Kevin Kearney

Early life

Kearney was born on 22 August 1936 at Canterbury Memorial Hospital on Canterbury Road Campsie a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Kearney was the third and last child of Kathleen and Jack. His family lived in Bondi, a beachside suburb of Sydney where he grew up in a Park Parade apartment looking out to the Pacific Ocean and opposite Waverley Park. In February 1942 he became a student at Christian Brothers Waverley College, Our Lady's Mount, Waverley where he remained for the next fifteen years.

Kearney's paternal and maternal families were early arrivals in Australia forming part of the invasionary force that came from Ireland in the mid-1800s, his mother and his father were born in March and January, 1898 respectively and Kearney's maternal grandfather, Bernard Reilly was elected as an alderman to the first Crookwell Shire Council, New South Wales in 1905 Kearney's father, Jack Kearney, and mother, Kathleen Reilly, married in May 1924 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Australia's largest church, on the corner of College and Cathedral Streets, Hyde Park in the Sydney CBD. Their marriage was officiated by Archbishop Michael Kelly, the fourth Archbishop of Sydney and a Christian Brother from Waterford, Ireland.

In December, 1957 Kearney left Sydney and travelled to Port Augusta, South Australia and took the old Ghan on the original 1929 narrow gauge rail to Alice Springs, Northern Territory following the route of the original Muslim cameleers of Rajasthan and Baluchistan and worked on the Alice Springs to Darwin road in the land of the Walpiri, Anmatyerre, Arrente and Liritja peoples where he experienced a true South Asian Australian Aboriginal lifestyle and was invited to corroborees by the Mutijuli elders of the Anangu people.

Television Career - 1962+

Kearney began working at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television studies at Gore Hill St. Leonards, North Sydney in 1962, six years after black and white television was introduced into Australia. His first job at ABC-TV was as a propsman on "Mr. Squiggle and Miss Gina" (Gina Curtis) a program he worked on through 1962 although the program itself ran from 1959 to 1989 Concurrent with "Mr Squiggle" he worked on "The Bryan Davies Show" which starred 17-year-old Davies, "the youngest person in the world to host a television show".

In 1964 Kearney was assistant floor manager on "My Brother Jack" (1965) a 6-part television series which featured Ed Devereaux and Nick Tate and was based on George Johnston's novel "My Brother Jack" which won the 1964 Miles Franklin Award. In 1966 he was Floor Manager and Asst. Floor Manager on "Playschool" a program which is still running on ABC-TV today. During 1966 he worked as Asst. Floor Manager ad studio hand on "Australian Playhouse" which ran from 1966 to 1969 and was a studio hand on "Duke Ellington @ ABC-TV" (1966). In 1967 he worked in Staging on "Contrabandits" (1967) and was floor manager and asst. floor manager on "Four Corners" (1967) produced and presented by Robert Moore another ABC-TV program which is still running today.

Kearney resigned from ABC-TV in October, 1967 and on 11 November 1967 joined the American / British / Australian co-production TV series "Riptide" starring the New York born Texas based actor Ty Hardin. He began on this series as a boom operator and completed his work on the series as sound recordist, leaving in 1969 to become one of Australia's first freelancers in Australia's analogue film industry.

Television

Theatre - 1963 - 1969

Concurrent with his work in television he also worked at John Clugson's Staging Factory, Paddington, and while working at Clugson's Kearney was asked to join the Executive of Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre, Miller Street, North Sydney as stage manager where he worked for four years with senior producer Peter Summerton, producer Michael Lake, publicist Jone Winchester and stage director John Whitham. Following his work as sound recordist on "Riptide" Kearney provided playback sound for "Action Poetry on Stage" a poetry reading at the Pact Theatre, Pyrmont, co-produced by Clem Gorman and John Tranter and featuring performance artist Brian with poets Tranter, Richard Tippng and Robert Adamson. Kearney then formed Zoom Productions and then Lighthouse Productions in 1969 with Val Hodgson and Gordon Mutch putting on light shows at the Roundhouse, University of New South Wales, Kensington. The same group then worked on "Sights and Sounds of '69" at the Sydney Town Hall which Kearney produced and directed. A sound and light show compered by Jack Thompson the show featured music by Tully, John Sangster Jazz Group, Susan Prendergast, Alan Moarywaala Barker, Lindsay Bourke and Dave McRae.

The Independent Theatre

The Q Theatre

The Lane Cove Musical Society

Pact Theatre

Sydney Town Hall

Film - 1969 - 1993

Kearney's first film was producer Graham Jennings "Silo 15" directed by American cinematographer John Alaimo and starring Jack Thompson in his first film role. He was then booked as second sound recordist of Hans Wetzel on co producers Lee Robinson and Dennis Hill's feature "The Intruders" directed by Robinson and based largely on the "Skippy" television series. Kearney then produced and directed "Headland '69" which he filmed with director / cinematographer Stanley Dalby and which featured Andrew Fleming and Gillian Anderson who had been chosen for the Girls of Australia section of Playboy. The film featured in a work print format at "Sights & Sounds of '69" at the Sydney Town Hall and features the music of Tully from the concert of the same name.

In late 1969 Jennings handled the bookings of the Australian crew for the British / Australian production "Walkabout" (1970 directed by British cinematographer / director Nicolas Roeg and starring Southern Asian Yolgnu Aboriginal teenager Gulpilil in his first film role. Kearney was booked as boom operator for sound recordist Barry Brown and also worked as second sound recordist when required.

Films

Commercials - 1969 - 1993

Stage Plays

Television

Screenplays

Acting - 1965 - 1966