Beloved by millions of children, he’s the mischievous little koala with a heart of gold, snazzy red dungarees and a zest for crazy high jinks.
When The Adventures of Blinky Bill premiered on Australian television 30 years ago, the animated series quickly became a global sensation.
But for Guy Gross – whose father Yoram created the show based on author Dorothy Wall’s classic books – the cute cartoon marsupial was just one of the family.
WATCH: Modern-day Blinky Bill. Article continues after video.
“The truth is that Blinky’s character is pretty much my father,” Guy, an award-winning screen composer, tells New Idea.
“He was cheeky, irreverent, very flirtatious, always making jokes. It’s quite sweet how similar this elderly Polish gentleman was to Blinky.
“From his first big hit with Dot and the Kangaroo, every one of my father’s films and animated series – including the original Blinky Bill feature movie – had a lovely message. He firmly believed life was too important to take seriously.
“But Dad also wanted to teach children how to live in equality with respect for other human beings, animals and the environment around them.”
It’s a lesson Yoram took to heart during the dark days of World War II, as his Jewish family fled Nazi persecution in Poland. With Yoram’s father killed early in the conflict, his mother kept him and his three siblings alive by moving to 72 different hiding places.
Robbed of a safe childhood by the cruelty of war, Yoram was determined to spread happiness. From Poland to Israel, to finally settling in Australia, he simply wanted to reveal, says Guy, “the better qualities of human beings” – and animals!
“There’s no doubt that creating entertainment for children was very much about giving back for him, because eventually he was blessed with a pretty beautiful life,” says Guy, who wrote music
for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and sci-fi favourite Farscape.
“My father taught my sister and I that yes, he had a horrendous childhood, but there was no reason why we should be burdened with his scars,” Guy shares. “He just wanted us to enjoy our lives in a pretty extraordinarily lucky country.”
Growing up with Blinky, Guy soon became part of the family firm. His father was the creative director and storyteller, while his artist mother, Sandra, ran the business side of things.
“Because I was often in the animation studio, it was second nature to be involved in the film industry and making cartoons,” explains Guy, 56. “So it was kind of expected that I would follow in my parents’ footsteps.”
Guy started scoring movies while he was still a composition student at Sydney’s Conservatorium High School. Not long after graduation, he found himself recording film music with members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
“For a while my business card said, ‘Music for koalas in shorts or men in dresses,’” says the Sydney-based father of three, who proudly continues the Gross legacy in inner-city Camperdown.
Today Guy manages 20 recording studios – plus a small performance venue – at the very same building where Blinky was made 30 years ago.
A giant portrait of patriarch Yoram, by artist Carolyn McKay, hangs above the stairwell “keeping a keen eye on everyone”. There is also Blinky Bill memorabilia everywhere.
“The baton has passed from my parents to me,” says Guy. “I’m not only looking after the family building, but also caring for its 25 or so independent music, sound and screen professionals.
“I feel really blessed to be able to continue the creative environment here.”
What’s more, Guy’s own children are following inthe family footsteps, one way or another. His son Oscar, 27, is a musician in London, and daughter Sophie, 26, has inherited her grandmother’s business acumen and works in finance. Meanwhile daughter Sacha, 19, is studying animation at the Academy of Interactive Technology.
It is, to borrow one of Blinky’s famous catchphrases, quite “extraordinary!”
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