The King

In 2005, Graham Kennedy did something that made me into a fan. He died.

To explain, I’m a young guy in my mid-20′s. The only real knowledge I had of Kennedy came from hazy memories of watching Coast To Coast as a child. And so, upon his death, suddenly televised tributes to Kennedy were impossible to escape. Plus TV1 screened a bunch of Blankety Blanks episodes in memory of its one-time host.

I watched and developed an appreciation. There’s few Australian TV hosts that will be as beloved as Kennedy became. I can hardly see a televised funeral for Daryl Somers in his future.

The life of Graham Kennedy, already the subject of several biographies and ‘tell-all’ books, has now been adapted into a 90 minute TV movie by Foxtel station TV1. Starring Stephen Curry as Graham Kennedy, the tele-movie chronicles the early years of Kennedy, driving him through several key points in his career, from early days on radio, to IMT, to Blankety Blanks. The movie depicts Kennedy as a closeted homosexual dealing with a lifetime of abandonment issues.

Any writer given just 90 minutes to craft a fully-developed portrait of a mans lifetime will struggle under the constraints, however the depth of development in The King is ultimately bite-sized and hardly nourishing. It would have been nice to see more time spent during key moments of his career. Instead, it feels as though the viewer is rushed through key plot points in order to try to depict the entire canvas.

What stood out throughout the production is some of the outstanding acting on display here. Who would have thought that Stephen Curry had it in him to deliver such a convincing and nuanced performance? Also worth noting is the supporting role filled by Stephen Hall portraying Bert Newton. Hall has almost uncannily taken on Bert Newtons voice and vocal patterns, while maintaining a grounded and realistic character in the film.

The King will be repeated on TV1 several times this week and will be screened on Channel Nine later this year. Make sure that you take the time to watch the film if possible. It’s hardly great film making, but it serves as an excellent primer into one of Australian televisions legends.