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Ray Martin | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Martin in 2013 | |
| Born | Raymond George Grace (1944-12-20)20 December 1944 (age 80) Richmond, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | University of Sydney |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, television presenter |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Known for | Four Corners This Day Tonight Midday with Ray Martin (1985–1993) Ray Martin Presents Up Close and Personal The Ray Martin Show 60 Minutes Carols by Candlelight (1990–2007) A Current Affair (1994–1998; 2003–2005) |
| Awards | Gold Logie Award (1987; 1993–1996) for his role onMidday andA Current Affair |
Raymond George MartinAM (néGrace, 20 December 1944) is an Australian television journalist and entertainment personality. Having won theGold Logie five times, he is the most awarded star of Australian television, along withGraham Kennedy (although Kennedy won the 'Star of the Year Award', the forerunner of the Gold Logie in 1959).
He is best known for his various on-air roles onChannel Nine from 1978, particularly his stint onA Current Affair and his long tenure as host of the variety/talk showThe Midday Show, after original hostMike Walsh left as host of a similar midday format withThe Mike Walsh Show. In 2011, he returned to the current affairs show60 Minutes, in which he had been an original presenter, albeit only in a part-time capacity.[1]
He was bornRaymond George Grace into anIrish-Australian Catholic family[2][3] inRichmond, New South Wales, Australia. He was the youngest of four children and their only son.[2] His mother changed the family surname toMartin to prevent herabusive, alcoholic husband from finding her and their children after they fled from him in c. 1955.[2] She and the children moved many times, settling inAdelaide and inTasmania.[2] In the early 1990s, he found out that his great-great-grandmother was anIndigenous Australian woman from theKamilaroi nation, nearGunnedah.[4][5]
He attendedLaunceston College and theUniversity of Sydney, where he studied engineering on scholarship at university, but changed his mind and studied to become an English and history teacher. He graduated with aBachelor of Arts in 1967.[2]
Martin began working forAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney as a cadet in 1965.[6] He was appointed the ABC's New York City correspondent in 1969.[2] Over the next 10 years his coverage included race riots, anti-Vietnam War protests,Olympic Games and presidential elections for news and current affairs television and radio, fromFour Corners andThis Day Tonight to science and religion programs.
In 1978, he joined theNine Network to launch60 Minutes, along with reportersGeorge Negus andIan Leslie.
From 1985 to 1993, he presented the daily variety showMidday with Ray Martin and hosted top-rating specials such asRay Martin Presents,Up Close and Personal andThe Ray Martin Show, interviewing entertainment celebrities includingTom Cruise,Nicole Kidman,Robin Williams,[7]Elton John,Jim Carrey,Michael Douglas,Billy Crystal,Jodie Foster,Michael Crawford,Paul Hogan,Russell Crowe andMadonna[8].[citation needed]
He hostedA Current Affair from 1994 to 1998 and went on to present three series –Our Century,The Great Debates andSimply the Best – before returning to60 Minutes to do special reports. In 2003 he resumed as host ofA Current Affair. It was announced in December 2005 that he would become the Nine Network's Senior Reporter.[citation needed] This quashed much speculation that he would return toFour Corners at the ABC, as the fluctuating ratings forA Current Affair had decreased.[citation needed] Over the past few years he has assisted in reporting with some major events including the Indonesiantsunami disaster in 2005. FormerToday Show co-hostTracy Grimshaw replaced Martin onACA at the beginning of 2006. He was then a senior correspondent for Channel Nine.[citation needed]
He has also hosted diverse television events, from theLogie Awards,Commonwealth Games,World Cup Cricket,1988 Bicentenary Spectacular and Federal and State Election nights to the aftermath of the11 September terrorist attacks. From 16 September 2007, Martin took over as co-host ofSunday, replacingRoss Greenwood.
Martin left the Nine Network in February 2008, allegedly due to differences with management over budget cuts and a timeslot change for theSunday program.[9]
On 28 March 2008, it was announced that Martin would lead the official broadcast of theWorld Youth Day event in Sydney from 15 to 20 July 2008.[citation needed]
In October 2008, Martin criticised the Nine Network and other commercial television operations during an address at the annualAndrew Olle Media Lecture. The subject of Martin's criticism was an alleged "dumbing down" of journalism and news coverage.[10][11]
Since 2014, Martin has been the presenter for theSBS seriesFirst Contact. In 2015, he featured on the SBS Australian version of the popular international franchise genealogy television documentary seriesWho Do You Think You Are?.In 2017, he hostedLook Me In The Eye.
In 2016 and 2017, Martin presented three primetime specials for the regional networkPrime7 focusing on major social issues impacting their viewing areas:Ice: The Scourge of Regional Australia,Dark Secrets: Australia's Hidden Shame, andIt Won't Happen To Me.[12][13]
In August 2018, Martin was announced as a presenter on theNine Network's new travel seriesHelloworld, which aired on 7 October 2018 and aired for the first two seasons.[14]
In 2020, during the first AustralianCOVID-19 lockdowns, Martin presented the ABC comedy seriesAt Home Alone Together, a satire of lifestyle television with a pandemic theme.
In 2024, Martin presented the three-part SBS series,Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye. The series explores trends, rituals and practices surrounding death and funerals.[15]
In 1998,John Safran, an Australian documentarian and media personality, created a television pilot calledJohn Safran: Media Tycoon, which was focused on the media industry. It became infamous for a segment where Safran turned up to Martin's house and confronted him in the tabloid style characteristic ofA Current Affair and its peers. Martin was in contact with theABC and specifically warned Safran in the segment that he had spoken to Roger Grant, the then Head of Corporate Affairs at the ABC. The segment was later played onMedia Watch on ABC[16] and onEnough Rope.[17] Safran went through Martin's garbage and took Shane Paxton (a formerA Current Affair story subject) in his effort to engage Martin.
| Organization | Award | Year | Awarded for | Results |
| Logie Awards | Gold Logie X5 | Annual recipient 1987, 1993, 1994,1995, 1996 | 3× forMidday 2× Host ofA Current Affair | Won |
| Logie Awards | Silver Logie Award | Won | ||
| People's Choice Awards | Won | |||
| Variety, the Children's Charity | Entertainment award | Won | ||
| Mo Award | Entertainment honour | Won | ||
| Queensland Media Awards | Media personality | Won |
Martin was appointed aMember of the Order of Australia (AM) in the2010 Australia Day Honours "for service to the community through voluntary roles with charitable, Indigenous, health and sporting organisations, and to the media as a television journalist."[18][19]
Martin was awarded theCentenary Medal on 1 January 2001.[20]
In 2018, Martin was honoured with a special collection of post stamps issued byAustralia Post, with his portrait featured on the stamp, as part of the legends of television series.[21]
Martin was also honoured with a star on Caloundra Walk of Stars in early 2007.
Martin is married to Dianne Martin, with whom he has two children.[3]
Although his parents separated, they never divorced owing to a huge stigma regarding divorce.[2] His father died in the mid-1980s.[2]
Martin is a republican and has called for a change in theAustralian flag to reflect the nation's increasing multicultural identity.[22]
During the2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, Martin supported the "Yes" vote. At a Yes campaign event in Sydney's inner west, he took issue with the No Campaign's slogan "If You Don't Know, Vote No." At the event, Martin said "what that asinine slogan is saying is if you're a dinosaur or a dickhead who can't be bothered reading, then vote no."[23]
Martin is a supporter and current board member of theSouth Sydney RabbitohsNRL team.
He was Chairman of theAustralian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF), was Chairman ofThe Fred Hollows Foundation and has supported children's services atRoyal North Shore Hospital. From 1991 to 2000, he was a full-term member of theCouncil for Aboriginal Reconciliation.[24] As of November 2020[update] he is an Ambassador for the AIEF.[25]
He is a Brand Tasmania Ambassador.[26]
For more than 30 years, the children's charity the Humpty Dumpty Foundation has enjoyed support from Martin.[27]
Martin has been a Patron of the Humpty Dumpty Foundationsince 1990 to raise awareness of the Foundation and the work it provides for sick children in hospitals across Australia. Martin hosts many of Humpty's events as well as being involved in trips across Australia to meet with medical professionals, young hospital patients and their families.[30] Ray is also involved in TheGood Egg Magazine, which celebrates the work of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation.
One of Martin's oldest colleagues wasFred Hollows, and, through their friendship, Martin became a distinguished ambassador and chairman for The Fred Hollows Foundation. Martin utilized his career in journalism to help raise awareness for the internationalnon-profit organization.[31] The Fred Hollows Foundation educates surgeons on how to treat avoidable blindness within underserved communities and countries. Specifically, they work within theAboriginal andTorres Strait Islander communities of Indigenous Australia.[31]
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