• Eric Pearce (left) after presenting Graham Kennedy with his crown. NFSA title: 684373

Crown fit for a king

Graham Kennedy's throne

Graham Kennedy’s throne. NFSA title: 1002623

During the final broadcast of In Melbourne Tonight on 23 December 1969, GTV newsreader Eric Pearce crowned Graham Kennedy (1934–2005) the king of Australian entertainment. The mock coronation accurately predicted Kennedy’s destiny as a major Australian TV, radio, stage and screen star.

In 2012 the NFSA acquires Kennedy’s crown as well as the prop throne that featured in The Graham Kennedy Show (1972) and was made by the station’s prop department.

Online exhibition: Graham Kennedy

See also our curated collections: Graham Kennedy Highlights; Graham Kennedy TV; Graham Kennedy Film and Graham Kennedy Radio