Kenn Brodziak

Kenn Brodziak OBE
Born	Kenneth Leo Brodziak 31 May 1913 Waverley, New South Wales, Australia
Died	3 June 1999 (aged 86) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Other names	Richard R. Raymond
Occupations	Entrepreneur theatre and concert promoter producer artist manager
Years active	1945–1980
Known for	Aztec Services
Awards	JC Williamson Award

Kenneth Leo Brodziak OBE (31 May 1913 – 3 June 1999), known early in his career as Richard R. Raymon and nicknamed "Mr Show Business", was an Australian entrepreneur, theatre and concert promoter, producer and artist manager. His career lasted from the mid-1940s until his retirement in 1980.

Life and career

Kenn Brodziak was born in the Sydney suburb of Waverley; of Polish-Jewish extraction. Brodziac's family wanted him to have a law career, and he studied law for five years while writing plays in his spare time, but he did not get a law degree.

He joined the RAAF when war broke out, and trained in Canada as a navigator under the Empire Air Training Scheme. He was in Coastal Command in England; when on leave in London’s theatreland he got tips on theatrical management from stars like Jack Warner and Vivien Leigh.

Brodziak was more interested in theatre and aspired to be a playwright. He started his career in 1945 as an assistant producer on the local vaudeville circuit. Over his long career, through his Melbourne-based company Aztec Services at 289 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (1946–1979) and subsequently through J. C. Williamson Productions (1976–1980), he arranged concerts and tours by a wide range of acts both local and international, including Winifred Atwell, Gene Pitney, Marlene Dietrich, The Kinks, Sophie Tucker, Normie Rowe, Carol Channing, The Seekers, The Easybeats, Pat Boone, Fabian, Sid James, Cilla Black, The Dave Clark Five, Duane Eddy, Robert Morley, Bob Dylan, Lonnie Donegan, Cliff Richard, Dave Brubeck, Marcel Marceau, Eartha Kitt and Jack Benny.

However a 1954 tour by Ted Heath and his orchestra was a logistical and financial disaster for Brodziak and his Sydney associate John (Jack) Neary (who lost his house). Another lesson for the pair was Sam Snyders’ Fabulous American Water Follies in 1956. The show lost £23,000 in Sydney’s White City Stadium in ten days, but recovered the losses in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth; a lesson that what goes in Melbourne may not play well in Sydney and vice versa. Jack Neary looked after New South Wales and Queensland, and Kenn Brodziak looked after Victoria and South Australia.

His bringing of the BBC's Black and White Minstrel Show for an intended six-month tour of both Australia and New Zealand was an unprecedented success, eventually lasting for over for three years from 1962 to 1965 and breaking box office records in both countries which still stand. He was also the second manager of pop singer John Farnham and casting him in roles in local versions of musicals Charlie Girl and Pippin.

His major competitor was Harry M. Miller in Sydney, whom he subsequently joined with Stadium Limited to form Miller-Aztec Stadiums and promoted tours by the Animals, the Monkees and the "Big Show Tour" of 1968 headlined by rock group the Who.

The Beatles' Australian tour

Brodziak's most notable achievement was arranging the Beatles' 16-day Australian tour in 1964 during their world tour. He had seen the Beatles perform during a talent-scouting trip to Britain in 1963 and agreed to handle and promote the group's Australian tour, just prior to the explosion of Beatlemania in Australia, for Stadiums Limited which owned most of the large capital city venues including the Brisbane Festival Hall, the Festival Hall in Melbourne, Centennial Hall in Adelaide and Sydney Stadium. By the time the Beatles arrived in Australia they had become international stars, having already scored 12 hits on the Australian pop charts. The tour was a great success, bringing Brodziak a level of fame in Australia he had never previously experienced. In 1998, he acknowledged that, in spite of his many other achievements, bringing the Beatles to Australia was probably the most memorable:

"It used to annoy me that people only knew me for bringing The Beatles here. Now I realise what a landmark moment that was. There will never be another group like them."

Theatre productions

Though Brodziak would continue to book concerts, later in his career he also concentrated on producing stage shows. These shows included the successful Australian productions of The Boys in the Band, Godspell, Pippin, Hair and A Chorus Line. One of his assistants was Shane Hewitt. After retiring in 1980, he concentrated on adding to and developing his extensive collection of showbiz memorabilia.

Honours

Brodziak was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1978 for services to theatre.

Along with Edna Edgley, Brodziak was the JC Williamson Award recipient for lifetime achievement in 1998.

Sources

• Armstrong, Greg; Neill, Andy (2024). When We Was Fab: Inside the Beatles Australasian Tour 1964. Warriewood NSW, Australia: Woodslane Press. ISBN 978-1-922800-68-8.