John Dease

Conly John Paget Dease (1906-1979), actor and broadcaster, spent thirty years as one of the signature voices of the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian radio. Dease was born in Burma (Myanmar) while his British father was serving in the 91st Punjabi Regiment. In 1923, after school in England, 17 year-old Dease emigrated under South Australian Premier Henry Barwell’s ‘Farm Apprentice Scheme’. (One farmer complained that this ‘Barwell Boy’ was lazy and ‘always reading’.) Released from the apprenticeship in 1925, Dease worked as a teacher before studying drama with Doris Fitton at the Independent Theatre in Sydney and joining the JC Williamson theatrical company. In 1935, Dease began his broadcasting career as an announcer with 2GB, part of the rapidly growing Macquarie Radio Network. Dease hosted various programs. For 25 years, he attracted one of the station’s biggest followings with ‘World-Famous Tenors’, for which he developed the fictitious persona of ‘an old Irish concert-master’ complete with ‘time-worn violin’ and nostalgic reminiscences. So real was he to listeners that some requested violin lessons for their children. In 1946, he helped young actor Peter Finch establish the Mercury Theatre. Dease became the popular and enthusiastic host of ‘Quiz Kids’, which ran on radio from 1942 to 1962 and involved five children aged between 11 and 15 answering listeners’ questions – those left unanswered brought the listener a cash prize. During the 1970s, Dease took character roles in film and television.

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.