Rock and roll star Johnny O’Keefe has left a lasting legacy among Australians and fans right across the world.
Now, his nephew and TV star Andrew has given a rare glimpse at what he was really like behind closed doors – and the “devastating” effect his death had on the family.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60, The Chase host Andrew has broken his silence and opened up on his “beautiful, flamboyant and generous” uncle – heartbreakingly admitting his incredible dedication to his work is likely what ended up “killing him”.
Johnny passed away in October 1978 following a heart attack caused by an accidental overdose. He had been open about his battle with drugs prior to that, and spent a few stints in rehab as he battled his demons.
Asked what he’d learnt from watching his uncle as he grew up, Andrew said: “Number one is, no matter what talents you have, they’re meaningless without drive and hard work. He was just the hardest working man alive.
“He probably worked a bit too hard, I would say, and that might have been one of the things that ended up killing him. He just couldn’t keep up with the pace that he set himself.”
He added: “But the second thing I’ve really taken from it is that you’re only human. The human body does have limits, so you’ve got to understand when you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
Andrew has also drawn inspiration from his father Barry, who was – like much of his family – a high profile lawyer and judge.
“Dad and Uncle John were so similar, they were really peas in a pod who chose two different careers to express their ambition and their flamboyance and their love of entertaining,” he explained.
Andrew, 46, has fond memories of visiting his uncle as he grew up, and he said there was always a strong sense that he was “an incredibly flamboyant person”.
“No-one else pulled up in the driveway in a brand new Pontian Firebird and did a sort of hand brake stop in the driveway. No-one else would sit at the Christmas dinner table in a full length fox fur coat and silver painted nails,” he laughed.
“That was Uncle John. When you went to his house he would set up microphones and make you perform a sort of rudimentary X Factor. There was an enormous sense of entertainment about him.”
He added: “He was a beautiful, warm-hearted man, he was incredibly generous not only with his family, but with his time and his talent for all sorts of people and organisations.”
Of course, Johnny didn’t spend all his visits singing, instead he was a “genial” person with the whole family, just with a few “trappings of the razzmatazz”.
As Johnny continued to struggle with his mental health, he was forced to spend time in hospital. However, Andrew revealed he never lost his dedication to his work – or his creative and fun side.
“John was pretty open about the struggles he had. There were a couple of times he was committed to institutions for some pretty wacky behaviour,” he said. “At the time they’d have called it a nervous breakdown. On one of those occasions, he suddenly came to, realised where he was, dressed up as a doctor and walked out.
“After the first time, he saw real value in having those periods. He was very open about his struggles, he said the brain is like any other part of the body, you’ve got to look after it. When it’s not functioning properly, you’ve got to get help.
“In that way, he was well before his time in talking about those struggles. At the same time, when he was in the sanatorium, he’d got for a few weeks and by week two he’d be organising shows from inside.
“He’d get all the patients involved, choreographing and writing tunes, he could never leave it behind.”
Despite being aware of his health issues at the time, Johnny’s eventual death came as a huge blow – especially to Andrew’s father and grandparents.
“Dad and his whole family were just devastated, absolutely devastated. I don’t think my grandfather ever really recovered from that, he died not long after.
“But at the same time, I don’t know that it was an entirely unexpected outcome. He was warned it could go that way if he didn’t slow down and look after himself.”
Andrew is now preparing to honour his uncle with a tribute show at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, to mark 40 years since he died, and 60 years since his first hit.
“I grew up loving the songs so, you know, I’d love to be able to honour him one more time, before all those who loved him move on to a better place,” he said.
Andrew will perform a few of Johnny’s best songs, while telling stories and sharing footage of his uncle’s career.
“He always said that he wasn’t a singer, he was an entertainer. In fact, he didn’t rate his own voice all that much, but listening to the songs closely as I have been doing for a couple of months now – he actually was a terrific singer, Andrew insisted.
“He could really extract a lot of emotion out of songs. In a way he was a rock and roll version of Frank Sinatra. He didn’t have the greatest voice in the world, but he had an amazing way of being able to touch you with that voice.”