In Melbourne Tonight
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In Melbourne Tonight, otherwise known as "IMT", was a variety and interview television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 1957 to 1970.
Graham Kennedy was the show's main host and star attraction but other presenters were often called on to present the show on certain nights. IMT had as many as 50 different presenters over its 13 years on air.
IMT's theme song was "Gee But You're Swell", written by Abel Baer and Thomas Tobias in 1936.
Bert Newton joined GTV-9 from HSV-7 in 1959 to become Kennedy's offsider and began a professional partnership that continued for many years and a friendship that continued until Kennedy's death in 2005.
Other IMT identities included Joff Ellen, Rosie Sturgess, Patti McGrath (later Patti Newton), Toni Lamond, Philip Brady and Noel Ferrier.
From 1960, packaged highlights of IMT would be screened on television stations across Australia with the title The Graham Kennedy Channel Nine Show.
In 1970, after Kennedy had resigned from GTV-9, IMT continued with four hosts, each on a different night of the week: Jimmy Hannan, Ugly Dave Gray, Bert Newton and Stuart Wagstaff. The program ended shortly after, but IMT created a long-standing legacy of live variety programs for several decades from GTV-9.
[edit] Late 90s version
In 1996, the show was revived under the same title. It was hosted by Frankie J. Holden and screened as a Monday night variety show. Featured on the show were the comedic stylings of Steven Jacobs, as well as Julia Morris, who was best known for presenting "The Morris Report", a comedic take on the news events of the previous week. The show ran until 1998.
