Radio station 3AK's "Good Guy" DJs with the Rolling Stones
in Melbourne (1966). (Top row standing left to right) Bill Howie, Grantley Dee and Pete Smith
(Seated left to right) Andrew Loog Oldham (?), Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Mick Jagger (Herald Sun)
(The Rolling Stones in concert at the Palais Theatre, February 24, 1966)
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Some Background to this Interview and the Phillips
Brothers Herman, Leon and Harold Phillips were leading showmen in the Australian entertainment industry from the Edwardian era through to the 1950s. Their diverse interests included cinemas, amusement parks and dance halls. Beginning their conquest of Oceania in Sydney, their commercial activities eventually extended nationwide as well as across the Tasman to New Zealand. However, they quickly shifted their headquarters to Melbourne and specifically to the bayside suburb of St.Kilda where they owned Luna Park, the Palais Pictures (now the Palais Theatre) and the Palais de Danse ballroom. They also played a key role in the development of the Capitol Theatre and office building (known as "Capitol House") in the Melbourne CBD (downtown area). Later, they established other fun fairs interstate. As music promoters, they imported a number of popular jazz and big band artists from America to perform at their venues. But their career commenced way back at the dawn of the cinema age and the birth of the movies when at least one of them was involved in the operation of nickelodeons, kinetoscope parlours and penny arcades in their hometown of Spokane, Washington and Vancouver, Canada. The story as to how and why they ended up "Down Under" will be outlined in another, more detailed blog about their work which I am currently preparing.
The Phillips had a slightly unusual attitude to the spotlight. They were very successful publicists when it came to the promotion of their attractions; news of which regularly appeared in daily papers and they were close to the rich and famous. Leon, for instance, learned the tricks of the stage and screen from a dynamic travelling picture showman; a former carnival huckster, vaudeville roustabout and master of illusion who went on to become one of the most powerful studio chiefs in Hollywood. However, despite their own talent for creating thrills and excitement to enthral the public, something separated the brothers from their more ego-driven contemporaries (such as F.W.Thring) - namely their indifference to personal publicity. It seems that the "selfie" / microphone - grabbing / lampshade on the head routine never floated their River Caves boat and they preferred to maintain a comparatively low profile. Indeed, they remained somewhat mysterious figures who usually employed others to "meet the press". But a select few did get to know the men who made the magic. One was Pete Smith OAM and in this interview he reflected on that special friendship
Header Photos (Left to right): The Giggle Palace Luna Park (1960s )(Flickr), Pete Smith (Pete Smith Collection) and the Palais Theatre (BC)
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Bruce: Pete, thanks for making yourself available to have a chat about old St Kilda, the Phillips brothers and the early days of your broadcasting career
Pete: My pleasure Bruce
Bruce: Are you from St Kilda originally?
Pete: Yes, indeed....I started life in Longmore Street, West St Kilda and I was down there until the '50s when we relocated to Kew
(Melways) (Click on map to supersize)
Bruce: So, all of those iconic foreshore attractions such as Luna Park, the Palais and the Palais de Danse provided a backdrop to your youth?
Pete: They did. But they were much more than just a backdrop, particularly on Saturdays when I made a “b-line” for the Palais Theatre, or the Palais “Pictures” as it was originally called. That place was the centre of both my social life and my fantasy world... as it was for many people.
Bruce: The Palais was your “big deal”?
Pete: Absolutely, mainly because I was mad about the movies and it was a real picture palace in the grand American style. It was unusual to have a theatre like that in the suburbs and we were lucky that it was so close to home. Luna Park was magic in the old days as well.
The "Good Guys" at Luna Park (1960s)
(Left to right) Pete Smith, Grantley Dee and Bill Howie
(Pete Smith Collection)
(Historical photos of Luna Park from 1923 onwards)
(Note: When you go over to the Flickr website, ensure that the middle icon
in the set of three that appears at the top right corner of the screen (the toolbar) is highlighted.
If it isn't, then click on it. This will ensure that photos are displayed, initially, in the correct "album" size.
You can then click on individual photos to supersize them .
Ensure that this icon (above) is highlighted.
(Home movie footage)
(Brighton Grammar film club production)
(Giggle Palace announcement 1950s?)
(Ghost Train announcement 1950s)
(River Caves announcement 1950s?)
(Luna Park "Goodbye Song" 1950s?)
Bruce: What about the Palais de Danse?
Pete: That was a bit racy, strictly for the “dancing crowd” as the flappers and their beaus were called back in the '20s
(SKHS)(Click to supersize)
(Photo source unknown)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78453720@N06/albums/72177720324969426/(Archival photos of the Palais de Danse)
(ABOVE: Not at the Palais de Danse....
just an example of the type of band that would have appeared there in the '20s)
The Black Bottom (1927) - YouTube
20s Charleston Dance - "Black Bottom" - YouTube
1920s dances featuring the Charleston, the Peabody, Turkey Trot and more - YouTube
Rare Footage of Olivia Newton-John on Australian Television in the 60s: A Must-See for Fans! - YouTube
(A very young Olivia Newton John
demonstrating the Charleston on television
station HSV7 in Melbourne, Australia in the 1960s)
(Left to right) Luna Park, the Palais Pictures
and the Palais de Danse on the Lower Esplanade at St.Kilda (SKHS)
 |
Same attractions from street level (1930s?) (SKHS) |
Bruce: In her autobiography, Helen Reddy, who came from Camberwell, said that she always envied her cousins who lived in St.Kilda. She described it as being the most exciting and cosmopolitan suburb in Melbourne, at a time when those qualities were a bit thin on the ground in this city. Would you agree with those thoughts?
