A STALWART of North East community radio has died.
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Warwick Randall, who was a founding member of Alpine Radio in Mount Beauty, passed away after a short illness on April 11 at 87.
Mr Randall presented programs for over 12 years, having started on the station’s first broadcasts in 2003.
Alpine Radio president Scottie Graham said he would miss banter with Mr Randall the most.
“Warwick was a very genuine person, and always shook your hand when you met him,” Mr Graham said. “He loved the Goons and Spike Milligan – he was very much into that sort of humour.”
Reflecting his passion for the golden oldies, Mr Randall regularly presented programs on big band music, swing and jazz.
Before his career on the wireless, Mr Randall served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Korean War aboard HMAS Australia in the 1950s.
Mr Graham said in his younger days, Mr Randall was very athletic. “He played rugby for the navy,” he said. “He was a very keen skier and he was also a yachtsman.”
But Mr Randall’s interests were not confined to sport. Upon returning home, he tried his hand at acting and appeared in many TV series. This included Bellbird, Prisoner and Neighbours. Mr Randall also appeared as a shearer in the movie Mad Dog Morgan alongside Dennis Hopper in 1976.
A renaissance man, Mr Randall was a freelance writer and journalist, which included a stint as the wine and food critic for The Age in Melbourne.
Mr Randall had his own show on ABC radio, plus a travel segment on commercial radio during the 1970s.
If that was not enough, Mr Randall became a songwriter. Festival Records produced a recording with readings of his poems featuring Gerard Kennedy and Sven Libaek.
Following his retirement to Mount Beauty in 1999, he became an active member of the local RSL sub-branch, serving as a welfare officer, and led the local Anzac Day march every year.
Alpine Radio treasurer Wendy Blake said Mr Randall was a gentleman.
“Absolutely dedicated and reliable,” she said. “He used to present four programs a week.”
Mr Randall is survived by his wife Margaret, son Marcus, stepchildren Keryn, Malcolm, Marion and Alison and grandchildren Katherine, Harriet and MacKenzie.