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at the age of 15. This led to an on-air announcing position and hosting of breakfast and, later, evening variety shows. A trained singer, he soon began recording singles which lifted his profile around
Australia. His flair for comedy came to the fore in the 1950s when he became a cast member of the
278:
During the 1960s, Higgins consolidated his position as a leading voiceover artist, creating character voices for TV and radio ads and cartoons. His earliest character voice—"Louie the Fly" (an animated fly for the
Mortein fly-spray commercials), was recorded by him as late as 2011. It is now the
160:(14 June 1931 – 7 October 2016) was an Australian vaudevillian, character actor, television host, comedian, singer and voice actor. He was best known for his role as Ted Bullpitt in the 1980s television situation comedy series
295:
During the mid-1960s, Higgins worked in theatre, doing several back-to-back seasons at Sydney's
Menzies Theatre Restaurant—a popular nightspot where musicals were staged under the direction of
229:. His radio career reached a peak in the mid-1950s and, when television arrived in 1956, he successfully made the transition, appearing on variety shows, hosting game shows on the
360:(1988). His character, a dour policeman, was the show's main authority figure. The series was cancelled at the end of 1988. In 1992, he starred in the Ten Network's sitcom
994:
329:
dominated
Australian airwaves. While enjoying this success, another break-through role came in 1977 when he and Golsby were key regular performers in
279:
longest continuously running campaign in television history, having run for over 50 years (1957–2011). Other characters that
Higgins voiced included
886:
Higgins died of unspecified causes on 7 October 2016, aged 85. He had been ill for some time and had been hospitalized for several weeks.
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256:
Higgins used his vocal talents on thousands of projects during his 60 years in radio and television, including recording the song "
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339:. He played various characters in the series, which lasted two seasons. In 1980, a spin-off series based on a bombastic
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who provided the voice of animated character "Louie the Fly" in the television ad campaign for
173:
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180:, over a 50-year period (the longest running such ad in Australia) as well as Mr. Pound, when
19:
This article is about the
Australian actor named Ross Higgins. For the American actress, see
374:). Higgins' final series saw him reprise the Ted Bullpitt character in the situation comedy
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Higgins' entertainment industry career began in 1946, when he took a cadetship at Sydney's
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1165:(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 138, 282.
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351:, the series had a successful five-year run, completing five-and-a-half seasons.
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701:(with Jan Mazurus, Valda Bagnall, Babs McKinnon, Bob Gibson and His Orchestra)
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The
Highwayman. Highlights from the Australian Musical Comedy by Eddie Samuels
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949:"Dollar Bill Turns 50 Years Old | Reserve Bank of Australia - Museum"
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Super Aussie soaps: behind the scenes of
Australia's best loved TV shows
980:
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1013:"The adventures by Blinky Bill Dorothy Wall, narrated by Ross Higgins"
921:"Ross Higgins' role of Ted Bullpitt appeals to a new un-PC generation"
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376:
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852:(with Noeline Brown, Kev Golsby, Colin McEwan and Julie McGregor)
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Higgins and his wife Nadine had four children, including actor
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Higgins played Rev. Larcombe in two episodes of the soap opera
68:
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in 1968. He also had guest roles in various series, including
266:, and two albums of the classic Australian children's story "
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Higgins played a straight dramatic role in the soap opera
198:
849:
Live from The Madge
Burrows Room! / The Naked Vicar Show
44:
Higgins as his most famous character Ted
Bullpitt in
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has since found new audiences via cable TV, DVD and
343:
driving character he had portrayed in one sketch of
325:. Throughout the 1970s, he and voiceover colleague
380:in 1997, which had two seasons on the 7 Network.
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1026:Louie the Fly. Straight from rubbish tip to you!
1130:
918:
669:List of albums, with selected chart positions
213:. He moved between commercial radio and the
1137:. Pluto Press Australia. pp. 274–277.
1187:"Kingswood Country star Ross Higgins dies"
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874:
38:
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914:
912:
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908:
1064:"Streets Paddle Pop 1963 TV commercial"
1030:
997:. Screensound Australia. Archived from
981:"ABC for kids [videorecording]"
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1179:
1070:from the original on 22 December 2021
1044:from the original on 22 December 2021
938:
905:
824:The Further Adventures of Blinky Bill
777:(with Noeline Brown and Kev Golsby )
752:(with Noeline Brown and Kev Golsby )
679:
676:
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184:was first introduced in Australia.
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902:source: Grant Higgins (Ross's son)
479:Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala
366:(which launched the TV careers of
91:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
14:
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1222:Australian male television actors
1090:"Motel (TV Series 1968– ) - IMDb"
1038:"Mr. Sheen ad (Australia 1980's)"
919:Erica Thompson (7 October 2008).