(Left to right) Helen Reddy in the photo studio at
Luna Park around 1950 with her parents Max and Stella (Facebook), on stage at the
peak of her fame in the '70s (Google) and the record that made her an international superstar (right)
(Helen Reddy sings her super hit "I Am Woman" on 1970s TV)
Pete: Yes, I would. There was, definitely, an international, or, more specifically, a fairly Americanized ambience about the area, certainly around the amusement precinct with the Canary Island palm trees, Spanish Mission architecture etc. I think that might have been deliberate or maybe it was simply due to the influence of important local Americans such as the Phillips. It looked like Santa Monica as we used to see it in Hollywood movies
Bruce: At the Palais of course?
Pete: Of course.
(Left to right) Edgewater Towers apartment block on Marine Parade built in 1961 (Bruce Corneil)
Poster for WWII St.Kilda carnival (SKHS) and the Santa Fe flats , 45 Mitford Street, Elwood (BC)
(NOTE: The neighboring suburb of Elwood was
part of the former City of St Kilda - now the City of Port Phillip)
The view from Edgewater Towers looking west
towards Luna Park and the Palais Theatre (realestate.com)
and....the apartments as seen from Luna Park.....
(Bruce Corneil)
Bruce: Sounds like you’ve given all this a bit of thought
Pete: I have actually. I’ve got some very vivid and happy memories of those years that I spent in St.Kilda
Bruce: Like to paint a couple of word pictures?
Pete: Well, for example, I can remember, as a young boy, walking around to the Palais from Longmore Street with my parents on balmy summer nights, riding on my dad’s shoulders, past the Catani Gardens and the pier. I can still feel the gentle breezes blowing and rustling through the wispy branches of the palm trees, the splashing and laughter of the swimmers in the twilight air and the myriad colored lights from the foreshore attractions streaking the roads and the beach...
(Left to right) Beaconsfield Parade (1930s) (SLV) ,Catani Gardens
rotunda (CPP) and amusements corner
Lower Esplanade and Jacka Boulevard (1950s) (SLV)
Bruce: And the Palais rose up behind all this..
Pete: Indeed, it was a prominent landmark at the top of the bay. Still is.....
(Left) The Palais Theatre after restoration
had commenced (BC) and (right) view from
Port Phillip Bay prior to restoration (Getty Images)
(Archival photos of the Palais Theatre)
(Short film that details the Palais's
contribution to the cultural life of Melbourne)
Bruce: When and how did you come to know the Phillips brothers?
Pete: I probably met them around 1954 or ’55. I knew Harold and Leon but not Herman, the eldest brother, who had long since passed away. In fact, they used to take me to dinner every Saturday at a terrific Chinese restaurant in the Village Belle. It all came about through my friendship with Albert Wright who was the projectionist at the Palais. As a teenager, my ambition was to work in the bio box down there. Anyway, I was just a local kid with stars in my eyes but Albert befriended me, when he realized that I was serious about a career in the business. So, I started to spend almost every waking hour at the theatre. All of them encouraged my interest in the entertainment industry
Albert Wright at the Palais Theatre (The Age, November 11, 1977)
and the Palais projection room (Bio Box) (Pete Smith collection)
Greetings from the Phillips.
Published in the 1932 Christmas edition of
"Everyone's": the Australian film industry trade magazine.
Bruce: Did you end up getting a job there?
Pete: Not really, I stayed on at school and, unfortunately, by the time I was ready to join the workforce, Harold and Leon had both died and the Palais had been sold. However, what they did do was allow me to have some involvement and a whole lot of fun at the place as a stepping stone. I mean, they were big operators and that theatre was a hot spot of show business, particularly from the ‘50s onwards when all those American stars like Bob Hope appeared there.
Bob Hope in Australia (1955)....
(Top left to right):
Sydney media reception and Hope's Palais show
(Middle images):
Poster for the Bob Hope/ Bing Crosby
movie Road to Bali (1952) and a scene from the same picture
(Lower image):
Co-incidentally, the film had not only screened
at the Palais but its opening sequence was set in Melbourne being
the location from which the central characters had set off along the road to Bali
(Road to Bali full movie)
Bruce: What was the involvement you had?
Pete: I ran the Palais Junior Film Club and the comic "swap shop". Harald Vike, who, as I recall, was the scenic artist, built a brilliant type of "shop" theatre set in the foyer where kids used to exchange their comics.
Harald Vike (left) Scenic artist at the Palais Pictures
and Luna Park in the 1950s with Lord Casey (NLA)
Biography - Harald Vike - Australian Dictionary of Biography (anu.edu.au)
Harald Vike Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Harald Vike Art Value Price Guide (invaluable.com
Bruce: Did you get to work on stage and front an audience at the Palais?
Pete: I did. That was where the film club came in. I used to host little presentations. I would introduce the movies, run competitions and mime Top 40 records. That was a peculiar fad in the ‘50s which became enormously popular on television when Channel 7 launched their show called the Hit Parade. That was right at the beginning when they commenced transmission in '56. Miming was all the rage for a while.
Bruce: .... and as I understand, it was in the second half of the '50s that you started in broadcasting. Is that correct?
30.Pete: Correct
Bruce: Now, as we go back a long way, I know that you have a separate and very interesting story to tell about your days as a radio DJ. You were also a pioneer of pop music shows on television and, of course, you became a household name via the nightly variety programs at GTV Channel 9 with the likes of Graham Kennedy, Bert Newton, Ernie Sigley, Don Lane and others and we'll discuss all of that in some detail a bit later....
(Note: After we concluded the interview, it was decided that this period of Pete's career warranted more space than could be allocated to it within the confines of our main, chat regarding the Phillips. With that being the case, this part of our conversation was expanded with additional questions and photos and it has now been presented separately as an extension to this post - see INTERVIEW EXTENSION below)
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