His devoted family and an army of friends always knew the man was widely loved and respected. In the past week they’ve discovered the magnitude of that adoration. Through his childhood years Graham McNeice would have been the kindest kid on the block. Through his entire adult life he never failed to offer a reassuring word whenever the person in his company most needed it. No matter how busy, no matter how much pressure was on his shoulders “Shadow” would always find the few seconds required to lift the spirits of those around him.
Those touched by his kindness over the years would have given anything to help him feel a little better in his final weeks. The seventy six year old had spent much of the last five months under expert care at Sydney’s famous St. Vincent’s Private Hospital. Slowly but surely at first, long term diabetes and the diminishing benefits of dialysis had begun to take a toll. Graham’s recent rate of decline had alarmed those closest to him. By the middle of last week it was obvious the end was near. For several days leading up to the fateful moment he’d been visited bedside by family members and an unrelenting stream of friends past and present. He was in and out of consciousness for much of the time. Some were lucky enough to get a faint smile - a memory to be cherished. It was 3.30pm on Thursday September 12th when Graham John McNeice departed this life.
Graham was a familiar face on Australian television screens for close to four decades.
“Shadow” would have been embarrassed to know that his passing has created such a fuss. A tsunami of tributes began early on Thursday evening and continued well into the weekend. Popular radio programmes around Australia featured stories about his celebrated career, as did major newspapers. Social media was literally “alight” for days. His impact as media presenter, documentary maker and all round great human being had generated a wave of emotion. I had calls from three celebrated former jockeys who’d enjoyed his friendship and wise counsel at different stages of their lives. Darren Beadman had visited Graham two days before his passing, and simply called to express his feelings. Wayne Harris, currently in hospital himself wanted to confirm the sad news. Wayne continues to marvel at the fact that Graham had been calling him on his birthday for many years. He wasn’t surprised to learn that he was one of many to receive a birthday greeting from the ever thoughtful “Shadow”. Peter Cook was in total disbelief after having heard the news on a Sky Racing programme.
Graham first saw the light of day in 1948, the eldest of six children born to Sid and Marion McNeice - stoic and hard working people so typical of their generation. Sid and Marion owned a butcher shop at Croydon Park which also doubled as an SP betting outlet - obviously illegal but one of a vast number of similar enterprises around Australia in the pre TAB era. Young Graham worked in the shop on Saturday mornings when meat orders were often accompanied by slips of paper upon which were scribbled the names of the horses customers wanted to back later in the day. There’s little doubt this early involvement ignited Graham’s lifelong interest in the racing game.
It seems Sid McNeice was inwardly disappointed when his eldest son showed little interest in becoming a butcher. Marion on the other hand encouraged her son to follow his heart and give it his best shot. Graham was working in the Sydney office of Queensland Insurance when his father introduced him to a man called Frank Kennedy, at the time a well known boxing promoter. Frank was also doing some part time greyhound calling for 2KA Katoomba which transmitted a signal strong enough to clearly reach the outer western fringe of Sydney.
Graham's friend and mentor Frank Kennedy calling the dogs in the early 1970s.
The station was providing coverage of greyhound meetings from Wollongong, Gosford, Bulli, and Dapto. A little later management added the Friday night Richmond meetings to their schedule. When Graham signalled his ambition to become a race caller, Frank quickly appointed him full time assistant. McNeice got to call a race or two at the aforementioned tracks and was in the box seat when Frank also landed a job covering metropolitan greyhound meetings for 2UE. Through this connection Graham was later appointed understudy to the station’s chief caller Des Hoysted. This would lead him to opportunities to call occasional races from the city thoroughbred meetings and Harold Park trots, and to fill in whenever Des Hoysted took a break. “Shadow” enjoyed the experience, but never really rated himself as a racecaller. “I never regarded myself as an A grade caller and couldn’t really see myself making a career of it,” he said in a 2019 podcast.
Graham got his first taste of television in the early 1970’s, again courtesy of his loyal friend Frank Kennedy. The amiable Kennedy was a regular panellist on “Punters Post Mortem” which was part of the network’s Sunday Sports Action programme. He got to fill in for Frank on several occasions and took to the new role with relish. Graham was devastated in 1977 when his mentor died much too soon at 51 years of age, just months after the loss of his own daughter Bernice. His friendship with the Kennedys grew stronger, highlighted each year by his attendance at the family Xmas luncheon table. He joined Anne, Paulette, Michelle, Terry and Paul and their families as recently as last year. Not surprisingly he offered valuable tutelage to Terry Kennedy who forged his own successful media career.
Graham with Paulette and Anne Kennedy, Gary and Norma Wilson on the evening in Perth when Frank was inducted into the Greyhound Racing Hall Of Fame.
Graham’s few appearances on “Punter’s Post Mortem” didn‘t go unnoticed. The late John Bailey was quickly on the phone to offer him a role producing and hosting the Saturday and Sunday sports bulletins on the Network 10 evening news. Before he knew it the emerging talent was offered a full time job in news and sports by News Director Tom Barnett. “Shadow” stayed with the network for nine happy years during which time he had a presence in several programme areas including Good Morning Australia - the show to launch the stellar career of Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was no surprise last Friday morning when Kerri-Anne joined Ray Hadley on 2GB to pay her tribute to a man she revered.
Kerri-Anne and Graham brought their mums along to this edition of Good Morning Australia. Gracie (left) and Marion were the centre of attention.
