, S T H G I L , A R E M A C N O I T AC By Melissa Walsh Photos: Yanni
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e directed Hey Hey It’s Saturday for 20 years, was the lead cameraman for Graham Kennedy, and Bert Newton, set up the Today Show, directed The Panel, and Deal or No Deal, invented the WWF slow motion replay, and has rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous.
When you’ve been in the television industry for as long as Ray Punjer, there sure are some tales to tell. Peninsula Essence writer, Melissa Walsh, sits down with the Australian director and producer to get an insight into life behind the scenes on the small screen.
“How did you start out in the television industry? I was around 15 and one of my mates who worked at Channel 9 said they were looking for another office boy. Mum bought me a pair of long pants and took me to the interview with the manager of the Channel 9 network and I got the job. It was a whole new world to me as I had never been out of my backyard so to speak. Back in those days there were no emails so everything was hand written memos typed by the secretaries which I had to deliver. I also ran around with the fan mail to the stars and put it in their pigeon holes. continued next page... Summer 2015/2016
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