John Hamblin

John Hamblin (born 1935^[1]), nicknamed Funny John,^[2] is a English-Australian retired children's television presenter and actor of stage and screen who has appeared in numerous soap operas and made-for-TV films. He is best known for his 29-year stint presenting children's program Play School from 1970 to 1999 and drama The Restless Years^[1]

Biography[]

Early life[]

Hamblin was born and grew up in Suffolk, England. When Hamblin's mother moved in with the local baker, his father moved the rest of the family to Norfolk. He lost contact with his mother at that point.^[1] Hamblin's father had flown with the Flying Corps during World War I and Hamblin himself joined the Air Force and did his national service in Cyprus in the late 1950s before returning to England.

Initially Hamblin trained at art school, but decided on a career in acting instead and studied drama to become an actor.

Professional career[]

Hamblin started his acting career in his native country England, in repertory theatre with the Theatre Royal, Windsor before an appearance in the cult TV series The Prisoner - the episode 'A Change of Mind'.

Hamblin came to Australia in the early 60s as a Ten Pound Pom with his second wife, Wendy.^[1] Hamblin worked with the Sydney Theatre Company and also secured roles in television throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, including roles in soap operas Number 96, Class of '74, The Young Doctors (as Dr Dan Wheatley), Case for the Defence and Sons and Daughters. After a brief hiatus he returned to television in guest roles in All Saints and Love My Way in the 2000s.^[1]

Play School 1970-1999[]

Known as being irreverent and inserting double-entendres into skits, Hamblin was the second most prolific presenter of Play School appearing in 357 episodes^[1] while fellow presenter Benita Collings appeared in 401 episodes.^[3] On the show, Hamblin would sing, read stories, make crafts, play with the famous toys and educate children about such things as telling the time and the days of the week.^[4]

Noni Hazelhurst, a co-host of Play School with Hamblin, remembered some of his irreverent nature that children missed but parents picked up on; “I remember once John Hamblin and I in the closing moments, after we had said goodbye, we were stirring pots which we pretended were filled with soup but they were actually filled with weird ingredients like a door snake which we pretended was a sausage in the soup,” she said. “And John, in that throwaway moment after we’d said goodbye, said, ‘Would you like some of my sausage in your soup?’ And I said, ‘You keep your sausage to yourself thank you very much.’”^[5]

Hamblin published his memoirs "Open Wide, Come Inside" in 2008, with Peter Richman^[1]

Film role[]

Hamblin although best known for soap opera/serials, in 1984, he played the role of Michael Chamberlain in the telemovie The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain.^[6]

Current[]

He is now retired and currently resides in Tasmania, with his fourth wife Jenny.^[1]

Filmography[]

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Presenter[]

References[]

External links[]

• John Hamblin at IMDb

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