1163:Australian Chart Book 1970–1992
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1110:"What's On (February 3–9)"
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715:Label: World Record Club (7082)
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799:The Adventures of Blinky Bill
738:Label: Parlophone (PMEO 9441)
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1252:Australian radio presenters
1112:. TV Times. 3 February 1979
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233:and in the early 1960s on
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466:Philippe's singing voice
202:commercial radio station
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1247:Australian male singers
1237:Male actors from Sydney
1131:Andrew Mercado (2004).
875:Personal life and death
398:
263:ABC For Kids Video Hits
963:"21 Years of TV Times"
487:Animated feature film
469:Animated feature film
451:Animated feature film
433:Animated feature film
430:Willie Wagtail (voice)
1267:Comedians from Sydney
863:Label: EMI (EMC-2671)
788:Label: EMI (EMC-2572)
763:Label: EMI (EMC-2545)
652:TV series, 2 seasons
580:TV series, 2 seasons
174:commercial advertiser
827:(with Dorothy Wall)
802:(with Dorothy Wall)
749:The Naked Vicar Show
572:The Naked Vicar Show
425:Dot and the Kangaroo
347:was created. Titled
345:The Naked Vicar Show
336:The Naked Vicar Show
283:, Mr. Pound and the
1001:on 24 October 2009.
838:Label: M7 (MLX-167)
813:Label: M7 (MLX-117)
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148:4, including actor
983:. 1 February 2000.
774:Son Of Naked Vicar
668:
577:Various characters
484:The Frogs (voices)
166:and brief revival
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590:Kingswood Country
525:Reverend Larcombe
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383:Kingswood Country
349:Kingswood Country
242:'s Sound of Music
163:Kingswood Country
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129:Years active
47:Kingswood Country
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341:Holden Kingswood
182:decimal currency
172:. He was also a
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969:. 7 July 1979.
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1195:. Retrieved
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1126:
1114:. Retrieved
1104:
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1072:. Retrieved
1058:
1046:. Retrieved
1032:
1021:
1007:
999:the original
989:
975:
966:
957:
928:. Retrieved
925:Courier Mail
924:
898:
885:
878:
848:
823:
798:
773:
748:
725:
697:
649:Ted Bullpitt
642:
624:
613:Dan Costello
606:
595:Ted Bullpitt
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348:
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327:Kevin Golsby
320:
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297:Hayes Gordon
294:
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261:
258:Monster Mash
255:
238:
234:
219:Peter Dawson
206:
196:
167:
161:
158:Ross Higgins
157:
156:
121:voice artist
106:vaudevillian
86:(2016-10-07)
65:14 June 1931
45:
32:Ross Higgins
25:
21:Rose Siggins
1262:Blinky Bill
1232:2016 deaths
1227:1931 births
1159:Kent, David
1066:. YouTube.
1040:. YouTube.
659:Discography
394:Filmography
268:Blinky Bill
97:Occupations
75:, Australia
1216:Categories
1116:5 February
1074:25 January
1048:25 January
930:6 February
890:References
860:Format: LP
835:Format: LP
810:Format: LP
785:Format: LP
760:Format: LP
735:Format: LP
682:positions
680:Peak chart
634:TV series
631:Stan Price
616:TV series
598:TV series
562:TV series
559:Guest role
545:TV series
542:Guest role
537:Division 4
528:TV series
494:Television
316:Division 4
303:Television
274:Voice over
240:Bobby Limb
223:Slim Dusty
209:Jack Davey
61:1931-06-14
1197:7 October
644:Bullpitt!
377:Bullpitt!
281:Mr. Sheen
252:Recording
246:9 Network
235:Singalong
231:7 Network
227:Mel Tormé
169:Bullpitt!
132:1946–2016
1191:ABC News
1161:(1993).
1068:Archived
1042:Archived
967:TV Times
709:Format:
145:Children
112:comedian
388:YouTube
333:series
291:Theatre
244:on the
178:Mortein
109:TV host
1169:
1141:
674:Title
664:Albums
554:Skippy
510:Notes
504:Title
415:Notes
409:Title
322:Skippy
260:" for
188:Career
140:Nadine
137:Spouse
115:singer
69:Sydney
520:Motel
507:Role
501:Year
448:Voice
412:Role
406:Year
310:Motel
193:Radio
103:Actor
1199:2016
1167:ISBN
1139:ISBN
1118:2010
1095:IMDb
1076:2021
1050:2021
932:2010
639:1997
621:1992
603:1988
585:1980
567:1977
515:1968
474:1992
456:1991
443:Epic
438:1984
420:1977
399:Film
370:and
319:and
237:and
225:and
211:Show
207:The
81:Died
55:Born
868:84
793:55
689:AUS
270:".
215:ABC
199:2GB
1218::
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1092:.
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940:^
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907:^
883:.
843:-
818:-
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711:LP
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287:.
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221:,
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951:.
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63:)
59:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
