Most people remember Ray Woolf as the tuxedo-wearing, “jazz hands” entertainer, who made his name as a ’60s rock’n’roll star on TV shows C’Mon and Happen Inn.
But the UK-born singer found it wasn’t easy to keep making a living in showbiz, and admits he has been luckier than most to act on Kiwi shows like Marlin Bay, Nothing Trivial and Shortland Street.
While he might have slowed down in his later years – “I’ll never retire, you’ll have to push me out in a wheelchair to the microphone!” – Ray, 79, still sings with the Auckland Jazz and Blues Club. And this month, he appears on our cinema screens in a new light-hearted romantic comedy, Stranded Pearl.
The veteran performer chats to the Weekly from his Northland home on 16 hectares in Peria, which he shares with “fabulous gardener” wife Chrissy, 64, about 30 chooks and his beloved dog Bhindi.
How will you mark your 80th birthday in November?
We have a big celebration with about 100 people coming. I have a big family that includes two daughters, one son, who’s coming over from Australia, 12 grandchildren and about 23 great-grandchildren. I don’t plan to sing at it like I did at my 70th bash – this time, I want to kick back and they can entertain me!
Do any of your grandkids share your love of performing?
Yes, all play a musical instrument or sing to some extent and are very talented. But I’ve told them, “If you want a career in show business, get a career in something else first.” However, I always said if they want Pop to help them in music, I will. I tried to keep my three kids away from the industry because it’s a very tricky business in this country, but I have times when I regret that. I have friends who have children who have become very good musicians and I thought maybe I should have encouraged my kids into it. But they seem happy and have all got careers in different areas.
What was your first pay?
When I came to New Zealand at 17, I went to see the Keil Isles band play at the Oriental Ballroom in Symonds Street in Auckland and asked if I could sing a few songs with them. The manager of the ballroom heard me and said, “Come back next week and I’ll pay you five guineas.” In 1962, that was a lot of money!
Were you horrified to be offered the job of hosting kids’ show Play School?
Initially, yes. We were doing something at the end of the Happen Inn series and I bumped into a lady I knew, who said, “We’re auditioning for Play School, but unfortunately we don’t have many men auditioning. Why don’t you give it a go?” And I replied, “Don’t be silly, I’m a rock star.” She said, “What’s the problem? Come and audition and see what happens.” A guy from the BBC gave me the job straight away. I looked at the deal to record two or three shows a day, twice a week, and the money was pretty good.
Did you start to get recognised by young mums?
Ooh, yeah! I tell you, I got more attention from women from that show than shows like C’Mon. Rawiri Paratene hosted Play School too – and now we’ve both ended up in this new film, Stranded Pearl, together.
Have you always said yes to opportunities, even if you’re unsure about them?
Only after Play School, actually. From then on, I never turned down anything I was offered. It taught me, “If you see a door open, you might as well walk through it because you never know.”
Many Kiwis will remember you with Howard Morrison on the Bic TV ads. Did you get free pens for life?
No, I didn’t really want them, but I got thousands of lighters, which I’d give away and then try to get them back! People were always saying, “Where’s my lighter, Woolfie?” We did those commercials for 12 years.
You attribute your talent to your mum Edith. Was she a performer too?
She didn’t sing publicly, but she was pretty good. She would sing jazz songs with me over the phone to help me learn them. I wish I had recorded her. She always encouraged me and would forever ask me, “Do you think we did the right thing coming to New Zealand?” When I got my NZ Order of Merit in 2008, it put a cap on it for her.
What are you most proud of?
It’s probably easier to find things I’m not proud of! I think it was being a TV chat-show host from 1977 to 1982, when I co-hosted Two on One with the late Dame Davina Whitehouse in 1978, which became The Ray Woolf Show in 1979. Those were the good ol’ days!
Stranded Pearl is screening in cinemas nationwide.
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