John-Michael Howson (born 8 August 1936) is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and Melbourne radio commentator. His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years. Early life Howson was born on 8 August 1936 in Elwood, Victoria. His parents separated when he was young and he moved to Western Australia with his mother and step-father (a former policeman and publican). He was educated at St Ildephonsus College, New Norcia, where he was a boarder. Career Howson began his media career as a cadet reporter on Mildura's Sunraysia Daily. After moving to Melbourne he started writing sketches and songs for amateur and professional groups and subsequently moved to London. There he worked for a men's fashion magazine and covered fashion topics in London and Europe. He pursued his writing career with comedy scripts for live revues, stand up comedians and television including the top British show That Was The Week That Was. In 1964, he was invited to write topical material for the fledgling Melbourne television station ATV-0 and specifically for their new variety programme The Ray Taylor Show. He became primarily known in television for his involvement in the acclaimed ATV-0 children's fantasy television series The Magic Circle Club (1965–67) in which he played Fee Fee Bear (his face never seen on camera due to the bear suit), and as Clown in the follow-up ABC show Adventure Island, (1967–72). Howson, with Godfrey Philipp, was co-creator of both shows. Howson wrote the vast bulk of the scripts (five 30-minute shows per week) and the lyrics to the original songs used in them, the music usually composed by Bruce Rowland. Owing to Howson's intense workload, many of the Adventure Island scripts were written on a typewriter positioned behind the set. Howson also contributed scripts and sketches to Graham Kennedy's In Melbourne Tonight and to The Mavis Bramston Show. His 1965 Bramston "Flower arranging" sketch - in which a section of Constance Spry's definitive text book on the subject is quoted verbatim in a lascivious manner by the Chief Censor (Gordon Chater) to hilarious and scandalous effect - created a national uproar and remains a television classic. Film and television acting In 1975, Howson appeared as an over-attentive bellboy in the Australian movie Alvin Rides Again. In 1976, producer-director George Stamkoski filmed a documentary portrait of Howson entitled "Hollywood Hollywood" with a grant from