At the Club: He was the equivalent of a true showman!

He dropped the ‘h’ like a true showman

Veteran funny man, Billy Kearns, was summoned to the film studio. Kearns was asked was put down the ‘Udson without an “H”. He did like a true showman. 

Pioneer Ian Hudson, who came from the family of timber merchants, A. Hudson & Son Pty Ltd, died in June, 2013. He was 96.  

He opened one of Sydney earliest “do-it-yourself” shops for hardware, tools and timber products. In 1970 he adopted the slogan “Udson with a Haitch”, much to chagrin of many customers. 

 But they still spent a bundle! 

MAIN: Billy Kearns, the ‘H’ for Hudson man, uttered “What a beauty!” Kearns at work at a major club.
 

Billy Kearns was elected to the 1986 Mo Award Hall of Fame at Sydney’s Entertainment Centre, when he was presented with the award on stage by movie man Bill Collins and international ice skater, Pat Gregory. 

Kearns was given a standing ovation by the 800-strong audience. 

“What a beauty,” said Kearns. “A lovely surprise.” 

He was around when radio was king. He made his name in the 1930s.  

In 1945, he starred with Roy Rene in Strike a New Note and that earned him 20 pounds a week.  

In the 1950s, Kearns became a “household name” on the club circuit.
 

Kearns got a shock to read the letter in the program.
 

Kearns got the surprise of his life when he collected the 11th Mo Awards Program. Signed by Frank Cleary, one of the MO executive, the letter outlines why Billy Kearns should be admitted to the Mo Awards Hall of Fame. In part, in reads:  

“With great respect … I think Committee should strike some sort of an award to a performer who had adorned the theatrical profession for a large part of this century.  

“His name is Billy Kearns. His place in Australian show business stretches as far an eye can see. 

“He’s created a unique style of comedy which places him in the immortal class of Roy Rene, George Wallace, Jim Gerald, Sid Beck and many other illustrious Australians. 

“He worked on radio in the thirties and the Tivoli in the forties. I remember him at the Sydney Tivoli … when Roy Rene was a star. 

“His benign demeanour … his uncanny sense of humour … and (has) a genuine concern for other people…” Frank Cleary. 

Billy Kearns died in 1987. 

<< Frank Morris. At the time, this article appeared in other newspapers.