Vale: Garry Stewart

Veteran manager and pioneering producer Garry Stewart, who ran Melbourne Artists Management, has died aged 85.

He passed on January 1st following ongoing health battles.

Garry Stewart started at GTV9 in 1958 as a staging hand. He rose through the ranks to become boom operator, floor manager, working alongside Graham Kennedy, and eventually producer, overseeing such shows as In Melbourne Tonight.

Pete Smith told TV Tonight, “When I first went to Channel 9 in 1964, Garry was already involved in the production of Live entertainment, and at that time, I recall he was producing the Friday night In Melbourne Tonight hosted by Noel Ferrier.

“In those so-called golden years in the mid-60s, Gary produced many a GTV special, including two that were recorded on the one Sunday at the newly opened Studio Nine.

“On that afternoon he produced a special by the Rolling Stones and in the evening was in charge of a special featuring Tom Jones (both attractions happened to be in Australia at the same time).”

In later years he moved to artist management, running top agency Melbourne Artists Management. Amongst the performers he represented were Bert Newton, Pete Smith, Rachel Griffiths, Rahda Mitchell, Alan Dale and Prisoner cast including Elspeth Ballantyne, Sheila Florance, Patsy King, Julia Blake, Gerda Nicholson, Mary Ward and Sandy Gore. He was also a judge on Nine’s New Faces.

“Garry left Channel 9 to join Jim Berenson at Melbourne Artists Management (MAM) and when Jim left, Garry became CEO representing most of the big names in acting at that time, ” Smith continued.

“In the years that followed, Garry was responsible for organising the occasional reunion for all those Channel 9 staff and celebrities that had worked down through the years at the old ‘fun factory’ in Bendigo Street, Richmond.

“In the hurly-burly world of TV, Gary is remembered as a true gentleman, and is regarded with much affection by all who knew him.”

IMT gag writer Mike McColl-Jones also recalled, “If it hadn’t been for Garry, I probably would never have gone into TV.

“He and I would meet at lunchtime and sit in his car writing scripts for Noel Ferrier’s IMT. We would spend hours parked on boulevard in Richmond, learning how to write comedy. A year or so after I started with Graham Kennedy, Rod Kinnear offered to take Garry, Ian Holmes and myself for a ride around the bay in one of Arthur Schutt’s Cessnas. During the flight Garry tapped me on the shoulder, indicating he was going to throw up. He did, and after we got back to GTV, there was Garry ordering two huge cream buns in the canteen.

“A great Floor Manager, Producer, Artist’s Management, and most importantly a great person. A lovely man, from an equally lovely family.”

Stewart once described his time at GTV9 as “the most entertaining 14 years of my life.”