As soon as he was released from close confinement he escaped, but by chance he was able to make contact with Lee Gordon, who happened to be in London at the time, and with Gordon's help (and that of O'Keefe's wife and his parents) he was transferred to St George's Hospital to recover, and he returned to Australia as soon as he was well enough to travel. The Discovery Programme at the Centre for Archaeology and Innovation in Ireland has appointed CIOB member Dr John O’Keeffe as its new chief executive officer.. 1-855­-641-6957 (Toll Free!) Taylor, however, failed to act on Haley's advice, so O'Keefe then famously took matters into his own hands and began telling the local press that he had in fact been signed to Festival. Their first performance was at Stones Cabaret in the beach side suburb of Coogee, and by early 1957 they were playing four dances a week and also performing on Saturdays in the interval between films at the Embassy Theatre, Manly. Johnny Greenan joined the Dee Jays on tenor saxophone, replacing John Balkin. [24] This was followed by another support spot on the second all-star Big Show, which included The Crickets (with lead singer Buddy Holly on his first and only Australian tour), Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka. [citation needed] His decision to try his luck in the USA was strongly opposed by his friend and mentor Lee Gordon but the ever-ambitious O'Keefe had already set his sights on breaking into the American market, and in L.A. he met with record executive Mickey Shaw who introduced him to executives of Liberty Records. O'Keefe scored his fourth Australian No. In 2001, a stage musical Shout was mounted to celebrate Johnny O'Keefe's career and times and played to sell-out houses throughout the country, bringing millions to its promoters. Based in the Bay Area, he has also been active in both Los Angeles and New York theater for decades, as well as in other cities across the country. Another major blow to O'Keefe was the sudden death of his partner and friend Lee Gordon, who died from a heart attack in London on 7 November 1963. O'Keefe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. He was raised as a Catholic and attended the local Catholic primary school, followed by secondary schooling at Waverley College in nearby Waverley.[3]. I’m open to the idea of Consulting in the Franchise Restaurant area and sharing my 40 plus years of business experience. John O’Keefe is also listed along with people born on Not Known. Up to this point he had performed for free, simply to gain experience, but his first paid engagement as a singer was as a Johnny Ray impersonator, performing on the Bathurst radio station 2BS, for which he was paid £17 plus expenses. Create a free family tree for yourself or for John O Keefe and we’ll search for valuable new information for you. [34], In January 1967, O'Keefe compered a new TV show called Where The Action Is. The original lineup of the group was; Kevin Naughton (guitar), Keith Williams (bass) and Johnny "Catfish" Purser (drums). [6] Being unable to read or memorise the script, the young O'Keefe improvised his part.[7]. Casch recalled that he actually played behind Jerry Lee Lewis, whose own backing musicians were so daunted by the Dee Jays' performance that they got too drunk to play.[25]. [citation needed] It was an era in which many major artists mimed songs at outdoor locations, such at Manly Beach's Fairy Bower in 1967. [citation needed], Although he had helped the careers of many of his rock'n'roll contemporaries, O'Keefe was resistant to the changes in pop music and made himself unpopular amongst the new groups by banning "long-haired" acts (such as The Missing Links) from appearing on Sing, Sing, Sing. Although it was claimed that it was recorded live at the Stadium, it was in fact a studio recording, overdubbed with the sound of a real Stadium audience. John O'Keeffe wurde am 18. In his twenty-year ca… read more O'Keefe's debut single (issued as a 78rpm record), "You Hit The Wrong Note, Billy Goat" b/w "The Chicken Song", was released in July 1957 but it failed to chart and sold poorly, as did the follow-up, a cover of Pat Boones "Love Letters in the Sand" – which O'Keefe later described as the worst record of his career. John O'Keefe Family, Childhood, Life Achievements, Facts, Wiki and Bio of 2017. He was born in Ambon in 1924, grew up in Aceh and Jakarta, began playing guitar at an early age, and became a dedicated jazz musician. The enterprising O'Keefe was involved in every aspect of the group's career including hiring the halls, placing ads in the local newspapers and putting up posters. By this time O'Keefe had become a close friend of the music concert promoter, Lee Gordon, and their popularity really took off when O'Keefe and the Dee Jays were installed as the featured support act