Simon Townsend, star Australian children’s TV presenter, dies aged 79
Share:
Former journalist, who became a household name with Wonder World in the 1980s, died ‘surrounded by writers, actors, activists and Italians’. Veteran children’s television star Simon Townsend has died aged 79, shortly after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
The former newspaper and television journalist launched Simon Townsend’s Wonder World! on Channel 10 in 1979 with mascot Woodrow the Bloodhound. The ground-breaking show made him a household name in the 1980s, delighting young audiences with magazine-style stories which covered a wide-range of topics including mental health, bullying, grief, social justice and war.
He always signed-off with “and remember, the world really is wonderful”. Wonder World ran until 1987 clocking up almost 2000 episodes, winning five Logie Awards and stellar ratings for Ten. Townsend’s family confirmed he died on Tuesday. “In his final days, Simon was surrounded by his family and a mix of journalists, writers, actors, political activists and Italians,” his family said.
“The conversation to the last was loud, passionate and full of laughs.”. Townsend was famously a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War in 1967, spending 28 days in Long Bay jail and making front page news. According to his family, when he was conscripted, Townsend refused orders saying “wars will cease when men refuse to fight”.
