Well the weather is certainly conducive to working indoors today (not that I work out of doors any other day) but still…there’s something comforting about sitting inside soaking in the artificial light with the rain and gloom outside. So a good day to get something substantial achieved on the thesis-to- book project. I managed to make my way through the third chapter yesterday and finish off the changes I had made. Today I attacked the fourth chapter. Of all the chapters in the thesis this is the one least plundered for papers over the last 18 months or so. As a result, it was the least well remembered. This was helpful in one way as it was almost like reading it for the first time. So I went a little crazy with cuts and edits, and was surprised at the density of the analysis in places – particularly, the section on Bruce Gyngell. I know when I first wrote this I thought it was great and really central to the thesis, but now I’m less sure. I think it will need some more consideration to see how I can make it more readable.

I enjoyed reliving the Graham Kennedy as I read through (particularly after watching Bert Newton last night on TV). Kennedy really was the King…he set the tone and style for so many television performers who have followed him. Bert was the straight man most of the time and it was Kennedy who blazed the way. So while Bert’s still got the one liners, the innuendo and the timing, I think it was Kennedy who was really creative and spontaneous. A shame he’s no longer around but I don’t know if he could have ever surpassed the early work on In Melbourne Tonight. In his later years it all became a little too obvious…he sort of became a parody of his younger self.