Rex Hunt
Encyclopedia
- for the British diplomat see Rex Hunt (governor)
Rex James Hunt (born 7 March 1949) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personality, and a former Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
player. He is an Australian rules football commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, currently on the 1116 SEN radio station with son in law Lee Raynor conducting a program called Off The Hook. He is better known around the world for fishing and wildlife programs on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. He is a former police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, and previously owned a restaurant, the D'lish Fish located in Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne, Victoria
Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km southwest of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government areas are the cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 13,293....
.
Football career
Hunt was recruited from ParkdaleParkdale, Victoria
Parkdale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
into the Richmond Tigers, and made his debut in the then-Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
in 1968. He was a key position player who was usually positioned at full-forward or centre half-forward. Later he played at centre half-back. He was part of Richmond's premiership sides in 1969 and 1973. In the middle of 1974, Hunt moved to the Geelong Football Club
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
due to his work as a policeman. The big strong forward played at Geelong from 1974–1975 playing only 32 games for the club, before moving back to the city and playing with St Kilda. He retired from VFL football at the end of 1978, but continued to play in the lower-level VFA
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
in 1980 and 1981, with Sandringham
Sandringham Zebras
The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed The Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that was formed in 1929 and plays in the Victorian Football League . The Zebras have a 5 year alignment agreement with AFL club St Kilda Football Club of which the first season was 2009...
.
Commentary career
After his retirement Hunt became a popular football commentator for 3AW3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
, helping them surge up the ratings. He also hosted Sunday morning panel shows on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, the Sportsworld Footy Panel and I'm Rex Hunt and You're Not. Early in the 2007 season, Rex celebrated his 1500th game as a commentator of VFL/AFL games. . Hunt announced his resignation from 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
to join Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
on 17 November 2009.
Nicknames
He is best known for his commentary on 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
and has a penchant for making up nicknames for players such as "not a well man' for Sean Wellman of the Essendon Football Club, Doctor Christian Barnard for Essendon Football Club player Paul Barnard, 'Ot 'n' Sticky for Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
footballer Brad Ottens
Brad Ottens
Brad "Otto" Ottens is a former Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Richmond: 1998–2004:...
; Yellow Brick Croad for Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
footballer Trent Croad
Trent Croad
Trent Eric Croad is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League .During his 222 game AFL career, he achieved some of the Australian Football League's highest honours including an AFL premiership medallion, All-Australian selection, representing...
; "Oysters Kilpatrick" for Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
footballer Glenn Kilpatrick
Glenn Kilpatrick
Glenn Matthew Kilpatrick is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and Geelong in the Australian Football League .A midfielder, Kilpatrick played 146 games in the AFL after debuting in 1992 for Essendon...
; "Special Fried Rice" for ex-Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
footballer Dean Rice
Dean Rice
Dean Rice is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and St Kilda in the VFL/AFL. His uncle Colin captained Geelong....
; "The Mediator" for Kangaroos
Kangaroos Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
footballer Troy Makepeace
Troy Makepeace
Troy Makepeace is an Australian rules footballer with the Casey Scorpions of the Victorian Football League, formerly with the Kangaroos of the Australian Football League....
; "Heavy Overnight Dew" for Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
footballer Stuart Dew
Stuart Dew
Stuart Dew is a former Australian rules footballer and dual premiership-player for Port Adelaide and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League. Dew was a student at Enfield High School prior to his AFL career....
; "Horney Torney" for Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
and Adelaide
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
footballer Jason Torney
Jason Torney
Jason Torney is a retired Australian rules footballer who played 12 seasons in the Australian Football League with Richmond and the Adelaide Crows.-Richmond:...
; "Awesome Wells
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
" for Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
player Daniel Wells;"Hooligan" for Blues
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
player Ryan Houlihan
Ryan Houlihan
Ryan Houlihan is a former Australian rules footballer who played 12 seasons and 201 games for the Carlton Football Club from 2000 to 2011.-Background:...
;Thomas the Tank for Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
player Dale Thomas
Dale Thomas (footballer)
Dale Robert Jordan Thomas is a professional Australian rules football player currently with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
; "Brogan Josh" for Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
player Dean Brogan
Dean Brogan
Dean Scott Brogan is a ruckman in the Australian Football League . He was also a former basketballer with the Adelaide 36ers.-Adelaide 36ers career :...
; Yaaaablett!! for Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
star Gary Ablett; "Presti-gee-a-perry-como" for Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
player Simon Prestigiacomo
Simon Prestigiacomo
Simon 'Presti' Prestigiacomo is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early career: forward line:...
