Vale: Dennis Smith

Veteran theatrical entrepreneur and pioneering TV producer Dennis Smith, who produced The GO!! Show and toured top music acts, has died.

He passed away yesterday morning following a long health battle.

From 1964 – 1968 he produced the teenage television program The GO!! Show for the 0-10 Network with Godfrey Phillips and Julian Jover.

Hosted variously by Alan Field, Ian Turpie, Johnny Young and Ronnie Burns, it focussed on local solo performers, and featured a troupe of go-go dancers and a regular team of young performers. Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll were regulars along with Normie Rowe, Lynne Randell, The Twilights. The Strangers also performed their own material on weekly basis throughout the life of the show. It was filmed before a live audience, with early episodes being one-hour long, screening three nights a week.

From 1970 Smith began producing and presenting theatrical and concert attractions in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. From 1980 – 1994 he was personal manager to Barry Humphries and produced and presented Humphries’ theatrical offerings worldwide.

Other Australian theatrical productions include national tours of The Odd Couple with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, Jeffrey Archer’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt with Frank Finlay, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Noises Off, Beehive. He produced Dusty – the Original Pop Diva, Shout! the Johnny O’Keefe musical and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Countdown.

International tours included Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Sir Harry Secombe, Peter Allen, Charles Aznavour, Cilla Black, Victor Borge, Max Bygraves, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Petula Clark, Chubby Checker, Randy Crawford, The Commodores, Dick Emery, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Dr Hook, The Hollies, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Shirley MacLaine, Don McLean, Helen Reddy, Des O’Connor, Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Charley Pride, Lou Rawls, Neil Sedaka, Leo Sayer, Tina Turner, Village People, Dionne Warwick and many others.

In 2011 he produced GO!! Show Gold, a major reunion concert and once said, “I was involved in the production of the original GO!! Show back in the 60’s and always felt there would be interest in an anniversary concert, but even I was taken by surprise at the amount of interest the show generated and the ongoing calls I have had for another tour.”

Smith’s late wife Carol Burke was also Graham Kennedy’s wheel girl on In Melbourne Tonight in the mid sixties.

Funeral live stream. A memorial service will be helf on  Tuesday January 17th at 11am at The Palms at Crown.

Source/ Photo : Wikipedia, Southern FM