Hello and welcome to the final part of my chat with Russell Cheek! When we left off last week, Russell was describing the genesis of his one-man show Who Am I?, and he mentioned that, in addition to having Steve Abbott direct it, he also involved Warren Coleman in the creative process…

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SH: Now, Warren’s also a quiz show winner, isn’t he? Wasn’t he on Sale of the Century?

RC: He won three nights on Sale of the Century, which went very well.

SH: Right.

RC: But then he made the rookie error of picking the new cars off the board at the end of the show. You know, when you pick up the twin cards that turn around. He picked the cars on his third night of the show. And in the commercial break, when he’s standing up with Glenn at the end of the show, Warren actually physically touched the Nissan Patrol wagon that was on display. And he went, “Oh, this is suddenly very real…”

SH: “And it’s mine!”

RC: He said, “I don’t think I’m going to come back next week”. So he took the cars and left the show. Funnily enough, I’ve never forgotten Matt Parkinson‘s performance on the show, because Matt picked the two cars on the very first night of the show.

SH: Oh, that’s interesting.

RC: On his very first performance, he picked the two cars off the board, but he decided to continue on. And I thought that was a real snapshot of Matt’s character. The fact that he won those cars on the first night and still decided to continue on… and then he went on to win the whole thing. It was a coup!

SH: That’s really nailing your colours to the mast, isn’t it?

RC: Yeah, that’s right. He could have been hoist on his own petard, but he nailed his colours to the mast.

SH: For sure.

RC: Any other ship metaphors we can think of?

SH: He… didn’t walk the plank? I don’t know…

RC: As the figurehead on the prow, he kept his nose out of the water.

SH: That’s right. And afterwards at the party, he got three sheets to the wind.

RC: Exactly. That’s right.

SH: So in your one-man show Who Am I?, did you talk much about the effects of your Big Win?

RC: Oh, yes. I talked about my parents… My mum had died many years earlier, but I talk in the show about how proud she would have been of me, and how proud my father was of me. He’s since died as well, but he was so proud. I used to visit him at his place on Lake Macquarie, and we used to often do walks around the lake. And one night he said, “Russ, you’ve done so well and it’s so great that you’ve won the show”. And he loved the fact that I was in The Castanet Club and he said, “Russ, you’ve done great in your life because you have taken risks”. And he said, “I never took any risks, but I’m so proud of you for taking the risks and for coming out on top”. And that meant such an incredible amount to me. I can’t remember if I say that in the show, by the way!

SH: Will you be doing the show again any time soon?

RC: I still want to come back and do this show. COVID sort of killed it off for me, but I’ve got a chance of going to the Edinburgh Festival next year. So I’m going to try to take that chance. Because I’ve been so encouraged by people! You know, I can never remember who saw the show and who didn’t, but I keep running into people who did see the show and say, “It was so wonderful. You must bring it back…” So, who am I to disappoint them, Stephen?

SH: Yes. Who are you?

RC: Who am I, indeed? Yes. Who Am I?

SH: Hey Russ, our time’s about up, but I just want to thank you so much again for doing this!

RC: My pleasure. Give my love to Judi and Lily, please.

SH: Will do. Will do. Thanks so much again.

RC: You’re very welcome. All the best, Stephen. Take care.

SH: Thanks Russ, all the best!

RC: Bye, mate.

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And there you have it. Once again, my heartfelt thanks to Russell for taking us down Memory Lane, and revealing all the long-term effects his Big Win had for him. If you’re contemplating auditioning for a game show, I hope you can see how truly life-changing it can be… sometimes for decades to come! So, if you’re thinking about applying for your favourite game show, but you’re currently hesitating… I can heartily, heartily advise you to GO FOR IT! (And I’m sure Russell would say the same).

I’ll see you back here next week, but in the meantime, for those of you in Melbourne / Australia, I’ll be popping up on David Astle’s evening show (6:45 – 10:00 PM) on 774 ABC Melbourne tonight, for one of our monthly chats. They’re always great fun, so please consider tuning in if you can!

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-evenings

Cheers,

Stephen. 

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