It was the same Tom Barnett who later invited Graham to join him at Robert Holmes a Court’s new satellite television venture Club Super Station in the mid 1980’s - Australia’s first subscription television service. Transmitting to pubs and clubs only, the station initially provided a range of overseas sports events before commencing a greyhound racing coverage. The first “breakaway” thoroughbred race club to join Club Superstation was Kembla Grange although Graham was confident others would soon follow. The landscape changed when Robert Holmes a Court suddenly abandoned the project after just two years of operation. He sold the station with all its debt for a “token” sum to Alan Bond who’d just launched Sky Channel from a back room in the Channel 9 complex in Perth. It wasn’t long before Bond, aware of the inevitability of a full time racing channel opted to move the fledgling Sky Channel enterprise to Sydney and to the former Club Superstation premises. Graham McNeice was immediately invited to be a part of the transition and so began one of the most exciting journeys in Australian media history.
The new racing service began with around 400 pubs and clubs on the books. That figure exploded to 6000 within a few years, and it was obvious a home service would be the next cab off the rank. Graham McNeice headed up that historic first day of transmission into one million Australian homes on September 5th 1998. It was a memorable day for racing television and for the Australian racing industry. “It was highlighted by the appearance of two legendary racehorses,” recalled Graham in the 2019 podcast. “Sunline won the Furious Stakes and Might And Power the Chelmsford. It was an exciting and unforgettable day.”
Graham (centre) with the original Sky team in 1998. Sadly Nick Robin and Chris Kearns had pre-deceased Graham in recent years.
The “Shadow’s” talents as an on air presenter were exceeded only by his subsequent deeds as a producer of documentaries. He was responsible for a master stroke in the late 90’s when he negotiated a deal with Filmworld who then had the rights to the vast archival library handed down by the Cinesound Movietone News organisation on its closure in 1975. “I’d known Filmworld’s owner Eileen Naseby since my Channel 10 days and she was very supportive of my plan to produce documentaries from decades of priceless Cinesound film footage,” recalled Graham in the podcast.
This was around the time Graham got serious about documentary production.
Graham McNeice had won great acclaim over the last twenty five years as the producer of many much loved documentaries featuring racing, sport, Australian nostalgia and sensitive subjects like Crime Investigation which ran over two series on the 7 network. At the time of his passing he was overseeing the completion of his latest epic “The Rise And Fall Of The Cross” which will air towards the end of the year - a fitting finale to the career of a storytelling wizard.
Of Graham’s many documentary achievements there’s little doubt his personal favourite was the story of iconic racehorse Tulloch. He went to extraordinary lengths to recreate the highs and lows of the great horse’s life. “Tulloch was my pin up horse in the 50’s and 60’s,” said Shadow. “I was so excited when Dad took me to Randwick to watch the champ run in the 1961 Sydney Cup. I was devastated when he went under to Sharply, but I followed him right to the end. It’s well known that he missed two years with a chronic stomach ailment but came back to win a further fifteen races including the 1961 Brisbane Cup when he gave Sharply 10kgs and avenged the Sydney Cup defeat. I enjoyed every moment of the Tulloch project and yes, I’ll confess it was my all time favourite.”
Tulloch was the centrepiece of Shadow's all time favourite video production. The champion is seen here after an effortless win in the 1957 AJC Derby with George Moore in the saddle - courtesy Ern McQuillan Photography.
Two of Shadow’s favourite proteges paid tribute to their former tutor on high profile television programmes. Peter Overton expressed his sadness towards the end of a Channel 9 evening news bulletin, while Matt Shirvington had some touching things to say on the Channel 7 morning programme Sunrise. Top race callers Darren Flindell, Matthew Hill and Josh Fleming all delivered wonderful tributes to their former mentor as did Ron Dufficy, Richard Freedman, Jo McKinnon, Ray Warren and Greg Radley. Print and electronic media carried heartfelt acknowledgments over the weekend and were still paying homage well into the new week. It seems that everybody with a Graham McNeice story to tell came forward en masse. It’s been said that Graham’s general health began to slide immediately after the death of his close friend Brian Walsh early last year. He was deeply shocked to find Brian at home shortly after the passing of the high profile television executive and publicist.
Heartfelt sympathies go to Shadow’s siblings - sisters Deidre, Christine and Michelle, and younger brothers Terry and Geoffrey. Condolences to son Paul, and nephew Rudi McGregor who has faithfully steered Shadow Productions through a very tough few months. Deidre spent an enormous amount of time with her brother in “Girl Friday” roles at Sky Channel and Shadow Productions. “There were times he tried my patience, but it never took him long to get back into the good books,” said Deidre. “It was a big job attending to his every whim because he was usually thinking of six things at once. His brain would be ticking over every second and you had to try to second guess him. Every story you’ve heard about his kindness and compassion is true. He was a wonderful man and I’ll miss him terribly.”
His transition into a full time role as a producer of documentaries enabled him to give that vivid imagination full rein. He used the best of scriptwriters and editors, but nothing got past his eagle eye. He was known on occasions to halt an edit halfway through and start again because he felt it simply wasn’t working. I haven’t heard of a single occasion when his judgement was astray. “Shadow” was good to be around once you learned to tune into his ever changing thought process, and his goodwill to others was there for all to see every minute of the day. He was unique, he was innately talented, and a thoroughly decent human being. I’m so glad he was around in my time.
Graham McNeice 1948-2024 RIP "Shadow".
(Banner image - In the Sky studio - his second home for many years.)
If you can find the time may I suggest you google “Graham McNeice Podcast Episode 341” from 2019. He was unwell on the day but found the time to take us through a fascinating life.