Ian "Turps" Turpie was a singer, actor, radio, stage and television performer for 50 years. But for most Australians he is best known for telling them to "come on down".
The 68-year-old entertainer - most famously as the host of the game show The New Price is Right - died on Sunday after a year-long battle with cancer.
Turpie was born in Melbourne in 1943 and began his long career in entertainment at the age of 10 when he was accepted into the Hector Crawford Drama School.
He worked as a child actor in radio alongside Sir Robert Helpmann and June Bronhill, and featured in the top rating radio series D24.
Turpie made regular appearances on Bandstand, Time for Terry and The Graham Kennedy Show. In 1964, he played a bank robber in the original episode of the iconic television program Homicide.
In the 1960s, his career as singer took off, and he dated Olivia Newton-John. He replaced Johnny O'Keefe as the host of Sing Sing.
In the 1980s, Turpie's name became synonymous with the catchphrase "Come on Down" when he became host of the game show The New Price is Right.
Fellow game show hosts John Burgess and Larry Emdur took to Twitter to express their condolences.
"Very sad day with the news, we've lost good mate Ian Turpie, I had the honour of calling Turps, mate,our deepest sympathies to Jan & family," Burgess said.
"So many jokes to tell, so many yarns to spin, so many game shows to host and never enough time.. RIP Ian "TURPS" Turpie, best Price host ever." Emdur tweeted.
"I saw Turps a few years ago, he said people still yell "COME ON DOWN !!" to him every single day & it still made him smile."
Millionaire host Eddie McGuire said Turpie had been a great entertainer and a great bloke.
"One of the things that we all remember about Ian is that his persona on air seemed to be the same off. He always had that big smile under his bushy moustache," McGuire told Sky News.
Comedian and former Spicks and Specks host Adam Hills said Turpie was a joy to work with.
"I hope when God called he said " Ian Turpie, come on up," he tweeted.
After his game show career ended, Turpie gained a cult following with appearances on shows such as Fat Pizza.
"RIP "Turps". You were a great guy and an honour to act alongside u on Houso's, swift n shift and fat pizza. God bless!," Rob Shehadie tweeted.
Turpie was married for more than 40 years to Jan, with whom he had three children and three grandchildren.
He won a Logie for Best Light Entertainment show Turpie Tonight and two Penguin awards for the New Price is Right.
He hosted other game shows, Press your Luck and Supermarket Sweep, and appeared as a guest on shows such as Club Buggery with Roy and HG, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Hey Hey It's Saturday, the Mike Walsh Show, the Bert Newton Show and Blankety Blanks.
There were a few hiccups along the way, with a Federal Court judge finding Turpie was part of a deceitful advertisement, in which he claimed he was losing his sexual potency as part of an advertising campaign for a nasal spray for the Advanced Medical Institute (AMI).
In 2006, he lost his licence for six months after being convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08.
But Turpie also made time for charities such as Make A Wish foundation, the Sydney Children's Hospital, Merry Makers, and Rotary Club.
He had also been an Australia Day ambassador since 1995.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv- ... z1omyrSwEt