. He is also known for his fat lady sings impression and the build up that surrounds it when he (she) bellows out a tune declaring the match over.
Fishing journalistic career
In 1981 Hunt was giving regular radio fishing reports and had made two videos on the subject. His first television fishing show was Angling Action on the Ten NetworkNetwork Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. Two series of 13 episodes were made and were shown in 1981 and 1982 respectively. His 3DB
3DB
Mix 101.1 is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Its target demographic is the under 25-54 yr old age group. Mix 101.1 is part of the Australian Radio Mix Network and broadcasts on the 101.1 MHz frequency...
radio fishing show began in 1982. Throughout the 1980s, Hunt continued to write for a number of newspapers and magazines. In 1991 a series of Rex Hunt's Fishing World was made and broadcast in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on Channel Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. A new and longer series of the show went national as Rex Hunt's Fishing Australia the following year. In 1992, the name changed again to Rex Hunt's Fishing Adventures, which remained on air until 2004. Currently on the airways of radio 1116SEN hosting fishing radio program 'Off The Hook' with son in law Lee Raynor
Rex's two most famous catchphrases from these shows were 'Folks, it doesn't get any better than this!' as he reeled in a huge fish from the waters of one of Australia's most beautiful natural areas, and at the end of each episode, "It's yibbida-yibbida time!", a parody of Warner Brothers' cartoon character Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
saying "Be-bidda be-bidda be-bidda be... That's all, folks."
Hunt also made public pronouncements regarding the 'thugs in the scallop industry' and their dredging of Port Phillip Bay, describing their actions as 'dizzy stuff'. He and a group of anglers and activists were successful in removing the dredging boats and restoring fish populations within the Bay.
Rex has once again secured a fishing show on radio SEN commencing mid to late October 2011.
Airline incident
In May 2004, Hunt made a curious attempt to make a statement about airline security, which has been markedly increased in Australia after terrorist threats. Hunt was agitated at having to remove his pants and footwear after setting off a metal detector. He then took ten metal forks from the Qantas Club and took them on board a Qantas flight from AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
headed for Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in an attempt to prove that airport security was totally flawed. A concerned passenger who did not recognise Hunt alerted the flight crew and he was detained on arrival in Melbourne, where he was questioned for approximately 30 minutes and let go without any charges filed against him.
Byron Bay fight
In 2005, Hunt and his son were involved in an incident in Byron Bay where he claimed to have been attacked by local teenagers. The teenagers involved, however, claim Hunt was extremely intoxicated at the time and his son had thrown the first punch.Sex scandal
On 17 May 2006 News Ltd exposed Hunt's 15 years of secret sexual liaisons. When confronted Hunt confessed he had paid three women in succession for ongoing sexual relationships over a period of more than 15 years. The final relationship, with a beautician in her 30s, began in 1997 and cost Hunt $1000 a week. Hunt acknowledged he is a hypocrite given his repeated attacks on other media personalities for sexual infidelity. Hunt followed this by an interview with radio broadcaster Neil Mitchell on Melbourne radio 3AW. A quote from Rex Hunt's radio comments,That's what a fool does. I'm invincible, I'm paying money ... uh ... The girl's happy, she's got no money, I got my rocks off. How good is this?has gained its own notoriety when being featured repeatedly on national Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
radio program Get This
Get This
Get This was an Australian radio comedy show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, the late Richard Marsland...
hosted by Tony Martin
Tony Martin (comedian)
Tony Francis Martin is a comedian and writer from Te Kuiti, New Zealand who has had a successful TV, radio, stand-up and film career in Australia.- Career :...
, Ed Kavalee
Ed Kavalee
Edward Robert Kavalee is an Australian actor and radio host. He is currently co-host of a comedy program on the Nine Network, The Joy of Sets, with Tony Martin....
and Richard Marsland
Richard Marsland
Richard Kemble Marsland was an Australian comedy writer, actor, comedian and radio personality.-Radio:...
. Robyn Hood, 40, one of the three women subsequently sold her story to New Idea magazine. Robyn was quoted as saying:
Rex was never unfaithful to Lynne. "We never had sex... he was affectionate, very touchy-feely... then he'd either, in the car or out of it, depending on how cold it was, fling off all his clothes. The more public, the greater the danger and the more exciting Rex apparently found it.Rex Hunt's wife of thirty four years, Lynne, said she would stand by Hunt and also revealed she suffers from bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, which had placed pressure on the couple's relationship.
Road rage incident
Hunt has been charged with assault over allegations he bashed a cyclist in a Melbourne road rageRoad rage
Road rage is an aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions...
attack.