Michael Veitch

Michael Veitch has attempted, and occasionally succeeded, in a wide range of endeavours, all loosely affiliated with the entertainment industry. Having studied history at the University of Melbourne , sometime in the late 1870s, Veitch was faced with astonishing array of employment prospects from cleaning to carpet laying. Instead, he chose to be a security guard looking after factories at night, an occupation to which he was particularly unsuited. “If people asked nicely, I'd let them in. What's wrong with that?” he says.

Veitch joined a group of undergraduates to create the popular ABC Television program, D-Generation , playing comic characters three times his age. “Have cardigan, will travel”, was his motto at the time, and possibly still is.

The D-Generation moved to a three-year stint on commercial radio, where Veitch honed his comic skills before a certain Steven Vizard requested he join another sketch comedy show, then in its infancy, but which later became known as Fast Forward, running for four years on the Seven Network.

“We tried to make it run as long as the First World War, but sadly failed”, he says. Veitch became famous for his impersonations of politicians and individuals, as well as a largish array of comic characters including the brilliantly observed ‘gay airline steward' alongside Vizard, in a small cardboard set made up to look like the interior of an aircraft.

Veitch then had the title role in the short-running Australian TV sit-com, “Bligh”, appeared with Jimeoin in self-titled “Jimeoin” show , and assisted Eric Bana by acting alongside him in his show, as well as helping himself to the location catering.

A cruel joke on behalf of the arts editor of the Melbourne Age newspaper resulted in a phone call asking Veitch to be a theatre critic for that newspaper, an offer Veitch, to everyone's horror, accepted. Thus began a new chapter in his career in which he succeeded in losing most of his acting friends, then going on to replicate this appalling conflict of interest as critic with the Herald-Sun and The Australian newspapers as well.

Michael in Casablanca skit

Veitch's ability to discuss at great length issues of which he has the most superficial of understandings led to a four-year stint on ABC radio's Conversation Hour with morning institution Jon Faine. “Wet cement? I can talk under dry cement!”, he quips smugly.

More recently, Veitch has turned his attention to stagework and writing, with a lead role in the Broadway musical version of “The Full Monty”, and several rolls with the Melbourne Theatre Company alongside people such as Geoffrey Rush. “Lovely man”, Veitch remembers fondly. “I wonder what became of him?”

Michael as “Molly”

He also contributes regularly to the Melbourne Age, appears on ABC TV's “Einstein Factor” and is currently writing a book on Second World War aviation.

A recent announcement by the ABC has Veitch down to host a new Sunday afternoon television arts program, a roll Veitch has waited all his life to fulfil. This series will commence airing in October 2005.

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