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Ron Blaskett

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Ron Blaskett
Born
Ronald William Blaskett

(1922-04-13)13 April 1922
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died14 April 2018(2018-04-14) (aged 96)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupations
  • Ventriloquist
  • televison personality
  • vaudevillian
  • comedian
  • host
Years active1946–1997
Known forThe Tarax Show, In Melbourne Tonight
SpouseMerle June Clapper (m. 1944)

Ronald William Blaskett (13 April 1922 – 14 April 2018) was an Australian entertainer and television pioneer. He is best known as the ventriloquist on GTV-9 with the doll, Gerry Gee both for children's entertainment, Tarax Show (1957–1964) and on adult variety programme, In Melbourne Tonight (1957–1970).

Biography

[edit]

Ronald William Blaskett was born on 13 April 1922 in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.[1]: 1  His parents, William Edward and Ethel Maria (née Moore) Blaskett, raised him in Northcote.[1]: 2  His father was a major in The Salvation Army.[2] His grandmother Elizabeth gave him a papier-mâché Cheeky Boy ventriloquist doll as a present.[3] Blaskett performed as a ventriloquist by 1938 and was broadcast on 3UZ in April 1941.[4][5][6] He was also an apprentice process engraver in 1941, when he enlisted in the Australian Army during World War 2.[1]: 1  Blaskett married Merle June Clapper on 29 November 1944.[1]: 1 [7] Upon discharge on 1 April 1946 he was a Sergeant in the Australian Entertainment Unit.[1]: 4–5, 10 

After the war, Blaskett worked in vaudeville on the Tivoli circuit.[3] In June 1946 he performed in Jim Davidson's Clambake at Melbourne's Tivoli Theatre.[8] In January 1950 two of his dolls, "Willie Ross" and "Adolphus Twerk", were stolen from his parked car, while he was inside Scott's Hotel, Melbourne.[9][10] The thief later dumped both dolls, which were returned via the police.[9]

Blaskett, with three of his dolls, appeared on GTV-9's test transmission on 11 October 1956.[11][12] The ventriloquist bought his doll "Gerry Gee", from Chicago-based puppeteer, Frank Marshall, which cost £A200.[13][14] They were regulars on GTV-9's children's entertainment programme, Happy Show (later renamed Tarax Show) from its first broadcast on 21 January 1957.[15][16] They were the first variety act to appear on Melbourne TV.[16] His wife sometimes worked with him as a ventriloquist operating the doll, "Sandra Simpkins".[13]

Blaskett, with three dolls ("Gerry", "Adolphus", "Aunt Agatha"), also compèred an adult-orientated quiz show Do You Trust Your Wife? (1957–1958).[17] The doll's popularity resulted in Gerry Gee starring in Tarax Show segments, "The Adventures of Gerry Gee" (1960–1962) and the production of Gerry Gee Junior puppets as merchandise.[13][18] The pair's stint on Tarax Show ended in 1964.[19] The ventriloquist and doll periodically appeared on GTV-9's adult variety programme, In Melbourne Tonight from 1957.[13] During the 1970s they guested on other GTV-9's Nine Network shows, The Ernie Sigley Show (1974–1976) and on Network 10's Young Talent Time.[3][13]

Blaskett officially retired in 1997.[16] In 2001 he published an autobiography, You, Me and Gerry Gee: 60 Years of Australian Showbiz.[20] He sold Gerry Gee for A$17,000 in 2006.[13] He died on 14 April 2018, the day after his 96th birthday.[11][13]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Blaskett, Ron; Newton, Bert (2001), You, Me and Gerry Gee: 60 Years of Australian Showbiz (1st ed.), [G Gee and Partners], ISBN 978-0-646-41790-5

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Item details for: B884, V501528: Digital Item Page Gallery". National Archive of Australia. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Red Shield Activities". Shepparton Advertiser. No. 360. Vic. 16 March 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 Broun, Shirley (7 June 2013). "Ron Blaskett and Gerry Gee - Flashback to 1993". On with the Show - Showbiz News. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Advertising". The Age. No. 26, 051. Vic. 15 October 1938. p. 29. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Stage Trials". The Age. No. 26, 269. Vic. 28 June 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Broadcasting". The Argus. No. 29, 534. Vic. 21 April 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Family Notices". The Herald. No. 20, 455. Vic. 5 December 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Event: Jim Davidson's Clambake". AusStage. 24 June 1946. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 "Wouldn't Talk to the Police". The Herald. No. 22, 672. Vic. 20 January 1950. p. 7. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Dolls made dummy of 'kidnapper'". The Argus. No. 32, 259. Vic. 21 January 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. 1 2 "Obituary: Ron Blaskett". Television.AU. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Ventriloquist on TV test tonight". The Argus. Vic. 11 October 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Knox, David (18 April 2018). "Vale: Ron Blaskett". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ D. Hudson (ed.). "Lodge Devotion 723 - Early Television in Melbourne; Vale Bro Ron Blaskett (1922-2018) who gave life to the Gerry Gee Doll". lodgedevotion.net. Archived from the original on 2 July 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "Hey, kids — this is Your page". The Argus. Vic. 18 January 1957. p. 35. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. 1 2 3 Webb, Carolyn (12 November 1998). "Gee, An Old TvV Character Is Going, Going ..." The Age. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via Transmitter.com.au.
  17. ↑ Batten, Charles (5 October 1957). "On the Air". The Record. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 39. Vic. p. 7. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ GTV 9 Television Station; Gerry Gee; Master John Field (1960). "Mask - GTV Channel 9, Gerry Gee, Rubber, Melbourne, circa 1960". Museums Victoria. Retrieved 6 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Blaskett, Ron. "Gerry Gee and The Tarax Show". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2026. The following are edited excerpts from the book You, Me and Gerry Gee by Ron Blaskett
  20. ↑ "You, Me and Gerry Gee: 60 Years of Australian Showbiz (Limited Edition)". Angus & Robertson. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
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