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Friday Flashback: Mary Hardy

1970s comedienne & trail-blazer Mary Hardy was fearless, once sacked by networks, but was privately a 'tragic clown.'

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The passing of Mike Williamson reminded me of the extraordinary talents of Mary Hardy, whom he performed alongside on HSV7’s Penthouse Club.

In this documentary, narrated by comedian Tania Lacy, we also hear from producer / agent Garry Stewart and Wendy Harmer about how fearless Hardy was, but how privately she had much darker demons.

Hardy, who died in 1985, was sister to author Frank Hardy, while writer Marieke Hardy is her grand-niece. A talented clan!

Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36

7 Responses

  1. Thank you for this. I did see the full doco a few years ago on ABC TV. She was compulsive viewing. You never knew what she was going to say. No one has ever replaced her in Australia. To me she was up there with Joan Rivers and Lucille Ball.

  2. It wasn’t until they showed a clip of Mike Williamson on the Penthouse Club with Mary Hardy that I clicked who he was. I remember many a saturday night in the lounge room with family and extended family while Penthouse Club was playing with Mary, Mike and the Trots.

  3. Thanks David… such a fascinating short documentary. Saturday night television has always been a barometer of the times — Penthouse Club with Mike Williamson, Bill Collins and Mary Hardy (with the trots from The Showgrounds and Moonee Valley) in the late 70s, the magnificent Hey Hey It’s Satuirday throughout the 90s, and The Late Show on the ABC in the early-to-mid 2000s. Sadly, it’s been a while since Saturday evenings has produced any ‘must see’ TV on our sets.

  6. I adored Mary Hardy, such a funny lady. I recall seeing on a show a few years ago that Graham Kennedy felt threatened by her talent and wasn’t happy she was overshadowing him. Such a sad loss, and really hard to fathom that someone so seemingly happy-go-lucky in the outside was so tortured on the inside.

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