Legendary voice and broadcaster Philip Brady OAM has died. He announced his retirement after a 67 year media career only last week via a message shared with his colleague of three decades Simon Owens on the 3AW program Remember When.
Tom Elliott paid tribute to Philip this morning on 3AW saying that Philip has shared a devastating cancer diagnosis late last year:
Tom said:
“Vale Phil. I will miss you. Your family will obviously miss you. Everybody here at 3AW will miss you. I think most importantly, the audience that you did so much to inform, yo entertain, to make laugh. The millions of people who have listened to you over the years Phil, they will miss you too.”
In 1990 Philip left Radio 97 on the Gold Coast without any plans for what was next. He was asked to do an interview at 3AW to chat about his time in Queensland and as he was leaving ran into his old friend David Mann, now the 3AW promotions director. David told Philip that they were looking for a co-host to join Bruce Mansfield on the nostalgia show Remember When on Sunday nights. As it turned out, and a recurring theme for those who knew Philip, he and Bruce already knew each other. Philip told Sarah Patterson at Radio Today:
“Bruce and I had already been friends for thirty years. There was a chemistry between us. We just clicked.
By March 1991, we’d also taken over Nightline five nights a week, and then we started winning national radio awards as the best on-air team.
We never rehearsed anything, we never had scripts. Everything was just off the cuff.”
Bruce died in 2016 and then show producer Simon Owens joined Philip behind the microphone for Nightline, for the next three years, and Remember When together until January this year.
3AW Station Manager Stephen Beers said:
“Phil was a great friend to many, truly loving his work on air and helping so many listeners and colleagues with advice, companionship and friendship. Phil will be greatly missed by all at 3AW.”
Amongst his work on radio, Mr Brady hosted shows on TV such as "The Moneymakers" and "The Junior Moneymakers". Both shows were for adults and secondary students respectively.
The show was not a "beat the buzzer" to be the first to give the correct answer to the question.
Rather the contestants were asked the same set of questions with one contestant fitted with headphones with loud Wilbur Kentwell organ music to stop hearing the other contestant being quizzed.
Another show Mr Brady hosted was "Casino 10" where contestants who answered the question correctly was given the opportunity to spin the wheel for an amount of money.
There was an incident, recorded on a goof tape where the contestant pushed the button. In this incident the wheel was spinning so fast that the labels spun off the wheel flying around the audio.
Mr Brady also did commercial live reads. In 1958 he did an advertisement for a Hoover vacuum cleaner that floated on a cushion of air like a hovercraft.
Quite futuristic for 1958. I've never seen a vacuum cleaner that floated on air.
May Mr Philip Brady's soul rest in peace, amen.
Anthony, Strathfield South, in the land of the Wangal and Darug Peoples of the Eora Nation.