Tommy Carter is still going strong on Casey Radio. 60504 Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Bridget Brady
TOMMY Carter is a true-blue entertainer.
A joke-a-minute man, he won’t let a conversation go without a gag. And if you miss it, there’s always next time.
Tommy, who grew up on the Mornington Peninsula, has been broadcasting on community radio for about 25 years.
He is a life member of Casey Radio, and continues to come up with new material, today starting a program called the ‘hospital hour’, chatting to doctors and specialists each Thursday before his regular segment of ‘jazz as you like it’.
Tommy said being able to brighten the day of people who might be alone was one of the major reasons he loved community radio.
“With community radio I feel there’s someone out there that I’m giving a sense of fun to and making them feel a bit better,” he said.
“And I would hope that I was doing good for the community.”
Tommy said he was not fazed about speculation he was the oldest person on community radio in Australia.
“I don’t care. I always say I’m older than God’s dog…I love dogs.”
Tommy said community radio was a loudspeaker for community events and news, and thought local councils could utilise the tool more.
Tommy has enjoyed a life full of entertainment and fun. He got roped into starting his first band at 15 years of age to perform and help save his junior life saving club from folding.
The shoe fitted, and he went on to meet a lovely young lady who joined his band playing the piano, and she later became his wife.
“My wife was the musician, I was the clown.”
Tommy played in his dance band for various balls, events, sporting clubs, hospitals, churches and charity events. He said the Portsea Hotel during the ’50s and ’60s was a regular gig for him.
Remarkably, Tommy continues to play with his family band each Sunday afternoon at the Baxter Tavern Hotel, something he has done for 20 years.
“I get a kick out of it in the sense that I can still do it.”
Tommy’s first radio appearance was at the ripe age of 12 as a boy soprano.
“That gave me the touch for radio.”
It’s no surprise Tommy has dedicated his life to entertainment, given his parents and sisters were all involved in music. The talent has passed on to his children as well, as his son writes musicals for St Peter’s College in Cranbourne.
Before his days on Casey Radio, Tommy was an advertising manager at a radio station in Rockhampton and went on to enter the showbag business, creating the Bertie Beetle showbag.
“Showbags became an enormous business. I used to sit on the paddock hill at each show and say to the kids what bags do you like?”
Entertainment has been Tommy’s Carter’s life, and he plans on keeping it that way.
“The whole thing has been just an enjoyment for me, that I’m doing it for people.”
