1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: From the news room and you still come to day. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: Get this, The bananas and pajamas costumes were once stolen 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,239 Speaker 1: by the Russian mafia and held for ransom. Can you 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: believe that? You can find out what happened in today's 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: special episode as I chat with the man who played 6 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: B One for more than ten years. How hot was 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: it in that B One suit? Because I can imagine 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: it was pretty warm. 9 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was crazy, particularly in the early suits, the prototypes. 10 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 3: They were really really thick. 11 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 2: Multiple layers of stuff on top of which was the 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 2: blue and white stripe costume, and then the head gets 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 2: lowered down over the top. And in the early days 14 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 2: it had a bike this is why I'm bald. Now 15 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 2: it had a bike helmet. It was like a bike 16 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 2: helmet with prongs coming off it like this attached to 17 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 2: the big fiberglass head. So all of the weight of 18 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 2: that head was on our heads, right, So luckily we 19 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 2: had strong necks. But yeah, it was really impossibly hot, outrageous. 20 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 2: The studio at ABC in Sydney, which is now sold 21 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 2: was cooled down to zero as close to zero as 22 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 2: they could get because we were cooking inside. So the 23 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 2: crew was all dressed up in sort of arctic gear 24 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 2: in the studio and the bananas are sweating. 25 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: I have heard rumors of this wild story about the 26 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: bananas in pajamas costumes getting stolen and held for ransom. 27 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: I've only heard bits and pieces. So Kenneth, could you 28 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: please tell me what this story is all about. 29 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 2: Nicholas and I didn't know about this until recently when 30 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 2: we went to a sort of reunion meeting from the 31 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 2: marketing and merchandising people from Bananas, These fabulous men called 32 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 2: Fred and Graham. Graham Grasby was the head of marketing 33 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 2: and franchising and selling bananas in those days. And Graham 34 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 2: went all over the world with some banana suits to 35 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: get photo opportunities at places like London Tower and the 36 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 2: White House and internationally renowned areas. And this the bananas. 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 2: You know, he would just find any kind of six 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 2: foot people actor type dances and put them in a suit. 39 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 2: And he we didn't know this until recently, and Graham 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 2: told this story, and Nicholas and I a going what 41 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 2: And they he took the suits to I believe to 42 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 2: Moscow to. 43 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 3: Try and you know, sell them to you know, in 44 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 3: Red Square. 45 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: And so the suits were there, and then the story 46 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 2: goes they were stolen, the suits were stolen, and there 47 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 2: was a ransom note given to Grasby for one hundred 48 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 2: thousand Australian dollars for the return of the suits. And 49 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 2: there is a marketing guy from the ABC, you know, 50 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 2: and this came from Russian mafia, I believe. And Graham 51 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 2: got in touch with ABC Sydney and said, you know, 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 2: this has happened. 53 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 3: They want one hundred grand. What will we do And. 54 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 2: The head of ABC said, well, we're not going to 55 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 2: give one hundred grand. How much do they cost to 56 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 2: replace to make? And Graham said that they're twenty thousand 57 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 2: dollars actually to make, and so the head of ABC said, okay, 58 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 2: well maybe offer them twenty and that way we either 59 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 2: get the suits back or we can use the twenty 60 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 2: to make new suit, you know like that. Graham said, okay, 61 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: So they wired twenty grand Australian through and he and 62 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 2: then he's walking with a briefcase to meet the Russian 63 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 2: mafia to give them twenty thousand for the suits. 64 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 3: And he stopped and thought, what am I doing? What 65 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 3: am I doing? 66 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 2: I'm a marketing guy walking to meet the Russian mafia, 67 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 2: and so he went straight to the airport, got on 68 00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 2: a plane and with the twenty grand. But Nicol and 69 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 2: I just heard this recently and we're just going, oh 70 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 2: my god. So there's the Banana's actually in some gulag 71 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 2: in Russia, in some feezing cold jail. And so we're 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 2: improvising what the bananas might be saying. 73 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 3: Do you think they're coming for us? Be too? I 74 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,119 Speaker 3: don't know, b One, Perhaps they're busy. 75 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: Well. Kenneth Radley is an actor who played b One 76 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: in more than two hundred and thirty episodes of the 77 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: ABC's Bananas in Pajamas. I caught up with him recently 78 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: and he spilled some incredible behind the scenes secrets. Here 79 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: are the highlights from my chat. The Bananas in Pajamas 80 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: were quite memorably in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 81 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: Olympics back in two thousand. Was that you in the 82 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: suit by any chance? 83 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 3: Certainly? 84 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 2: Was that's the longest we've been in the suit. It 85 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 2: was a wonderful, wonderful, amazing day. And we were in 86 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 2: the suit for I don't know, maybe an hour, which 87 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 2: usually it was fifteen minutes, you know, an hour just 88 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 2: working up off out there going around the stadium Australia 89 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 2: Circuit on a float with the Teddies, you know which 90 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 2: with the other cast members and people are like one 91 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 2: hundred thousand people. 92 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 3: Screaming but na, yes, but you know it was huge. 93 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 3: It was great. 94 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 2: And we're dancing, you know, with Karli Minogue and everything 95 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 2: in the suits and finally the wardrobe costume assistance took 96 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 2: us down the vomitory to get the suits off, and 97 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 2: they took us down there were almost expiring and they 98 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 2: took their heads off us. And there's a couple of 99 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 2: hundred athletes standing there, like the best athletes in the 100 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: world with bits of paper wanting the bananas autographs. You know, 101 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 2: oh my god, it should be you know, you're the 102 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 2: fast runners, you're the high jumpers. We're sort of, you know, 103 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 2: classically trained bananas. 104 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 3: You know. 105 00:05:57,279 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: Well, that's it for this edition of From the Newsroom. 106 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: Will be back with another episode on Monday morning. Follow 107 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: us Subscribe to From the Newsroom wherever you get your podcasts.