Rod Hull - Emu

Emu

Hull's puppet represented a side of his personality that enabled the entertainer to create a kind of gleeful havoc, while not seemingly being to blame for it. This was aided by the simple yet effective conceit of a false arm attached to Hull's jacket, which cradled the emu, therefore making it appear that the neck and head moved of its own volition. This seemingly independent movement gave the illusion that the bird had its own personality, which entailed sudden, unprovoked attacks on anyone and anything that came too close. During these, Hull would make half-hearted attempts to pull the badly-behaved bird away from its victim but would often become embroiled in the fracas, rolling around on the floor to create a scene of mayhem.

When Hull left The Super Flying Fun Show and Australia, a duplicate of Emu was made so the character could continue on the show, much to Hull's annoyance, and comedian Marty Morton took over Hull's co-hosting position in Australia.

Hull and Emu were regulars on the Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, which aired for one season as a Saturday morning kids' show on CBS in 1974.

There were apparently no boundaries for Emu's outrageous behaviour. In 1972, it destroyed The Queen Mother's bouquet of flowers during the after-show line-up at the aforementioned Royal Variety Performance, after which he appeared in many other shows. During 1976 Hull and the uncontrollable Emu made their most famous appearances when Emu repeatedly attacked Michael Parkinson during his eponymous chat show, eventually causing the interviewer to fall off his chair. Fellow guest Billy Connolly threatened, "If that bird comes anywhere near me, I'll break its neck and your bloody arm!". Perhaps mindful of his professional future, Hull swiftly got his "pet" back on best behaviour. In later years, Parkinson lamented the fact that despite all the star guests he had interviewed during his career, he would always be remembered for "that bloody bird".

This led to his own television series Emu's Broadcasting Company (1975–1980), Emu's World, EMU TV and Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show.

In 1985 he travelled to America where he appeared on the The Tonight Show, attacking Johnny Carson, even after he was told not to by the producers, and Richard Pryor in one of the comedian's first public appearances after undergoing major emergency reconstructive surgery on his face. This led to appearing on The Half hour comedy hour created by Burt Reynolds.

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