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24 Facts About Barry Crocker

1.

Barry Hugh Crocker was born on 4 November 1935 and is an Australian Gold Logie-winning character actor, television personality, singer, and variety entertainer with a crooning vocal style.

2.

Barry Crocker's singing talents eventually earned him over 30 Gold records.

3.

Barry Crocker sang the theme tune to the Australian soap opera Neighbours between 1985 and 1992.

4.

Crocker returned to Australia to star in a TV musical comedy show called 66 And All That in 1966, hence the title, which became The Barry Crocker Show on Channel 10 Sydney.

5.

Barry Crocker made his acting debut on a 1969 episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.

6.

Barry Crocker has had a successful career as a stage, television and motion picture actor, most notably starring alongside Barry Humphries in the title role of Bruce Beresford's 1972 movie, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and its 1974 sequel, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own.

7.

Barry Crocker was Beresford's first choice as lead actor when it came to the filming of David Williamson's popular play Don's Party, but serious back problems curtailed Barry Crocker's screen career at that point, opening the way for John Hargreaves to achieve film success in the coveted title role.

8.

Nevertheless, in 1976 Barry Crocker was crowned King of Moomba, the annual entertainment festival in Melbourne.

9.

Barry Crocker had the lead role as Governor Alan Smith in the short-lived prison drama Punishment, and guest-starred in two episodes of the Australian satirical black comedy series Review with Myles Barlow.

10.

In 1994, Barry Crocker appeared as himself in the worldwide record-breaking film Muriel's Wedding.

11.

Barry Crocker proved his acting and comedy credentials as the retro-disco host Donny Destry in the 2007 movie Razzle Dazzle.

12.

Barry Crocker appeared as Charles "Hoot" Russell, Greg Russell's father in the Hey Dad.

13.

In 2005, Barry Crocker was featured on the Nine Network program This Is Your Life.

14.

Barry Crocker was caught by surprise when host Mike Munro and the TV production team arrived, after a lot of careful planning by his long-term partner, Katy Manning, the English actress.

15.

Barry Crocker was chosen by Chaim Topol to co-star as his nemesis Lazer Wolfe in a long-running Australian season of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

16.

Barry Crocker featured in the role of The Lecturer in the 2008 Australian premiere of the stage musical Reefer Madness.

17.

Barry Crocker presented the Australian version of Behind Mansion Walls on the Crime and Investigation Network on Foxtel in Australia.

18.

Barry Crocker recorded mainly jazz and musical events around Victoria.

19.

Barry Crocker sang the original recording of the theme song for the 1977 Reg Grundy soap opera, The Restless Years, and the original theme to the long-running soap opera Neighbours, another Reg Grundy production.

20.

Barry Crocker's version was used from 1985 to 1992, and it was played during the series' final episode, which aired in July 2022.

21.

Barry Crocker wrote and recorded an unofficial theme song for the Australian rules football team, Geelong, entitled Come on the Cats.

22.

Barry Crocker married Doreen, with whom he had five children.

23.

Barry Crocker won two awards in that time and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

24.

In 1997, the term "Having a Barry Crocker" was included in the third edition of the Macquarie Dictionary as rhyming slang.