Photo Gallery — Television’s Pioneering Era

Gerry Hood on The Tarax Show, 1960

Denzil holds the clapper board as a couple of the Sherrif’s men (Tony Evans and Ernie Carroll) adjust Gerry Gee’s position behind a table.
Watching a shot setup. Note the cramped space and the low ceiling in the makeshift studio at GTV9. From left to right: Mike Browning (Camerman), Denzil Howson (with back to the camera), Clare Braybrook holding clapper (Production Assistant/Continuity), Ormonde Douglas (back to camera).
Gerry peeks in at the window.
Setting up for a shot in which the Sherrif’s men (Tony Evans and Ernie Carroll) capture Gerry. Here we see the “real” Gerry being positioned behind a table.
In this shot, Gerry has been replaced by a human double (John Field) wearing a latex mask so that the normally immobile Gerry can be shown walking. This technique was used in many episodes of “The Adventures of Gerry Gee”.
And here is the action where Gerry is being carried away by the Sherrif’s men.
The prisoners in close up. The soldier in the middle is Ernie Carroll, co-producer with Denzil of the Tarax Show. After the demise of the Tarax Show, Ernie went on to create Ozzie Ostrich who remained a popular Channel Nine character from the 1970s through to the 1990s.
Denzil in silhouette (at left) watching a shot setup. Production Assistant Clare Braybrook is holding the clapper board.
Cast and crew pose for a group photo.
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As the producer of the Tarax Show on GTV9 in the late 1950s, Denzil had considerable creative freedom and access to the studio’s talent and facilities.

He conceived, wrote and directed a series of adventures featuring Gerry Gee, co-star of the Tarax Show. Using both original and recycled stories (including Arabian Nights and The Scarlet Pimpernel amongst others), each story was spread over a number of five minute episodes, thus sustaining audience interest through the week.

The stories were filmed on 16mm in a makeshift film studio that was set up at GTV9 for this purpose or on location in and around Melbourne and the surrounding countryside. Location filming was often done on weekends.

Notable was the use of a young boy (John Field) wearing a latex mask of Gerry Gee as a double when long shots were required of Gerry walking.

This series of photos survives from “Gerry Hood”, a recasting of the traditional Robin Hood story, made in August 1960 in the cramped studio at GTV9. Outdoor scenes in “Sherwood Forest” were filmed amongst trees in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.

Photos in this Gallery: