{"id":854886,"date":"2026-08-14T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854886\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T11:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:00:17","slug":"johnny-young-death-young-talent-time-host-dies-at-79-after-cancer-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854886\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnny Young death: Young Talent Time host dies at 79 after cancer battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated August 14, 2026 \u2014 4:10pm,first published 11:31am<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Tina Arena and Dannii Minogue have led tributes to former Young Talent Time host Johnny Young, who has died aged 79.<\/p>\n

Young died following a \u201cbrief battle with pancreatic cancer\u201d, his family announced on Friday.<\/p>\n

\"MusicianMusician Johnny Young at his home in Perth, Western Australia, in 2018.Tony McDonough<\/p>\n

Arena, who was the show\u2019s longest-serving cast member, expressed the shock and sadness she felt upon hearing news of Young\u2019s death in a tribute on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m struggling to find the words today to express the profound loss of a man who allowed, and equally encouraged, me to find my voice! Just know that you leave behind a beautiful legacy that we will continue to uphold because you deserve that, and much more,\u201d the singer-songwriter wrote. She also shared a collection of images of herself and Young, including some from her stint on Young Talent Time.<\/p>\n

Young was best known for his work on the children\u2019s talent show, which also launched the careers of stars such as Jamie Redfern and Debra Byrne. Even actor Asher Keddie appeared on the show<\/a> in 1983, singing Fame at just nine years old. But he was also a successful singer-songwriter in his own right, penning hits such as The Real Thing for Russell Morris and Smiley for Ronnie Burns.<\/p>\n

Minogue, who first appeared on Young Talent Time on her eighth birthday in 1979, said Young\u2019s death was heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny Young holds a place in so many hearts, and today my heart is broken,\u201d she wrote on Instagram<\/a> on Friday. \u201cHe has so many achievements from his music and TV career, pop writing and releases, and family entertainment on our televisions. For me, this is where my career started, and generations of Aussies hold Young Talent Time and the song All My Loving so fondly in their memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went on to say that his show brought 17 years of \u201ccolour, choreography, sequins, music and smiles\u201d to Australians\u2019 Saturday nights.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Johnny<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart goes out to his family and to his YTT family. From cast, crew and every Johnny Young Talent School member, this is a very sad \u2018Goodnight Australia\u2019,\u201d she continued, referencing Young\u2019s signature send-off.<\/p>\n

Born Johnny de Jong in The Netherlands in 1947, the youngest of four children, Young migrated with his family to Australia following World War II and settled in Perth, where he grew up in the suburb of Kalamunda.<\/p>\n

After working as a trainee disc jockey in his late teens, Young scored a job as the host of Channel 7 Perth\u2019s pop music show Club Seventeen, where he met various pop stars and began writing and performing himself.<\/p>\n

After a brief period in London, Young returned to Australia and launched Young Talent Time in 1971. The show would become appointment viewing for families across the country and ran until 1988.<\/p>\n

The show featured a core group of performers doing well-known pop songs, as well as hopeful youngsters competing in a talent show, and making household names of Minogue (long before Kylie came to fame) and Arena, among others. Each week, Young would sign off by singing The Beatles\u2019 All My Loving, a version of which he had recorded in 1967.<\/p>\n

Arena first appeared on Young\u2019s show in 1974 before joining the main cast three years later, when she earned the affectionate nickname \u201cTiny Tina\u201d. Earlier this month, she paid tribute to Young\u2019s guidance<\/a> in comments to this masthead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very much like a father figure; he wanted me to be as protected as I possibly could,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were times when he said, \u2018Be careful, I don\u2019t like that person\u2019 \u2013 and he was right. He taught me about discernment as a very little girl. I wasn\u2019t able to intellectualise the term back then, but it became much clearer down the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung with Dannii Minogue (left) and Lorena Novoa in 1987. <\/p>\n

Russell Morris, one of Young\u2019s most notable collaborators, described him as a great friend and an \u201cextremely talented man\u201d in a tribute shared on social media<\/a>. The pair worked together in the late \u201960s, writing Morris\u2019 breakthrough psychedelic rock hit The Real Thing, and later other tracks such as Part Three into Paper Walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a success at everything he set his mind to \u2013 a force of nature,\u201d Morris wrote on Facebook on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe and I spent many years working together, and socialising; many laughs and achievements \u2013 it was a great ride. He will be remembered as a great talent, and a great person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Australian<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1990, Young was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame. In 2010, Arena returned to Australia from her Paris base to induct Young into the ARIA Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I would ever have had the beauty and the diversity of career that I\u2019ve had without my apprenticeship on TV,\u201d Arena said<\/a> at the induction.<\/p>\n

Arena also performed Young\u2019s Here Comes the Star, which was a hit in 1969 in Australia for Ross D. Wylie and in Britain for Herman\u2019s Hermits.<\/p>\n

Following news of his death, Beven Addinsall, who joined Young Talent Time at the age of 11, paid tribute to Young on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself alongside Young on a red carpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest in Peace, my dear friend,\u201d the caption read.<\/p>\n

Young is survived by his wife Marisha, sister Cornelia, daughters Anna and Fleur, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A son, Craig, died in 2014. The family\u2019s statement said details of his memorial would be announced \u201csoon\u201d.<\/p>\n

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisChris Hook<\/a> is Culture News Editor Sydney for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.\"NellNell Geraets<\/a> is a Culture reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners