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ABC Home Show host and journalist Richard Zachariah dies aged 80

TV star Richard Zachariah, who hosted shows in the 1980s and 90s has died, just months after his former partner Maggie Tabberer.

Maggie Tabberer's special Mother's Day message
NewsWire

Australian TV and radio star Richard Zachariah has died.

He passed away on Wednesday, aged 80, just four months after his former partner, co-host and renowned fashion icon Maggie Tabberer passed away.

The celebrity couple co-hosted the massively popular The Home Show on the ABC in the 1990s and were together for 10 years from 1985 to 1995.

Mr Tabberer, a model and fashion icon, edited the widely circulated Australian Women’s Weekly magazine for 15 years from 1981.

Mr Zachariah also appeared on Channel 7.

Along with TV, he was a radio personality, a journalist and the author of several books, including The Vanished Land, which charts the history of Victoria’s western district.

Richard Zachariah and Maggie Tabberer were a celebrity power couple in the 1980s and 1990s. Picture: Supplied
Richard Zachariah and Maggie Tabberer were a celebrity power couple in the 1980s and 1990s. Picture: Supplied
He was aged 80. Picture: Supplied
He was aged 80. Picture: Supplied

In an interview with the ABC’s Conversation Hour in 2017, Mr Zachariah spoke about The Vanished Land and the incredible wealth of the family dynasties in the area.

“I love the western district so much,” he said.

Mr Zachariah attended Hamilton College in western Victoria, where his father was also headmaster.

Publisher Wakefield Press said he was a “lifelong racing fanatic”.

He lived in London, Sydney and Melbourne before moving to the Adelaide Hills, the publisher stated.

Guyetts will hold a funeral service for Mr Zachariah on April 23 at the Eastern Park Chapel at Warrnambool in Victoria.

“A colourful character, respected journalist and writer, and lover of life,” the notice reads.

“Always remembered.”

Duncan Evans
Duncan EvansReporter

Duncan Evans is a reporter for News Corp’s NewsWire service, based in Adelaide. Before NewsWire, he worked as a resources and politics reporter for The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland and as a reporter at CQ Today, an independent newspaper based in Rockhampton. He was raised in Emerald and Brisbane and studied English Literature and American Studies at the University of Sydney. He began his career in journalism working for the Jakarta Post in Indonesia for over two years as an editor, translator and writer. He is fluent in Indonesian.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/abc-home-show-host-and-journalist-richard-zachariah-dies-aged-80/news-story/d6eb8217b33c55480ddfff506c33b7f9