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Johnny Young has died at the age of 79 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The Young Talent Time host’s family confirmed the news of his passing in a statement.
“Johnny was the creator, host and producer of the much loved television show Young Talent Time. He wrote and produced many iconic hit songs including The Real Thing and Smily,” the statement read.
“Johnny leaves behind his wife Marisha, sister Cornelia, daughters Anna and Fleur, son Craig (dec.), seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Johnny Young’s life
Born Johnny Benjamin de Jong in Rotterdam on March 12, 1947, he immigrated to Western Australia as a child, eventually becoming a defining figure in Australian pop culture.
He leaves behind an enduring legacy as a pioneering entertainer, a hitmaking songwriter, and a starmaker who shaped the nation’s television landscape for nearly two decades.
Before he was a television mentor, Young was a bonafide pop star.
In 1966, he scored a massive number-one hit with the double-A-sided single Step Back and Cara-Lyn.
A prolific composer, he also penned iconic Australian hits like The Real Thing for Russell Morris and Smiley for Ronnie Burns. But it was his pivot to television production in 1971 that cemented his household-name status.
His time on Young Talent Time
Drawing inspiration from formats like The Mickey Mouse Club, Young and his team launched Young Talent Time on Network Ten.
The weekly variety program featured a rotating core of prodigious kids performing the day’s biggest hits.
It was a cultural juggernaut. For 18 years, the show served as the undisputed launchpad for Australian talent, famously discovering and nurturing future international superstars like Tina Arena and Dannii Minogue, alongside Aussie icons like Nicole Kidman, Debra Byrne and Jamie Redfern.
The show generated unprecedented, nationwide hysteria.
During its peak, the Young Talent Team were treated like royalty. In 1987, a promotional appearance at Parramatta’s Westfield Shopping Centre had to be abruptly abandoned when a crowd of over 4,000 surging fans caused a dangerous crush.
The following year, their outdoor concert at the 1988 Brisbane World Expo drew an astonishing 12,000 attendees, cementing the cast’s status as teenage idols.
However, the late 1980s brought insurmountable challenges. The rival Nine Network aggressively counter-programmed by moving its massively popular variety show, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, into a direct prime-time collision with Young Talent Time.
Facing rapidly dwindling ratings, Network Ten attempted to salvage the program by shifting it to Friday nights in October 1988.
The desperate move failed, and the beloved series was abruptly cancelled, airing its final episode on December 23, 1988. The cancellation carried severe personal consequences for Johnny.
Having invested heavily in a state-of-the-art television studio complex in Richmond, the show’s sudden demise left him with crippling debts, eventually forcing him to sell his family home.
Despite these financial hardships, his monumental contribution to Australian entertainment was deeply revered. He holds the incredibly rare distinction of being inducted into both the TV Week Logies Hall of Fame in 1990 and the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010.
What was Johnny Young’s biggest song?
His heartbreaking passing is profoundly felt across the entire Australian entertainment industry.
For millions of Aussies who grew up watching him on Saturday nights, Johnny Young will forever be remembered for his incredible warmth, his unwavering support of young musical artists, and his signature, always heartfelt television sign-off song, All My Loving.
“The family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time. Details of a memorial service will be announced soon.”
Johnny played a vital role in launching the careers of many Australian superstars, including Tina Arena and Dannii Minogue, on the famous 1970s competition Young Talent Time.
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