Cecile Blackman entrusts Dickie Knee to Daryl Somers

Yesterday at the funeral for legendary funnyman John Blackman, his widow Cecile spontaneously gave ownership of ‘Dickie Knee’ to Daryl Somers.

Somers’ eulogy which had praised Blackman’s wit and generosity also told a story of how he came to be an unscripted, unplanned part of Hey Hey it’s Saturday. Amongst the story was Somers recalling knocking the desk and admitting, “I think I’ve got a dickie knee.”

With Blackman interjecting, the favourite character was born, later enhanced visually by props man Krystal.

At the end of his eulogy, Cecile Blackman told mourners she didn’t want ‘Dickie’ sitting in a wardrobe, and entrusted it to Somers, “For everything that you’ve done.”

With that the gathering broke out into applause.

Blackman passed away on June 4 which led to an outpouring of sentiment from the public and three billboards across Melbourne and Sydney thanking him for the laughs.

A who’s who from Australian television’s golden years has gathered in Malvern to farewell the late funnyman John Blackman.

Hey Hey it’s Saturday host Daryl Somers who led the tributes, received a precious gift from his mate’s widow. @EmilyRice28 #9News pic.twitter.com/KYDtfE3bps

— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) June 23, 2024

‘Hey Hey it’s Saturday’ host Daryl Somers has led emotional tributes at the funeral of the show’s funnyman John Blackman.

Speaking for the first time since Blackman died early this month, Somers also received an extraordinary gift from his family. https://t.co/5zYfOfGqUb… pic.twitter.com/eiIGZXWGmd

— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) June 23, 2024