Beloved Australian television and radio star Ernie Sigley has died at the age of 82 after battling Alzheimer’s disease for five years.
The Melbourne-born entertainer won a whopping 21 Logie Awards over his illustrious career, including the 1975 Gold Logie for Australia’s most popular TV personality.
Sigley made a name for himself on the airwaves in the 1950s, before famously hosting The Ernie Sigley Show from 1974 to 1976 alongside Denise Drysdale. The pair later co-hosted the variety TV show In Melbourne Today.
Sigley was also a successful recording artist, releasing several number one singles, including ‘Love Is A Golden Ring’, which became a gold record. He later returned to radio in 1996, hosting 3AW’s afternoon radio program until his retirement in 2008.
Very sad to hear of Ernie Sigley’s death.
His unique larrikin style made it look easier than it really is.
TV,radio,recording success & live concerts – what a great career! But his greatest pride was his family.
He was kind to me so I’ll be sad but honoured to pay tribute today. pic.twitter.com/0D5ZgJdhvE— Peter Ford (@mrpford) August 15, 2021
Upon hearing the sad news of his death, friends and family of Sigley took to social media to pay tribute to the star, including Australian entertainment journalist Peter Ford, who wrote: “Very sad to hear of Ernie Sigley’s death. His unique larrikin style made it look easier than it really is. TV, radio, recording success & live concerts – what a great career!
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“But his greatest pride was his family. He was kind to me so I’ll be sad but honoured to pay tribute today.”
Very saddened to wake up to the news of Ernie Sigley’s passing.
I produced Ernie’s program on @3AW693 when I was 21-years-old to when he retired in 2008.
Ern was the funniest, cheekiest person I’ve worked with. A great interviewer. He had a great impact on me as a kid producer. pic.twitter.com/4OhC7lgBBh
— mark davidson (@markjdavidson) August 15, 2021
Mark Davidson, who produced Sigley’s program on 3AW for several years, added: “Ern was the funniest, cheekiest person I’ve worked with. A great interviewer. He had a great impact on me as a kid producer”.
Family friend, Ron Egeberg, also told ABC that Sigley would be remembered as one of Australia’s most prolific entertainers.
“His career spanned not only radio and television, it was also the amount of entertainment he did, whether that be at clubs and the like, he was so well-liked as an entertainer but also he had an exceptional career,” he said.
“He was just a natural and he was a great communicator and really that was probably the key to his success, particularly with his television program and the radio program.”
Sigley was married to his wife Glenys, a former TV personality, for 47 years and they had four children together.
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