourne.

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The Nicky and Graham Show which had 73% of the listening audience, became the Graham Show. Graham initially had felt that the talent was Nicky’s and that he would not be able to produce the same results without Nicky. Nancy Lee and Nicky’s old partner Tuppy also helped out at this time. Later ‘Happy’ Hammond was brought in to partner Graham. That partnership worked well, ‘Happy’ was an experienced comedian and his style was also very popular with the listeners. ‘Happy Hammond’ then moved to Television and took over the new Show that was to have been the launch of Nicky’s Television Career.

1957 was the year that Graham first started on television, initially he was juggling radio and television but from that time onward he was known as a television star and though he returned to radio over the years, the King of Television had commenced his reign. An anecdote from that time was that when Graham received his first cheque covering both his radio and television work for the first week, he proudly showed it to his Grandmother. She was amazed and told him it was too much and advised him to give some of it back.

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The 1950 to 1956 period under Nicky’s tutoring was where Graham learnt his comedy timing and it was also where the Melbourne audience first discovered Graham Kennedy. Graham’s later television partnership with Bert Newton can also be traced back to the two of them as friends on rival Melbourne Radio stations and the large audiences they controlled each with their own style.

I have only briefly described Nicky and Graham in partnership, but I think that if you had watched Graham Kennedy on his various Television Shows over the years, as I did, you will see where he learnt his trade and who it was that had the most impact on Graham and taught him the skills that did eventually make him the King of Australian Television.

Please take the opportunity to find and purchase the books of reference I have used for this article. Both books are full of anecdotes, funny lines and descriptions that make you wish you had been there to experience the moments described.

Being born and bred in Sydney, I was totally unaware of Nicky and of Graham’s beginnings in radio. Having visited relatives regularly in Melbourne I was aware of IMT but being as young as I am, all the things I have written about here happened before I was born. I relied heavily on the 2003 book KING – The Life and Comedy of Graham Kennedy by Graeme Blundell. It is a well written book, not only about Graham Kennedy, but about radio and Television throughout Graham’s career. A very enjoyable read.

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I also referred to another book, Being A Chum Was Fun – The story of Nicky & Nancy Lee, by Nancy Lee, published around 1979. This book with a foreword by Graham Kennedy, tells of Nicky and his radio career, a career that would have led to television if he had not passed away so young. Nicky was already contracted to Channel Nine. It’s another good read and one that describes the Melbourne Radio scene of the time, the people involved and the listeners. Out of print no doubt, but easy to find in 2nd hand book shops. The photos I have used here also came from this book, I hope that is okay with Nancy Lee.

I don’t know how many laughs Graham Kennedy has given me over the years, but it continues to be a very large number, I was laughing again listening to these airchecks and picturing what was happening in the studio. Thank you Graham and Thank You Nicky!

Listen To Graham & Nicky