Con the Fruiterer
First appearanceThe Comedy Company
Created byMark Mitchell
Portrayed byMark Mitchell
In-universe information
OccupationFruit shop owner
FamilyRoula, Toula, Soula, Voula, Foula, Agape (daughters), Nick, Rick (sons)
SpouseMarika
NationalityGreek

Con Dikaletus aka Con the Fruiterer is a fictional character created by Australian actor and comedian Mark Mitchell.

Character

Mitchell created the character after being served by two Greek Australian stall holders at Glenferrie Markets in 1984.[1] The character became known nationally from regular appearances in The Comedy Company, for which he also created the character of Con's wife, Marika. According to Comedy Company writer Ian McFadyen, "Con the Fruiterer was an attempt to represent that whole immigrant subculture which until recently has been totally ignored except as a stereotype token wog". Con has six daughters, Roula, Toula, Soula, Voula, Foula and Agape. (A running joke being he approves of his alike named daughters but Agape is the ugly, stupid or otherwise black sheep of the cohort) He also has two sons, Nick and Rick.

Con's catchphrases "coupla days", "bewdiful" and "doesn't madda" entered the Australian vernacular.[2] In August 1989, then Prime Minister Bob Hawke appeared in a sketch on The Comedy Company the premise of presenting Con with Australian citizenship. In reply to Con's question as to when Hawke was going to fix up the country, Hawke took great delight in responding "a coupla days".[3]

The characters of Con and Marika continue to make appearances on and off television. Con the Fruiterer was appointed Moomba Monarch (popularly called King of Moomba) in 1989,[4] despite opposition from the Greek community.[5][6] Greek-Australian comedian Nick Giannopoulos would later say, "Mark's a great impersonator, but I'm not a big fan of non-wogs playing wogs. I felt very uncomfortable when Mark was doing those pieces."[7]

Con's Bewdiful Australia: A Guide to the Second-Best Country in the World was published by Penguin Books in 1989.[8] Although written by Mitchell, authorship was credited to 'Con Dikaletis'. A condensed version of the book, read by Mitchell as Con, was released on audio cassette. A spinoff series Con's Bewdiful Holiday Videos was screened on the Ten Network in 1997. Con also fronted a campaign urging Australians to eat more fruit in 2010.[9]

Discography

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[10]
1988 "A Cuppla Days" 48 The Comedy Company Album

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
1989 "A Cuppla Days" Best Comedy Release Nominated [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Con The Fruiterer's secret". ABC news. 2005-11-12. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Con the Fruiterer to give Crace in Canberra". Canberra Times. 23 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Tony, "Wogs Still Out of Work: Australian television comedy as colonial discourse" (pdf), Australasian Drama Studies, no. April 1992 – via Multicultural Research Library
  4. ↑ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen (17 Feb 2006) Moomba: A festival for the people.: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2011-03-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) PDF pp 17-22
  5. ↑ Schwartz, Larry (4 February 1989). "Greek uproar over Con the Moomba Monarch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  6. ↑ White, Peter (27 February 1989). "Con the Fruiterer: A step ahead or a racist joke?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ↑ Barber, Lynden (26 February 2000). "Comedy community declares - the race is on". The Australian.
  8. ↑ Con's Bewdiful Australia: A Guide to the Second-Best Country in the World Penguin, 1989 ISBN 0140127100
  9. ↑ "Con the Fruiterer is back for a new health campaign". Herald Sun. 2010-01-21.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 64.
  11. ↑ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
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