Ossie Ostrich

Ossie Ostrich (full name: Oswald Q Ostrich) was a character on the long-running Australian television show Hey Hey It's Saturday.

Related Topics:
Australia - Hey Hey It's Saturday

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Ossie was a good-natured pink ostrich puppet who sported a light blue mohawk hairstyle. Ossie formed a comic duo with the host of the show, Daryl Somers. Typically, Ossie would provide the comic foil to Somers' straight man. Ossie was conceived as a puppet sidekick when Hey Hey It's Saturday was a children's show which aired on Saturday mornings in the 1970s and early '80s, but the comic skill of Somers and Ossie's puppeteer Ernie Carroll were instrumental in leading to the wider appeal of the show and its move to a prime time spot on Saturday evening. Much of their success was due to Carroll's breadth of experience in live television, including a long stint as a staff writer for Graham Kennedy's In Melbourne Tonight.

Related Topics:
Ostrich - Mohawk hairstyle - Daryl Somers - 1970s - '80s - Ernie Carroll - Graham Kennedy - In Melbourne Tonight

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Ossie wasn't a part of Hey Hey It's Saturday for the entirety of its 28-year run - he replaced footballer Peter McKenna as co-host in 1974 and his retirement in 1994 was arguably a key factor in the demise of the show - but he was almost certainly the most recognisable puppet in Australia for more than two decades.

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