for Gordon's famous "Big Show" concert bills at the Sydney Stadium. O'Keefe's 'trademark' was his flamboyant stage attire, which included gold lame jackets and brightly coloured suits trimmed with fake fur. Finden Sie perfekte Stock-Fotos zum Thema John O'keefe sowie redaktionelle Newsbilder von Getty Images. The next week he recorded several songs and came back to Australia with what became his first number one record, "She's My Baby." O'Keefe was also a radio and television entertainer and presenter[1]. or by his nickname "The Wild One", O'Keefe was the first Australian rock n' roll performer to tour the United States, and the first Australian artist to make the local Top 40 charts. He has been the recipient of numerous grants, awards and residencies. He came to Australia under the Colombo Plan in 1952 to study Medicine at the University of Sydney. O'Keefe suffered multiple lacerations, a concussion and fractures to his head and face; he lost four teeth, and his hands were also badly lacerated. [citation needed] These overseas acts in turn inspired a new generation of local 'beat' stars, spearheaded by Bobby & Laurie, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Ray Brown & The Whispers, Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays, Normie Rowe, and The Easybeats, who took the Australian pop scene by storm and (at least in Australia) soon came to rival the popularity of the biggest overseas acts. O'Keefe was born in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction on 19 January 1935. Often referred to by his initials "J.O.K." Johnny O'Keefe first met Bill Haley during his tour in 1957 in Australia. John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. [16], Recognising Johnny's potential, Merzi began tutoring him on piano, encouraging him to broaden his repertoire and helping him to refine his stagecraft. [citation needed] Given the severe head injuries he had sustained in the car crash, it is also possible that O'Keefe was suffering from undiagnosed neurological trauma which may have affected his personality and contributed to his later mental health and drug issues, and these problems were undoubtedly exacerbated by his heavy drug and alcohol use. On 14 February 1975 (St Valentine's Day) at the Masonic Hall, Waverley, O'Keefe married for the second time to Maureen Joan Maricic, a 29-year-old fashion consultant. Studienbegleitend absolvierte er mehrere Praktika in Verwaltung, Politik und Beratung und war als Abgeordnetenmitarbeiter tätig. His tenacity paid off when he was added to the Haley bill, if only to give something to the Sydney audiences to hear as they found their seats. The tenacious O'Keefe performed his routine no matter how small the audience, sometimes braving the rotten eggs and fruit thrown at him by local louts.[17]. Slim. Nov. 1939 als Sohn irischer Einwanderer in New York City geboren. During this period The Dee Jays also acted as the backing band for many of the international acts that Gordon toured, since they were at the time the only rock'n'roll band in the country who could read music. In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe released over fifty singles, 50 EPs and 100 albums. His mother was an excellent pianist[5] and his father occasionally played in a jazz band. When he died on October 6, 1978, of a heart attack induced by an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs, Johnny O'Keefe was busy planning the expansion of his successful business and performing activities. They opened a boutique, J. O'K Creations, at Paddington in 1978. Unfortunately though this was to be first of many such "breakdowns" – O'Keefe would subsequently endure numerous spells in psychiatric hospital (including Hydebray alcohol rehabilitation hospital), and his drug problems dogged him until the end of his life . [4] His parents were both good singers. He was still one of Australia's hardest working and best-paid entertainers. The hits continued, including three more national number ones with "I'm Counting on You," "Move Baby Move," and "She Wears My Ring.". O'Keefe Arts. A chance was all O'Keefe ever needed. Some of the dance patrons came to blows with wedding guests in the men's toilets, and within minutes the fight had erupted into a full-scale riot that spilled out into the street, with police eventually calling in the Navy Shore Patrol to help restore order. [citation needed] Within a few months the emergence of the new wave of guitar/vocal groups led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones ushered in a new era in popular music, and their advent signalled the start of a rapid decline in O'Keefe's career. Some of his hits include "Wild One" (1958), "Shout!" Vertretung der Lehrstuhlinhaberin - Professur für Public und Nonprofit Management. 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