Australian actor Kenneth Radley shared a strange story about the Bananas in Pyjamas costumes. He revealed that the Russian mafia stole the iconic costumes and demanded a ransom for their return. Radley discussed this during his appearance on the Final Encore podcast and later with news.com.au.
The Promotional Trip Turns into a Nightmare
Radley, who played one of the bananas for over a decade, explained that the incident occurred during a promotional trip. ABC’s marketing head, Graham Grassby, took the costumes to several countries, including the UK, the US, and Russia. In Moscow, the costumes were stolen.
Radley said, “Grahame Grassby was the head of marketing and franchising… and Grahame went all over the world with some banana suits to get photo opportunities at places like London Tower and the White House. He took the suits to Moscow… and the suits were stolen, and there was a ransom note given to Grassby for $100,000 Australian dollars for the return of the suits.”
The Ransom: Negotiations Begin
The ransom note came from the Russian mafia. Grassby immediately contacted ABC Sydney. The network asked him to find out how much it would cost to make new costumes. The price came to $20,000. ABC advised Grassby to offer the mafia this amount. If they refused, new costumes would be made.
Grassby received the $20,000 and planned to meet with the mafia. However, Radley explained that Grassby never made the meeting. Instead, he returned to Australia with the money, leaving the mafia without the payment. As a result, new costumes were produced.
The Costumes’ Fate
Radley joked, “So the bananas are actually in some gulag in Russia, in some freezing cold jail,” implying the stolen costumes are lost somewhere in Russia.
Radley’s Acting Career
Radley is known for more than just Bananas in Pyjamas. He also appeared in films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, Rabbit-Proof Fence, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.