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This is lucky Phil.
Those words to an entire generation growing up in the 80’s and 90’s instantly brings back memories of Hey Hey it’s Saturday.
Phil Lambert was the floor manager, the man behind the scenes, keeping the crew and cast together and the show rolling.
The shows fun and loose format often meant, if they needed to ask something, Darryl could call out to Phil and a voiceover would play from the sound desk, with a snippet from an ad at the time that said, “ This is Lucky Phil”. The phrase stuck. Anyone else in Australia around that time and even decades after called Phil would then instantly of inherited that title with their name.
Sadly over this weekend Phil passed away. He had more than 50 years working on Television behind the scenes with people like Burt Newton, Eddie McGuire and of course Daryl Somers at Hey Hey.
Our thoughts are with his family and his friends at this time.
That month also saw John Cornell pass away.
Can you imagine the stories Phil would be able to tell and the changes in TV he had seen. From the technology side, to the cultural side, to the stars that have come and gone.
Imagine the business stories John would of had and the backend story to Crocodile Dundee. These are irreplaceable stories from a time we will never see again.
I recently reached out to John Blackman, the iconic voice of Hey Hey it’s Saturday, asking him if he wanted to be part of the podcast. I knew he had recently been through some health issues, he seems like a genuinely nice person. I thought it would make for not only interesting but an important conversation around how he got to be on Hey Hey and then life after it. I also have Red Symons on my wish list who worked close with both Phil and John.
However I never heard back from John, and that’s ok. I don’t mind if you don’t want to talk to me, but just make sure you tell your story to someone. Not just a Q and A interview, but a non ruched conversation. Because those that care or are interested should have a place to come back to and hear your voice, your stories, thoughts and your laugh.
Francis @ Bumping into Podcast.