Worrying Molly Meldrum photos emerge after concerning health update
EXCLUSIVE
Worrying photos of Australian music icon Molly Meldrum can be revealed as the 81-year-old continues to struggle with ill health.
Meldrum looks frail in several recent images obtained by Daily Mail Australia of the music industry identity with his friend, Thai businessman Yan Wongngam.
They are in stark contrast to his more energetic performance at the Australian Open in January.
In one photo, the bald television legend appears to be sleeping on a couch in the couple’s Melbourne home, without one of his signature hats and with his mouth open.
In another photo, Meldrum appears bearded and lying on the porch with a slender hand across his chest for what appears to be a daytime nap.
Meldrum is “struggling” with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source revealed last week.
Next month marks 50 years since Countdown, the long-running ABC music show that made Meldrum famous, debuted on Australian TV screens.
Meldrum, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent years, was a notable no-show at a Royal Australian Mint event in Melbourne last Wednesday to launch a commemorative Countdown coin.
The show’s host Gavin Wood revealed that his long-time friend had been struggling with his health since almost falling off a ladder in December 2011.
Worrying photos of Australian music icon Molly Meldrum have emerged as the 81-year-old continues to struggle with his health. Meldrum is pictured with friend Yan Wongngam
In one photo, the bald television legend appears to be sleeping on a couch in his Melbourne home, without one of his signature hats and with his mouth open
“The fall, it’s all due to the fall, was a terrible thing,” Wood said the Herald Sun.
‘He will be 82 in January. He has been a public figure all his life and I think he is just enjoying a quieter life.
‘He’s still Molly, still interested in music and still has it turned up to 11. He’s still mischievous, he still has that spark that we love, but I think he’s enjoying life as a normal person.’
Although Meldrum did not attend the coin launch, he did release a statement and sneakily added his famous catchphrase whenever he endorsed an artist on the program.
“Do yourself a favor and buy one,” he said. ‘Iconic Countdown lives on.
‘I have such fond memories of that time and a show I will never forget.
“We’ve made a difference to Australia’s music industry and that’s why I’m thrilled to see commemorative coins being created.”
Wood said his former colleague would be “delighted” to see something “as beautiful and imaginative” as the coins commemorating the show that made him a household name.
Meldrum looks weak as he poses for a photo with his friend
In another photo, Meldrum is bearded and lies on a pillow on the back porch with a slender hand across his chest for what appears to be a daytime nap.
Meldrum’s recent photos contrast with his performance at the Australian Open with Thai businessman friend Yan Wongngam in January (above)
Wood said Countdown, which ran from November 8, 1974 to July 19, 1987, was the product of Meldrum’s enthusiasm and foresight.
The program was something Meldrum “lived, breathed, drank, consumed” and it was “everything” to him, Wood said.
Meldrum has remained out of the public eye since his last controversy 18 months ago.
In March 2023, Meldrum made headlines for exposing himself and appearing to urinate on the floor at a Rod Stewart concert in Melbourne.
A video obtained by Daily Mail Australia showed him exposing his genitals at the end of the pop singer’s set at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
He appeared to be urinating on the floor while looking at the stage and wearing his signature Stetson cowboy hat.
Meldrum’s boyfriend Yan Wongngam was pictured with the former Countdown host’s dog Ziggy outside the couple’s Melbourne home on October 3.
Meldrum is “struggling” with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source has revealed
The alarming incident came after a series of other bizarre antics by Meldrum in recent years.
In January 2023, Meldrum caused a stir after dropping his pants during his old friend Sir Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
During his final act, the I’m Still Standing hitmaker brought Meldrum on stage for a rendition of The B**** Is Back.
Meldrum blamed it on a wardrobe malfunction, but footage soon emerged showing him performing the same stupid antics in front of spectators at the 2022 ChillOut Festival in Daylesford, Victoria.