Barry Daniel

The World of Football format started in WA when TVW News boss Darcy Farrell made Bob Cribb the first producer of the show. This lasted till Bob emptied the TVW board rooms booze supply and left the place in a mess.

Harry Kelly then took over as the producer, most ably assisted by Barry Daniel the floor manager. Barry worked hard behind the scenes organising the highlight, which we compiled each Sunday morning prior to the show. Then Barry was floor manager for the show.

Barry would be there each Saturday in the small Ford International OB van, where the match was recorded at the football venue, preparing a cue sheet listing all the highlights, timing the items and documenting the start and end cues. He would then personally bring the tape back to the studios.

Remember the 2″ wide videotape loops, of about two yards in length, causing a stir when we had player’s punches repeated many times to the ire of the tribunal. Barry selected them and I made the loops by splicing the short strips of tape together in endless loops.

Was blissfully unaware of the stir it was causing until Steve March came into videotape and watched what we were doing, to then angrily refer to me as a “fat prick” for doing so.

Then there’s the telephone talkback segment and the pioneering 15 second delay we got operational following Max’ Bostock’s request.  Richard Ashton was the show’s studio director in Studio One whilst Max acted as censor in Studio Two, quarantining the content in case anything untoward was said.

Remember well the occasion when a calmly talking caller quietly said, “Mick you’re a wanker” to Mick Cronin, which caught Max by surprise.

The 15 second delay period was reduced when the TR-3 replay only unit was parked between the two older TRT-IB machines, post 1968.

Meanwhile, Barry worked hard behind the scenes to make World of Football a success.

Sadly, Barry passed away suddenly last Saturday. His daughter Kim was with him when he passed.

Everyone is warmly invited to celebrate the life of Barry Thomas Daniel of Hillarys, at PINNAROO Cemetery, West Chapel, at 1.00pm on MONDAY (21-12-2015).

Barry kept a photo album and there are some classics, one with John Farnham, one with Florence Henderson, Katrina Brown and a few floor managing shots from the early days at HSV7 in Melbourne.  Kim is putting together a collage and a photo presentation for the funeral – a friend will help her scan them. They don’t have a lot of family photos from the early years, as Barry was always working!  Kim has fond memories of spending her early childhood years at the studios of channel 7, and the many telethons he did from the very beginning in 1968 until either 1984 or 1985.

Kim says that,  “Apparently he turned down being the chauffeur for Michael Jackson – who does that!”

Barry never really got over being made redundant from Channel 7.

Kim continues, “He did go on to Channel 10 as their courier so kept in the industry.  I know he also worked for Kodak in Melbourne and I think he was 14 when he started there.”