One of Australia’s best-loved comedians of the 20th century, ‘Roy Rene’, is now  immortalised in Adelaide with the unveiling of a bronze sculpture commissioned in the entertainer’s honour.

Lord Mayor Harbison shared the honours with Sculptor Robert Hannaford and a handful of "Roy Renes" in his distinctive white and charcoal makeup.

The statue is near the corner of Leigh Street and Hindley Street, almost opposite the site of the Theatre Royal that he played so often.

“Roy Rene was a great figure in the South Australian entertainment landscape especially during the Great Depression.”

“Many of Rene’s favorite catchphrases are still part of the Australian vernacular. ‘Strike me lucky,’ ‘Don’t come the raw prawn with me,’ ‘Fair suck of the sav’ and ‘You beaut!’ were all part of the Roy Rene comedic character,” said the Lord Mayor.

Roy Rene was born Harry van der Sluys to a cigar rolling family further down Hindley Street. He busked as a kid at the Central Market, and went on to national fame with the brilliant and bawdy vaudeville act, "Stiffy and Mo".

 Riverton born and based sculptor, Robert Hannaford, fondly remembers listening to the long running radio comedy series, "McCackie Mansions" as a boy. He is a regular finalist in the Archibald Prize national portrait competition and also sculpted the Sir Donald Bradman bronze outside the Adelaide Oval.

The Roy Rene sculpture was commissioned by the Adelaide City Council as part of its annual Public Art Program.

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Keith Conlon