Augustino Eugenio “Gus” MercurioOAM (10 August 1928 – 7 December 2010) was an American-Australian actor, boxing referee, boxing judge, and sports commentator. He was equally prominent as a character actor on film and television, and as a personality in the sports world. He was a long-time commentator on the Seven Network's World of Sport from 1976 to 1987. The Sydney Morning Herald described him as “one of the most recognised and loved faces in Australian television,” while boxing writer Paul Upham called him "one of the great characters of Australian boxing."[1]
Early life
Of Sicilian descent, Mercurio was born in West Bend, Wisconsin near Milwaukee, in 1928. He was the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio and Cecilia W. "Mickey" Miller, was born in.[2] He had two sisters, Gerie and Connie, and a brother, Tony.[3] The elder Mercurio was a member of the Milwaukee mob, and according to his son, was verbally and emotionally abusive. His parents were divorced when he was seven.
Mercurio’s family had close ties to boxing. His father had boxed professionally under the ring name of Vince McGurk, and one of his uncles had boxed professionally under the name of Ray Miller. Mercurio began boxing while in the Marine Corps, and turned professional after leaving the service. He participated in two professional boxing fights in 1950, losing both.[4]
He first came to Australia as a 32-year old during the 1956 Summer Olympics, accompanying the US boxing team as a chiropractor.[5] He decided to stay, moving to Melbourne and working as a boxing coach.
Mercurio was also an international boxing judge (refereeing a world title fight) and was also a well-known boxing promoter. Staying close to boxing, he judged 149 professional bouts[6] and, starting in 1970 and until 1986, refereed 89 fights, including some world championship contests, such as the 1985 one between Barry Michaels and Lester Ellis, which was a major sporting event in Australia.[7]
Mercurio was a regular commentator on Channel 7's World of Sport, from 1976 until the programme's end in 1987. His appearance on the programme led him to be what the Sydney Morning Herald described as “one of the most recognised and loved faces in Australian television." He was also the movie host for Channel 10's Saturday Night with Gus Mercurio.[8]
He was successful at his first audition for an ABC radio play. His raspy voice, energetic personality and natural talents quickly came to the attention of Australian television production houses such as Crawford Productions.[1]
