Ian Bannerman was the second actor to play Deadly Earnest in Australia.
He was one of the five different actors to play Deadly.

Born, Ian Denver McCaig. His mother Edna Thompson married Mordaunt Bannerman on 1 December 1950.
Ian Denver McCaig changed his last name to Bannerman on 7 December 1955.

The Deadly Earnest character was originated in Western Australia's TVW-7 in 1961.

Bannerman's show aired on TEN-10 (Sydney) between 1966-1972.

Also referred to as the "Dead-Pan Ghoulie", Bannerman would introduced old horror movies
- making various jokes about just how aweful these movies were.

Bannerman would often give plugs for local businesses
- including "Cec Cook's Magic Shop" in Oxford Street, Sydney.

Cec Cook and son Allan | Allan with some school children

As the success of the show grew, a Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies Fan Club emerged.

Bannerman, as Deadly Earnest rose to some fame, with a strong fan base,
which lead to Bannerman releasing a record album - "Rave In Peace" with his band
- "The Grave Situation".
One of the songs was about "Cec Cook's Magic Shop".
Below is a list of all the songs

01 Dig His Baby
02 Chop Suey
03 Cec Cook's Magic Shop
04 Tiny Deadly
05 Screaming Mimi's Deathoteque
06 Sunnyside-Up Crematorium Blues
07 Macabre's Graveyard
08 Theme For An Old Love
09 Jack the Knife
10 Pick a Box

Listen to the album:
Side One

Rave in Peace - Deadly Earnest (Side 1) from The Professor on Vimeo.

Side Two

Rave in Peace - Deadly Earnest (Side 2) from The Professor on Vimeo.

Also, the theme music for the show by Panic Patrol was later used by the "Ren and Stimpy Show"

Deadly Earnest - Theme music from The Professor on Vimeo.

In 1993 he was featured in Scary Monsters Magazine #7.

Little is known of Bannerman after he left the show.
One fan has said that Ian lived in the Blue Mountains
and left for country New South Wales when he married.
It is believed that he may have passed away around 1980.

In 2013, Ian Bannerman - "Deadly Earnest" for "Aweful Movie (Australia)",
was inducted into "The Official Horror Host Hall of Fame".

Portrait of "Deadly Earnest" by Bradley Beard.
"Deadly Earnest" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"

For the next four days, we'll be visiting the land down under. Today I present Deadly Earnest, host of Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies on TEN -10 in Sydney, Austalia. Deadly Earnest was conceived and initially portrayed for an unknown amount time by Max Bostock in 1961 on TVW-7 in Perth, Austalia. Ian Bannerman first revived the role in 1966 on TEN-10 in Sydney. Bannerman was known for his dry wit and black humor; he was billed as "Dead-Pan Ghoul". His persona was that of a 1960’s “mod” ghoul complete with horned rims and sideburns. Bannerman and his band The Grave Situation even cut a full length LP entitled "Rave In Peace". Unfortunately, little more is known of Ian Bannerman. The history of Deadly Earnest is quite an interesting one, much different from that of any other horror host... it might be a good idea to continue tomorrow.

There is no known footage of his show, but he did appear on
"Say It With Music" with Barry Crocker, and a clip of Bannerman
with the studio band.

Ian Bannerman as Deadly Earnest (Raw footage) from The Professor on Vimeo.

A tribute to Bannerman and a colourised version of "Say It With Music" with Barry Crocker by Rocket J42

Deadly Earnest played by Ian Bannerman (Tribute) from The Professor on Vimeo.

Deadly Earnest (Ian Bannerman) appearing on "Say It With Music" (colourised). from The Professor on Vimeo.

A few newspaper articles about Bannerman as Deadly Earnest

Click on image to enlarge

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest"	Internet Movie Data Base "Ian Bannerman"	E-gor's Chamber of TV Horror Hosts "Deadly Earnest (I) Sydney, Australia"
Horror News Net "Four Faces Of Deadly Earnest"	Wikipedia "Deadly Earnest"	Rocket's Retro TV Tribute Site "Deadly Earnest: New South Wales - Ian Bannerman"
	Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist "Deadly Earnest"

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Last modified: July 2020