ABBOT AND COSTELLO MONSTER LAUGHATHON
ADS-7 GOOD FRIDAY EASTER APPEAL MARATHON
AWEFUL MOVIES WITH DEADLY EARNEST
DEADLY'S DELIRIOUS DELIGHTS
DEADLY EARNEST'S NIGHTMARE THEATRE
DEADLY EARNESTS SPOOKY COLOUR MARATHON
TERRORTHON SPECTACULAR

HEDLEY CULLEN - "DEADLY EARNEST"

Hedley Cullen was the fourth actor to play Deadly Earnest in Australia. He was one of the five different actors to play Deadly. The Deadly Earnest character was originated in Western Australia's TVW-7 in 1961. Cullen's show aired from 14 July 1967 till 20 June 1975 on SAS-10 Adelaide. Aweful Movies with Cullen as Deadly also aired on TVW-7 Perth during 1971. Cullen, (as Deadly) hosted and or appeared in the following shows: Terrorthon Spectacular 20 November 1970 "Terrorthon Spectacular" was a double feature horror special on SAS Channel 10 Adelaide, screening "The Beckoning Fair One" as well as an "Aweful Movie with Deadly Earnest" presentation. Deadly Earnest's Spooky Colour Marathon 1 March 1975 "Deadly Earnest's Spooky Colour Marathon" was a hosted horror and science fiction movie marathon with Hedley Cullen as "Deadly Earnest" screened on ADS Channel 7, Adelaide, South Australia. Deadly's Delirious Delights During 1975 "Deadly's Delirious Delights" was a hosted afternoon childrens' cartoon show with Hedley Cullen as Deadly Earnest on SAS-10 Adelaide. Abbott and Costello Monster Laughathon 8-9 October 1976 (midnight - 6:00am) "Abbott and Costello Monster Laughathon" was a hosted comedy/horror movie marathon, screening the scary movies from the Abbott and Costello collection; featuring Hedley Cullen as Deadly Earnest on ADS Channel 7, Adelaide. ADS-7 Good Friday Easter Appeal Marathon 3 April 1977 "ADS-7 Good Friday Easter Appeal Marathon" was a hosted horror and fantasy movie marathon with Hedley Cullen as "Deadly Earnest" screened on ADS Channel 7, Adelaide, South Australia on 3 April 1977. ADS-7 Good Friday Easter Appeal Marathon 10 March 1978 until 15 October 1978 "ADS-7 Good Friday Easter Appeal Marathon" Deadly hosting horror movies on ADS Channel 7 Adelaide, South Australia. Cullen started his television career by appearing the 1962 telemovie "The Valley of Water". He was to appear in 19 movies, telemovies and televisions shows including "Consider Your Verdict", "My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?", "Boney", "Homicide", "Matlock Police", "Solo One", "Sunday Too Far Away", "Storm Boy", "The Last Wave", "Weekend of Shadows" with his final appearance in the movie "Call Me Mr. Brown" released in 1990. At the start of each show, Cullen would rise from his coffin. He would introduce each movie followed by his laughter slowly fading away. His trade mark was a set of googly eyes, which made him look very scary. He also had a skull named Yorick as his partner. Cullen had a large following, with children sending in their drawings. Hedley, who saw service in World War II, was married to Nancy Nell Graham on 8 June 1940. Graham was born 3 July 1917 in Warnambool, Victoria, Australia, and died on 26 January 2003. xxxxxxx In an interview he was quoted as saying that he was paid only $20 per episode. There was also merchandise. Sadly he passed away in 1994 aged 79. Portraits of the "Deadly Earnests" by Dave Dunlap.

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

The Australian horror host excursion has ended... for the time being. Today I present Deadly Earnest, host of Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies on SAS-10 in Adelaide, Australia, which ran from 1967 to 1972. Hedley Cullen played the Adelaide version of Deadly Earnest. Cullen began his show by rising from his coffin and introducing the movies while his echoing laughter faded out as the movie began. He wore a bizarre pair of googly eyes that gave him a very odd and creepy persona. His sidekick was a skull named Yorick. Cullen once stated in an interview that he received $20 per show. No footage of Cullen was known to exist until SAS-10 was celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2005 where they unearthed a few amazing clips. Deadly Earnest is the only horror hosted program ever to have four different actors in four different cities playing the same character at the same time. That's historic.

Some rare footage of Hedley Cullen as Deadly Earnest and a colourised version by Rocket J42. Deadly Earnest - Hedley Cullen from The Professor on Vimeo. Deadly Earnest - Hedley Cullen (colourized) from The Professor on Vimeo. A rare audio of Hedley Cullen as Deadly Earnest Click on microphone to play clip. A few articles about Cullen as Deadly Earnest Click on image to access

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