These photographs were made in Australia.

These photographs were made c.1965.

Roy Rene (1891-1954) was born in Adelaide and moved to Sydney at age 19. Highly successful as a vaudeville actor his characters included Queen Elizabeth, the virgin Queen, Henry VII and a variety of henpecked husbands and lowlife men. After great success at the Tivoli he joined the Colgate Palmolive Radio Unit and soon became famous as Mo McCackie. Living at 13 Coffin Street, Mo was the suburban householder whose life was made miserable by relatives, neighbours and friends. He was the quintessential Australian clown, playing the underdog with lashings of sentimentality. McCackie Mansions ran for three years and had the largest listening audience of any show in Australia. Ralph Peterson wrote in 1949 : 'At eight-fifteen on a Tuesday evening, every week of the year a strange phenomenon takes place. Regardless of strikes, famine, plague or drought, the majority of Australian people snap on radio receivers, automatically swing the dial to a network and listen ... It is fifty-six years old Roy Rene, Mo to you, culminating a career which has embraced vaudeville, musicals, straight plays and one-night stands of variety.'

Photographs (3), of Roy Rene, paper, Australia, c. 1965.

Photograph: black and white photograph of a characterture of Roy Rene as 'Mo' with beard and small hat. Signed 'Counihan '64'. Printed underneath 'Mo (ROY RENE) Noel Counihan FIVE TO REMEMBER '64'.

Photograph: black and white photograph shows Roy Rene as Mo smiling and wearing a checked suit and bow tie. Caption 'Anticipation'.

Photograph: black and white photograph showing Roy Rene as Mo smiling with his eyes closed. Caption 'Realisation'.

Maker: unknown; Australia; 1960 - 1970


User: Rene, Roy; Australia

All photographs are inscribed on reverse '62'.

98/36/2

1960 - 1970

380 mm

310 mm