Guest here for Telethon party

Press, 24 June 1983, Page 1

Guest here for Telethon party

“A lovely party with three million guests”... is how the British actor, Norman Bowler, sees Telethon.

Mr Bowler (above, with his wife, Dianne) arrived in Christchurch yesterday for his second Telethon. He made his first epic appearance here in 1977 and was expected to return for the 1978 Telethon, but his aircraft had engine trouble halfway across the Atlantic and had to return to London. By the time he got to New Zealand Telethon was over.

However, he has arrived safely this year and is looking forward to it.

“I think Telethons are a great idea. They give the people -a chance to put something back into the community,” he said. He was a great success with the audiences in 1977, blowing kisses for Telethon donations and baring his

chest, but he was not sure what he will do this year.

“It is a very spontaneous thing...you begin to enjoy the audience as they enjoy you.

“I don’t know what I did last time, but I enjoyed it.” A former deckboy in an oil tanker, Mr Bowler travelled the world before he became an actor and is perhaps best known to New Zealanders as Detective Chief Inspector Harry Hawkins in the television

series, “Softly, Softly,” a part he played for 11 years.

He has just finished a four-month tour of Britain with the play, “House Guest.”

In Christchurch he will stay with friends and did not know how long he would be in New Zealand. However, as he will be staying awake for the full 24 hours of Telethon, he plans to have a week’s rest afterwards.