Ian Turpie


Ian Bruce Turpie was an Australian performer, a stage, television and film actor, a pop singer, a television presenter and a radio host personality, best known early in his career as the host of the teen pop music show, The Go!! Show. Later, he was known in the 1980s and 1990s for hosting the Australian versions of the long-running game shows The New Price Is Right, and Supermarket Sweep, as well as playing Keith Warne on Swift and Shift Couriers and Wazza in the earlier season of Housos.

Career

Early life

Born in Melbourne in 1943, Turpie began his entertainment career at the age of 10, when he was accepted at the Hector Crawford Drama School and gained recognition as a juvenile actor working in radio and theatre. He starred in a number of radio programmes alongside Sir Robert Helpmann and June Bronhill, and appeared in the Hector Crawford radio series D24, recorded at the 3DB studios in Melbourne and broadcast nationally over the Major Broadcasting Network.
During his teens, he discovered a passion for music and focused on playing guitar, songwriting and singing. By the age of 16, Turpie was a seasoned radio and stage performer, touring Australia in such hits as Peter Pan, Auntie Mame and Bye Bye Birdie, and appearing in several National Theatre productions including Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Television and personal life

Television soon beckoned; in 1964, Turpie played a student shot dead in a mock bank robbery in the opening scene to the debut episode of the iconic Crawford police series Homicide, having earlier appeared in a featured guest role in an episode of the courtroom drama Consider Your Verdict.
Turpie made regular appearances on Bandstand, Time For Terry and The Graham Kennedy Show. Turpie's talents as musician and compere were recognised at 21, when he replaced Johnny O'Keefe for a stint as national television compere on Sing Sing Sing. He was subsequently chosen to host the top-rating teenage variety show The Go!! Show from mid 1965 until the end of 1966. He was an early boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John, with whom he had starred in the 1965 Australian musical telefilm Funny Things Happen Down Under, Newton-John's debut performance.
In the 1970s, Turpie moved to Sydney to work the club circuit, and continued to make guest appearances on numerous television shows including The Mike Walsh Show, The Bert Newton Show, A Guy Called Athol and the ABC variety series Follies.
In the 1980s, Turpie became a nationwide figure as host of the highly successful, frenzied game show The New Price Is Right. This was followed by other game shows including Press Your Luck and Supermarket Sweep.
In the 1990s, Ian developed cult status following a regular four-year stint as Club President on Roy & HG's Club Buggery. Known as the "Giant of the G Chord", he performed renditions of such classics as Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, and, complete with suspenders, The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Time Warp. Less serious Club Buggery appearances in Turps about the House, Captain Ajax and Sam Stain showcased his comedic talents, as did a semi-regular role as cabaret-style singer Rolan Fields in drama series Always Greener. From 2000 he acted in Pizza and had a lead role in Housos as Wazza Jones, who was also the program's narrator. He also played the role of Depot Manager Keith Warne in Swift and Shift Couriers seasons one and two.
In 2004 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took legal action against Turpie for misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of the Trade Practices Act. The ACCC alleged that Turpie had made false claims in advertisements for an erectile dysfunction treatment spray from the Australian Medical Institute.
In 2005 Turpie pleaded guilty to drink driving after driving in Manly, New South Wales, with a blood alcohol level of 0.08. He was fined $867 and had his drivers licence suspended for six months; however this was overturned on appeal. After taking into account Turpie's charity work and his need to drive to work, Judge Reg Blanch ordered that no conviction be recorded. Turpie told reporters he was sorry for doing a "stupid thing".

Death

On 18 February 2011 it was announced that Turpie, a heavy smoker, had been diagnosed with cancer. He died on 11 March 2012, aged 68. When The Price is Right debuted its reboot in 2012, host Larry Emdur dedicated the first episode in memory of Turpie.
Turpie was married to his wife Jan for 44 years and had three children.

Awards

Acting

Turpie was involved with the following charities: Australia Day ambassador, Make a Wish Foundation, Merry Makers, Sunnyfield Association, Meningococcal Association, Children with Cancer, Lifeforce, Sydney Children's Hospital, Alzheimer's Australia NSW and Rotary Club.