Aussie TV veteran Tony Healey passes away

Tony Healey – a legend of Australian music and television – has died following a long illness.

Australian TV personality Tony Healey has died.

Healey, who was in his 70s when he passed, was one of the original performers on Channel 10’s variety show Kommotion in the mid-1960s, where he starred alongside Molly Meldrum and Denise Drysdale.

The media figure had been battling illness for some time, according to the Daily Mail.

Healey (left) with former co-star, Molly Meldrum. Picture: Mark Stewart

He died after a long illness.

News of Healey’s death was confirmed by a family friend on social media.

“Vale Tony. Oh, what fun we have had over the years,” the post began.

“Tony was in hospital with seriously reduced heart and kidney function.

“He appeared in the early years of the Uptight, Happening and Kommotion TV programs, and was vitally involved in Melbourne’s early days of rock-n-roll.

“Deepest sympathy to Tony’s family and friends. As Tony would say ‘Bestest’.”

He became a well-known TV personality after landing a role on Kommotion.

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Belinda, having tragically lost his only son Eamonn, in 2019.

Healey, who was based in Melbourne, was cast in Kommotion in 1965, staying with the show until 1967 and building a huge legion of teenage fans.

He later launched a career in journalism and became a renowned music and travel journalist.