John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune
Baby John Burgess is an Aussie legend.Source:News Limited
BABY John Burgess is the longest-serving game show host in Australian TV history, but according to the man himself, he still has a lot to offer.
The 71-year-old, who appeared on TV for two decades hosting both Wheel of Fortune and Burgo’s Catch Phrase, spoke to news.com.au about his long career and his eagerness to get back on the small screen.
Before your TV and radio career you were a professional tenpin bowler. How did that happen?
About John Burgess. Television and radio personality who hosted Wheel of Fortune in Australia. He worked at radio station 2UW from 1965 to 1970. Wheel Of Fortune Hosted by John Burgess with Adriana Xenides from 1989. Photographer Messenger Press, photographer Title John Burgess and Adriana Xenides of Wheel of Fortune Date taken c1995 Description. Channel 7's Wheel of Fortune was recorded in Adelaide from 1981 to 1996 when production was shifted to Sydney. The first three seasons were hosted by Ernie Sigley.
- Long-term Australian host John Burgess had been one of the country’s first professional ten-pin bowlers before going on to become Australia’s longest-serving game show host. Adriana Xenides co-hosted the Australian version of Wheel Of Fortune for 18 years. The Argentinean-born beauty first appeared on the popular game show at the age of 22.
- Burgo's Catch Phrase was based on th UK format just simply called Catch Phrase which in turn was based on the short-lived US format of the same name, ran on the Nine Network from 1997 until 2003. Hosted by John Burgess and the late Adriana Xenides of Wheel of Fortune fame as co-host in 2002. Contestants would have to identify the familiar phrase represented by a piece of animation, with the.
John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune
“Enfield had the first bowling centre in Sydney and I was bowling there one night, I’d never been bowling before, and I wasn’t very good at it,” said Burgess.
“Two guys came up and introduced themselves … and they said that they thought I had a bit of potential. They asked if I’d be interested in learning a bit about the game with the thought of joining Brunswick Bowling Equipment company which were the other manufacturers along with AMF. This was back in 1959.
Nice pins John.Source:News Corp Australia
His bowling average was 213.Source:News Corp Australia
“So I went and bowled a bit for them and they taught me a few things and then they offered me a job so I became a professional bowler which entailed me bowling exhibitions at the opening of bowling centres which were popping up like fast food joints back in that day.
“I picked the sport up really quickly.”
John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune Teller
How did a professional tenpin bowler get interested in showbiz?
“I was standing talking to the girl behind the counter at a bowling centre as you do,” said Burgess.
“She wasn’t a bad sort either. John Laws was apparently standing behind me and when I walked away Laws said to the girl, ‘who was that?’ And she said, ‘it’s John Burgess, he’s a professional bowler.’ And John Laws just said, ‘he’s got a good voice, he should be in radio.’ And that’s how it started.
Laws in 1977. Stud.Source:News Corp Australia
Nice glasses Mr Laws.Source:News Limited
Baby John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune
“He (John Laws) said you teach me how to bowl and I’ll teach you about radio. I used to go in and watch him work and he gave me a tape recorder and some scripts for commercials and I’d go home and read them into the recorder and listen back and I was pretty awful I have to say.”
You soon got a full-time radio gig and interviewed some of the biggest music stars in the world. Did you hit it off with anyone?
“Roy Orbison was probably my best friend (out of all the international rock stars that he’s met),” said Burgess.
“I hosted most of his concerts when he came to Australia. We went out and had coffee and dinner from time to time. In fact, I went with him and Neil Diamond for a couple of drinks after Roy’s show at the Opera House. There’s a name drop for you.”
You transitioned from radio to TV but in 1996, after 12 years, you were dumped as host of Wheel of Fortune. What happened next?
“I was doing Wheel of Fortune on Channel 7 and they decided that they’d change the host to Tony Barber in June, 1996,” said Burgess.
“By November that year, they realised that they’d made a rather disastrous mistake and they offered me a lot of money to go back to do Wheel of Fortune again.
Baby John hosted Wheel of Fortune for 12 years and was replaced by Tony Barber.Source:News Limited
John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune Telling
“In the meantime, David Leckie had got involved at Channel 9 and they were paying me a retainer just to have first crack at me if someone offered me a job.
“When Channel 7 offered me the job again, David went to Kerry Packer and said, ‘we can’t have this happen,’ and Kerry agreed. So they matched Channel 7’s offer and then they got me a radio job on 2 CH in Sydney to do breakfast through John Singleton.
John Burgess Wheel Of Fortune Bob Mackie
“As Kerry said, ‘we’re not going to beat their offer, we’ll match it and this is the icing on the cake to do the breakfast radio show.’
“So I owe Kerry Packer a lot. It was a very sad day when he died.”
When you were hosting both Wheel of Fortune and Catch Phrase, the ratings were very impressive. You must have been doing well financially?
“I was certainly getting a lot more than the Prime Minister was getting at the time which is a bit of an indictment isn’t it, when a game show host is earning more money than someone who is running the country,” said Burgess.
Could Catch Phrase return to our TV screens?Source:News Corp Australia
Would you like to host Wheel of Fortune or Catch Phrase again?
“It seems to me that when people want to talk about game shows or radio stations are running some form of competition involving a wheel or a cruise, they all ring me up which is very nice and I really do appreciate it,” said Burgess.
“I just wish that someone would say, ‘well if everyone wants to talk to him about game shows, why don’t we give him one again?’
“I’m the longest serving game show host in the country and I believe even if they put it on at five o’clock, that Catch Phrase would be a welcome return.”
John Burgess can currently be heard weekdays from 5.30am to 9am on Perth’s 6iX.