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Remembering ‘Roscoe’

"God, your audience is going to welcome him every night in their heavenly homes," Steve Liebmann said of Ian Ross today.

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 4.10.35 pm.jpgFamily, friends, colleague and industry have gathered to remember legendary news presenter Ian Ross.

Faces from rival networks were amongst those at the funeral, held on the Gold Goast this afternoon.

Steve Liebmann said, “I have marvelled ever since Roscoe told me the sad news back in December. I’ve marvelled at how he handled his last 6 months on this planet it was quite remarkable.

“He retained his dignity, his wicked sense of humour, his love for Gray, his children and grandchildren. Nothing changed.

“But then when you think about it I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

Liebmann’s most generous remarks were shared in a ‘conversation’ he had with God when He might have been considering calling the veteran news man to Heaven.

“I said to God, ‘It’s your call. But if you take him, he’s not going to come cheap. Not after those contracts that Leckie and Meakin offered him and he accepted,'” said Liebmann.

“You won’t get a better front man for your heavenly news primetime network. You’ll get someone who, as Peter Overton said, was ‘generous of spirit.’ Or as Peter Meakin said, ‘was a sheer joy to work with.’ And he surely was. God, your audience is going to welcome him every night in their heavenly homes and watch him win the ratings for you.”

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 4.08.18 pm.jpgLiz Hayes said, “He laughed a lot and he made us laugh. He delighted in the ridiculous and loved a good story, and we have a few.

“We’re here today because Roscoe enriched our lives. He wanted us to celebrate today. He wanted us to have a good time.

“We all salute you.”

Tracy Grimshaw said: “I look at this room of people who loved him and you all know what a kind, loyal, decent, humble, generous bloke he was. But let’s be honest. He was wicked. Everything he said, pretty much, had a double meaning. And the second meaning usually involved shagging!” (a word she later admitted she hadn’t expected to say on television).

“We will miss his warm, wonderful face and his mischievous laugh, and we love him and we will raise plenty of glasses of Bolle to him. In fact I’m dedicating every glass of Bolle for the rest of my life to Roscoe.”

The service also included memories from Roscoe’s daughter.

Ian Ross, whose media career spanned 5 decades, died last week following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 73.

3 Responses

  1. I watched it on Seven in Sydney, and it was a touching service.

    It was good to see Channel Seven play it commercial free, and with the knowledge that only Channel Nine personalities would be speaking (although there were cutaway shots to Jim Wilson and Chris Bath in attendance).

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