I started my scriptwriting career at Crawfords in 1970 and, although I didn't appreciate it at the time, it really was a Golden Era. Talk about earn-while-you-learn! I was 22 years old, with no experience or qualifications in anything, and suddenly I was a Television Writer earning a princely $120 a week, not counting the bonuses! I was totally star-struck walking through those front gates in Collins Street and rubbing shoulders with names I knew from their credits - Sonia Borg, Cliff Green, Charlie Stamp, John Dingwall, Doug Tainsh, Phil Freedman, Tom Hegarty, Howard Griffiths, and of course Luis Bayonas, who I still see frequently to this day.
Like so many others, I regard that period as the happiest and most exciting time in my career, writing Homicide, Divvy 4, Matlock Police and Ryan. It all came crashing down a few years later when the shows were cancelled and I found myself unemployed and unemployable. Nine nervous months later, I got a call to write for a new show, Bluey, and discovered I could make better money as a freelancer than on staff. Since then I've written for nearly all of Crawfords series, up to as recently as The Saddle Club.
I'm still freelancing, having written several hundred hours of Aussie TV drama over the years, and my 14th feature film is going into production this May. I'm also working part-time at Film Victoria as a Script Manager, a job I'm enjoying very much.
I'll be forever grateful to Hector and Dorothy for kick-starting my career. Bless them both, wherever they are. God knows where I'd have ended up if they hadn't given me my first chance. It was an era that will never come again.
6th Feb 2006
Everett passed away 2nd April 2014.