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This item features an interview with New Zealand vaudeville (variety entertainment) actor, Eddie Hegan, who recalls show business in New Zealand in the 1920s to the 1950s.
He speaks about his childhood growing up in Belfast, Ireland, and how he became interested in vaudeville. With his family, he moved to New Zealand in 1919, to Rangiora. He had a job in the Post Office, and worked on his vaudeville routines in his spare time. At age 20, he became ill with tuberculosis and spent some time in a sanitorium in Cashmere.
Later he became associated with the entertainment group the ‘Kiwi Sunshine Players’, which also lead him to perform on radio during the Depression years.
He also recalls working with Jack Maybury, chaperoning Noel Coward in New Zealand, and working with the Kiwi Concert Party.