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. Deadly had a sidekick named "Weirdly Gruesome". They used to do "anti ads" sending up commercials. Also appearing was Peter Sheehan as "Peter The Great" who played the organ and Philip Prideaux - "Crazy Phil" who played brass instruments, both of whom were members of the band "Heart N' Soul" (later "The Heart'n'Soul Hot Boogie Band"). 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. Bannerman would feature again in Scary Monsters Magazine - #115 (Winter 2019) pages 28-34, being covered in the article "They Came From The Land Down Under" - being a brief overview of the fascinating world of Australian and New Zealand radio and television horror hosts; written by Paul Gerard Kennedy. Bannerman, as Deadly Earnest also appeared on "Personality Squares" (January 1969). Bannerman is also given as being on "Waltons Pay Cards!" three times during the week of 6 August 1969 and chat show "Talk of the Town" prior to "Personality Squares". His other appearance was on Barry Crocker's "Say it with Music". After leaving the 0-10 Network, Bannerman joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) for about 10 years - firstly as a reporter in TV Times magazine and later reviewing shows that the station wanted to purchase. Little is known of Bannerman. One fan has said that Bannerman lived in the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney), and left for country New South Wales where 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". 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)"

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 his appearance on "Say It With Music" with Barry Crocker, survived;
and also surviving is a clip of Bannerman with the studio band.

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