Kevin Crease
Encyclopedia
Kevin John Crease was a South Australia
n television presenter and news presenter
. He was most noted for presenting South Australia
n edition of the Nine Network
's National Nine News
with Rob Kelvin
between 1987 and 2007.
Born in North Adelaide and raised in the working class seaside suburb of Semaphore
, Crease was the eldest of four children. He was a prodigious public speaker from a young age and won the Year 7 senior school debating championship.
He started his working life as a clerical worker in 1952 with Shell
before becoming a copy boy and later cadet at Adelaide's The News
newspaper, where he quickly "fell foul of the chief-of-staff" and was sacked. Crease completed his national service
, but resigned from the army following an incident where he used an armored car to attend a party with his girlfriend.
Crease started his radio career at radio station 5DN in 1957 after being noticed as a spruiker selling plastic raincoats in Adelaide’s city streets. On 17 July 1959, Channel 9 began its first broadcast in Adelaide. Crease was chosen to compere the station’s first program - Clarkson’s TV Hostess Quest. During the 1960s, he worked on a variety of different projects, from reading commercials and news, to performing on Adelaide Tonight
as compere
from 1962-1975. In 1969, he accidentally became the first on-air personality to say “fuck” on Australian television when he said "fucking hell" after a late-night mishap. In the early 1970s, he hosted the news program News Beat.
From 1975 - 1977, Crease was then Premier Don Dunstan
’s press secretary before returning to television. He went on to present news for ADS-7. Crease returned to Channel 9 in April 1987 as presenter for National Nine News
with Rob Kelvin
.
On 9 February 2007, co-host Rob Kelvin
announced that Crease was going through a serious health issue and was taking extended leave from presenting. It was revealed on 17 March 2007 on National Nine News
that he was suffering from a 'serious form of cancer'. The Sunday Mail
reported the following day that Crease would be retiring from television broadcasting.
Crease died on 12 April 2007, aged 70 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
.
Following his passing, Crease was posthumously inducted into the South Australian Media Hall of Fame. The award was accepted by his son, Tom Crease, at the awards ceremony held 28 April 2007, at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Later that week NWS-9 aired Farwell Creasey which was the top rating program for the week.
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n television presenter and news presenter
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
. He was most noted for presenting South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n edition of the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's National Nine News
National Nine News
Nine News is the news service of the Australian Nine Network.Nine News's flagship bulletin is the nightly 6:00pm localised bulletin, produced by networked owned-and-operated stations in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Darwin alongside localised bulletins produced by the WIN-owned Nine Network...
with Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin is a former television news presenter who lives in Adelaide, South Australia.He previously was a presenter of the weeknight edition of Nine News Adelaide produced by NWS-9. Kelvin presented the bulletin with Kevin Crease until February 2007, when Crease retired after being diagnosed...
between 1987 and 2007.
Born in North Adelaide and raised in the working class seaside suburb of Semaphore
Semaphore, South Australia
Semaphore is a north-western seaside suburb of Adelaide of the LeFevre Peninsula 14km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Semaphore South, Glanville, Exeter and Largs Bay. The postcode for Semaphore is 5019...
, Crease was the eldest of four children. He was a prodigious public speaker from a young age and won the Year 7 senior school debating championship.
He started his working life as a clerical worker in 1952 with Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
before becoming a copy boy and later cadet at Adelaide's The News
The News (Adelaide)
The News was an afternoon daily tabloid newspaper in the city of Adelaide, South Australia.The newspaper was established in 1869 as the Evening Journal. In 1933, a controlling stake was taken by The Advertiser, controlled by the Herald and Weekly Times. HWT sold off The News in 1949, and Sir Keith...
newspaper, where he quickly "fell foul of the chief-of-staff" and was sacked. Crease completed his national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, but resigned from the army following an incident where he used an armored car to attend a party with his girlfriend.
Crease started his radio career at radio station 5DN in 1957 after being noticed as a spruiker selling plastic raincoats in Adelaide’s city streets. On 17 July 1959, Channel 9 began its first broadcast in Adelaide. Crease was chosen to compere the station’s first program - Clarkson’s TV Hostess Quest. During the 1960s, he worked on a variety of different projects, from reading commercials and news, to performing on Adelaide Tonight
Adelaide Tonight
Adelaide Tonight was a nightly variety show, running four days a week at 9.30pm on NWS-9 Adelaide. The show was broadcast live from Studio 1 between 1959 and 1973...
as compere
Compere
Compère can refer to:* Loyset Compère, a French composer of the Renaissance* Louis Fursy Henri Compere , a French general in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
from 1962-1975. In 1969, he accidentally became the first on-air personality to say “fuck” on Australian television when he said "fucking hell" after a late-night mishap. In the early 1970s, he hosted the news program News Beat.
From 1975 - 1977, Crease was then Premier Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
’s press secretary before returning to television. He went on to present news for ADS-7. Crease returned to Channel 9 in April 1987 as presenter for National Nine News
National Nine News
Nine News is the news service of the Australian Nine Network.Nine News's flagship bulletin is the nightly 6:00pm localised bulletin, produced by networked owned-and-operated stations in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Darwin alongside localised bulletins produced by the WIN-owned Nine Network...
with Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin is a former television news presenter who lives in Adelaide, South Australia.He previously was a presenter of the weeknight edition of Nine News Adelaide produced by NWS-9. Kelvin presented the bulletin with Kevin Crease until February 2007, when Crease retired after being diagnosed...
.
On 9 February 2007, co-host Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin
Rob Kelvin is a former television news presenter who lives in Adelaide, South Australia.He previously was a presenter of the weeknight edition of Nine News Adelaide produced by NWS-9. Kelvin presented the bulletin with Kevin Crease until February 2007, when Crease retired after being diagnosed...
announced that Crease was going through a serious health issue and was taking extended leave from presenting. It was revealed on 17 March 2007 on National Nine News
National Nine News
Nine News is the news service of the Australian Nine Network.Nine News's flagship bulletin is the nightly 6:00pm localised bulletin, produced by networked owned-and-operated stations in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Darwin alongside localised bulletins produced by the WIN-owned Nine Network...
that he was suffering from a 'serious form of cancer'. The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Adelaide)
The Sunday mail was founded in 1912 by Clarence Moody. Moody initially set up three newspapers - the Sporting mail, Saturday mail and the Mail. The first two titles lasted only two years and five years respectively...
reported the following day that Crease would be retiring from television broadcasting.
Crease died on 12 April 2007, aged 70 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a 340 bed acute tertiary referral hospital in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
.
Following his passing, Crease was posthumously inducted into the South Australian Media Hall of Fame. The award was accepted by his son, Tom Crease, at the awards ceremony held 28 April 2007, at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Later that week NWS-9 aired Farwell Creasey which was the top rating program for the week.