RON BLASKETT & GERRY GEE
The Doughty Brothers worked with the great Ron Blaskett & Gerry Gee.
RON BLASKETT SADLY SOLD GERRY GEE AT AN ACTION AFTER HE RETIRED
ABOVE - PUBLICITY CARD
BELOW - SON PETER BLASKETT PERFORMS AT BORONIA MALL MANY YEARS AGO - CHRISTOPHER DOUGHTY ON RIGHT
BELOW - SON PETER BLASKETT PERFORMS AT BORONIA MALL MANY YEARS AGO - CHRISTOPHER DOUGHTY ON RIGHT
A VERY YOUNG PATTI NEWTON WITH THE GREAT GERRY GEE
ABOVE - Other famous dolls with their pals
Pioneering Australian ventriloquist Ron Blaskett, who appeared on The Tarax Show with his doll ‘Gerry Gee’, has died aged 96.
Blaskett performed with his doll on The Tarax Show, IMT and Young Talent Time, as well as making thousands of Live entertainment appearances such as the 1975 Toronto Expo, to cyclone victims in Darwin and Diggers in Vietnam.
Blaskett appeared on the GTV9’s Tarax Show from 1957 – 1964. Gerry Gee, imported from the US, cost £200 and was named after the “Gee” in the station’s name. It sold for $17,000 in 2006.
“My first impression when I saw Gerry Gee was one of disappointment,” he once recalled. “The slotted jaw, almond eyes and general modelling didn’t really grab me. Then as I started to work with him, although he seemed to weigh a ton on my arm, I realised the great expressions I could extract from him. One particularly good movement was the way his eyes could be rolled upward with a look of disgust. Not many figures have been made around the world with this ability. The fact that he could poke his tongue out was also an advantage — particularly for ice-cream commercials that came later. On trying him out on kids and adults, they liked his cheeky look and personality. Gerry Gee had certainly arrived.”
Blaskett performed with his doll on The Tarax Show, IMT and Young Talent Time, as well as making thousands of Live entertainment appearances such as the 1975 Toronto Expo, to cyclone victims in Darwin and Diggers in Vietnam.
Blaskett appeared on the GTV9’s Tarax Show from 1957 – 1964. Gerry Gee, imported from the US, cost £200 and was named after the “Gee” in the station’s name. It sold for $17,000 in 2006.
“My first impression when I saw Gerry Gee was one of disappointment,” he once recalled. “The slotted jaw, almond eyes and general modelling didn’t really grab me. Then as I started to work with him, although he seemed to weigh a ton on my arm, I realised the great expressions I could extract from him. One particularly good movement was the way his eyes could be rolled upward with a look of disgust. Not many figures have been made around the world with this ability. The fact that he could poke his tongue out was also an advantage — particularly for ice-cream commercials that came later. On trying him out on kids and adults, they liked his cheeky look and personality. Gerry Gee had certainly arrived.”