Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1960s 3 Mins Read

    My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours?/Rita and Wally

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 6 6 – 1 9 7 0 (Australia)
    88 x 30 minute episodes

    In the Sydney suburb of Balmain – a harbourside suburb of the city’s inner-west that was at the time considered barely a cut above a slum – young married couple Rita (Judi Farr) and Wally (John Meillon) Stiller live with Rita’s widowed father Dominic McGooley (Gordon Chater).

    mcgooley_chaterIt would be a gross understatement to say they sometimes find it hard coping with his demands . . .

    In its day, this black-and-white ATN7 sitcom was a ratings success and still stands as one of the high points of Australian comedy. However, writer-producer Ralph Peterson first created the show while working in the UK and offered it to ITV, who passed on it.

    When ex-patriot actress June Salter returned from London to Australia to appear in The Mavis Bramston Show it was suggested that her husband, John Meillon, who at the time was one of the stars of the British J Arthur Rank film stable, would also return if a suitable vehicle could be found for him.

    Peterson adapted the original concept to Sydney and Meillon accepted the role that set him on the path to becoming one of Australia’s favourite sons.

    The British origins of McGooley are evident in the influence of two outstanding British sitcoms of the era, Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us do Part. The elder Steptoe is a forerunner of Chater’s more lovable McGooley and there are touches of Harold Steptoe’s aspirations and self-delusion in Meillon’s Wally Stiller.

    Self-important, chauvinistic, vain, but deep down a decent bloke and somehow innocent, Meillon’s performance is a standout of the show. He is well matched by Judi Farr as his wife, Rita, fulfilling the role of simple, downtrodden housewife.

    mcgooley_ritaChater’s McGooley was the lynchpin of the series – creator of chaos, the troublemaker, pest and thorn in his son-in-law’s side.

    The regular cast was filled out by Stewart Ginn as Perrigrine Nancarrow – McGooley’s fishing mate and partner-in-crime – and Noeline Brown as Rosemary Urkin (better known as ‘Possum’), Wally’s divorced, sophisticated and liberated sister, who provided some glamour and a stark contrast to the domesticated Rita.

    The series premiered on the Seven Network in September 1966 and ran for 88 episodes.

    When Gordon Chater left the series in 1970 the title was changed to Rita and Wally and the setting moved from Balmain to Sydney’s opulent North Shore. John Meillon, Judi Farr and Noeline Brown continued in the new series, and Tessa Mallos was introduced in a support role as Margaret Thurston, the Stiller’s new next-door neighbour.

    British comedian Spike Milligan appeared in one episode of Rita And Wally while visiting Australia, but the show was nothing without the late great Chater and folded after 23 episodes. Gordon Chater returned as McGooley for the final episode.

    Dominic McGooley
    Gordon Chater
    Wally Stiller
    John Meillon
    Rita Stiller
    Judi Farr
    Perrigrine Nancarrow
    Stewart Ginn
    Rosemary ‘Possum’ Urkens
    Noeline Brown
    Margaret Thurston
    Tessa Mallos

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Hughleys, The
      Hughleys, The
      1 9 9 8 - 2 0 0 2 (USA) 89 x 30 minute episodes Darryl Hughley (standup comic D L…
    • Brady Brides, The
      Brady Brides, The
      1 9 8 1 (USA) 10 x 30 minute episodes This spin-off from the classic Brady Bunch series was launched with a telemovie…
    • Divided We Stand
      Divided We Stand
      1 9 8 7 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes The only real reason to watch BBC1's Divided We Stand - a comedy…
    • Rainbow City
      Rainbow City
      1 9 6 7 (UK) 6 x 25 minute episodes Produced by BBC Birmingham, Rainbow City was the first British drama…
    • Story of Peter Grey, The
      Story of Peter Grey, The
      1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 2 (Australia) 164 x 15 minute episodes ATN7 (Australia) produced this daytime…
    • And The Big Men Fly
      And The Big Men Fly
      1 9 7 4 (Australia) 6 x 30 minute episodes And The Big Men Fly was the first attempt by the…
    • Popi
      Popi
      1 9 7 6 (USA) 11 x 30 minute episodes This CBS sitcom about a widower with two sons was based…
    • Oh Brother!
      Oh Brother!
      1 9 6 8 - 1 9 7 0 (UK) 19 x 30 minute episodes Derek Nimmo starred as Brother…

    Australia
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleInterpretaris, The
    Next Article Asylum of Satan (1972)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Manhattans, The
      Not as successful in the UK as, say, The Stylistics or The […]
    • Garry Mills
      Garry Mills was born on 13 October 1941 in West Wickham, Kent, […]
    • Rule Britannia!
      1 9 7 5 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes Average Englishman George […]
    • Blodwyn Pig
      In 1968, Mick Abrahams left Jethro Tull to pursue a more bluesy […]
    • Cassandra Crossing, The (1976)
      Not the most well-known or most successful of the disaster movie […]
    • That’s Incredible!
      1 9 8 0 – 1 9 8 4 (USA) Derided by critics as a […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.