Mr Macachie with Roy 'Mo' Rene
Born in Adelaide in 1891, Harry van der Sluys (or Sluice) became famous as the vaudevillian and comedian Roy Rene. He grew up on Hindley Street on the premises of his father's cigar factory. Intending to become an actor from an early age, Rene first appeared on stage professionally in the pantomime Sinbad the sailor at the Theatre Royal in 1905. Soon afterwards Rene left school to pursue his ambition and around this time the family moved to Melbourne.
Relocating to Sydney around 1910, it was here he took on the stage name of Roy Rene and became one of the most well-known performers on the vaudeville circuit. From 1916 he performed as the character Mo with Nat Phillips in the comedy duo 'Stiffy and Mo'. The duo became renowned around Australia for their 'blue' humour. Mo was known for his distinctive black and white face make-up. The pair split in 1925 and were reunited briefly in 1927 but the following year parted for good.
Rene then established his own theatre revue company, Mo and his Merrymakers. In 1934, he starred in the film Strike me lucky, the title of which comes from one of his many catchphrases. Other catchphrases included 'Don't come the raw prawn with me' and 'Fair suck of the sav'. In the 1940s Rene turned to radio. His radio show McCackie mansions, which aired from 1947 and featured Rene as the character Mo McCackie, earned him a huge following. Roy Rene died on 22 November 1954.
In 2010 a statue of Mo was erected in Hindley Street, across the road from the former site of the Theatre Royal.
The routine is Mr Macachie parts 1 and 2, reformatted from a 78rpm disc recorded about 1931 with his wife Sadie Gale.
Interestingly, the Mr Macachie character in this routine is not Mo, but the straight man played by an unknown actor.
History/biography
Released on Regal Zonophone, 1931.
Recording length4:28Permission to use this item for any purpose, including publishing, is not required from the State Library under these conditions of use.
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