Grundy, Reg (1923-2016), was an Australian media executive and entrepreneur—that is, a person who organizes and manages a business. He developed some of the most popular and longest-running programs in the history of Australian television.
Grundy started his broadcasting career in 1947 as a sports commentator on the radio. In 1957, he developed and hosted a local radio game show called “Wheel of Fortune,” on which people received prizes for doing good deeds. In 1959, Grundy founded the production company Reg Grundy Enterprises, later the Reg Grundy Organisation. Also in 1959, he created a TV version of “Wheel of Fortune,” which he hosted for several years. On the program, Grundy spun a carnival wheel to determine the prizes contestants would win if they answered questions correctly.
In 1981, the Reg Grundy Organisation purchased the rights to an American TV game show also named “Wheel of Fortune,” but unrelated to the earlier Australian program. An Australian version of the American “Wheel of Fortune” aired from 1981 to 2006. It used the same format as the American game show. Contestants solved hidden phrases by guessing one letter at a time. They won money or prizes, as determined by a spin of a large carnival wheel, for each correct consonant guessed. Grundy also successfully adapted some other American game shows for Australian TV.
Grundy’s company developed the popular soap opera “Neighbours,” about residents of Ramsay Street in the fictional Australian suburb of Erinsborough. The series, created by Reg Watson, first aired in 1985. It became notable for its vivid portrayals of a community’s ethnic and class issues. It also helped launch the careers of such performers as Russell Crowe, Jason Donovan, Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Imbruglia, Kylie Minogue, and Guy Pearce.
Grundy’s company also developed the popular soap opera “Prisoner” (1979-1986), set in a fictional women’s prison. The program was called “Prisoner: Cell Block H” in the United Kingdom and the United States, and “Caged Women” in Canada. It dealt with issues that were not widely addressed on TV at the time, including prison reform, same-sex relationships, and social injustice.
Other successful TV soap operas produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation included “Class of ’74” (1974-1975), “The Young Doctors” (1976-1983), and “Sons and Daughters” (1982-1987). Grundy also co-produced the motion picture ABBA: The Movie (1977), directed by the Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström. The movie follows a radio disc jockey trying to get an interview with the Swedish popular-music group ABBA during its tour of Australia in 1977.
Reginald Roy Grundy was born on Aug. 4, 1923, in Sydney, in the Australian state of New South Wales. He received an International Emmy Founders Award in 1996. The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gives the award to individuals whose creative accomplishments have contributed to the quality of global television production. In 2008, Grundy was made a Companion of the Order of Australia. Appointment to the order is Australia’s highest award for service to the country or to humanity. Grundy wrote a memoir, Reg Grundy (2010). He died on May 6, 2016.
