The Toppanos

*The Toppanos*
The Toppanos
Also known as	Meet the Toppanos
Genre	Comedy
Starring	Enzo Toppano; Peggy Mortimer;
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
Production
Running time	15 minutes
Original release
Network	ATN-7
Release	20 October 1958 –; 1959

The Toppanos (also known as Meet the Toppanos) is a 15-minute Australian television series which aired from 1958 to 1959 on Sydney station ATN-7. It starred Enzo and Peggy Toppano, and combined music with ab-libbed comedy, along with a dog puppet named Jazza.^[1]

Though short-lived, the program is notable as an early example of a morning television series produced in Australia. The series debuted on 20 October 1958. It aired at 8:30AM each weekday, and followed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:45AM by Autumn Affair, which was Australia's first television soap opera, and followed on Thursdays and Fridays by U.S. series Dr. Christian. Also on the ATN-7 morning schedule during the period were cartoons, music segments from taped editions of Sydney Tonight, news, and weather forecasts.^[2]

A contemporary review of the debut of ATN-7's morning schedule in The Australian Women's Weekly said the Toppanos "provide some pleasant music and painless chatter".^[3]

Information on the archival status of the series is not available. The National Film and Sound Archive lists an item consisting of Enzo Toppano and Peggy Mortimer (Toppano) performing a song and comedy sketch on early television,^[4] which may possibly be footage from The Toppanos, though this is not confirmed.

References

^ "Meet the Toppanos". TV Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
^ "Breakfast Television Session". TV Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald (Advertisement). 20 October 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
^ Musgrove, Nan (5 November 1958). "Television Parade". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 26, no. 22. p. 66. Retrieved 12 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "ENZO TOPPANO AND PEGGY MORTIMER PERFORM SONG AND COMEDY SKETCH". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 17 February 2023.

External links

The Toppanos at IMDb

[1] "Meet the Toppanos". TV Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2013.

[2] "Breakfast Television Session". TV Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald (Advertisement). 20 October 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2013.

[3] Musgrove, Nan (5 November 1958). "Television Parade". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 26, no. 22. p. 66. Retrieved 12 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia.

[4] "ENZO TOPPANO AND PEGGY MORTIMER PERFORM SONG AND COMEDY SKETCH". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 17 February 2023.

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