Arts
BE LIKE billy baxter
By Liz Bell Photos Yanni
E
VEN for people who know very little about football, the name Billy Baxter rings of luminary fame, like the pseudonym or alliterative moniker of a screen star or wanna-be pop star.
For those who don’t know, that name is attached to one of Australia’s most ‘under-the-radar’ and down-to-earth superstars of the entertainment sector, who says he was “shocked”, “humbled” and “grateful” for the recent honour of an Order of Australia Medal.
The award is not just for Billy’s 42years of non-stop involvement in the music industry as performer and broadcaster, but also as author and actor, and for his part as a team player in that loveable, long-running, radio footy program The Coodabeen Champions, alongside Jeff Richardson, Ian Cover, Jeff "Torch" McGee, Simon Whelan, Andy Bellairs and Greg Champion, all of who made the Queen’s Birthday OAM list for 2022. August 2022
continued next page...
E ssence | 31
PENINSULA