Veteran television journalist Ray Martin reveals he has planned his own funeral but insists he will ‘never retire’
Ray Martin will plan his own funeral next year for an upcoming SBS documentary series exploring cultural traditions surrounding death.
Although the veteran journalist, 78, will host Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye, which examines Australian trends in death, he insists he still has a lot of life left in him.
‘I’m never going to retire. David Attenborough is in his nineties and he is my role model. He says you should keep doing what you love,” he told this week’s Woman’s Day magazine.
He added that the workaholic lifestyle he once had kept him from enjoying the important things in life and that he would never repeat that mistake again.
‘I lived in New York for ten years as an ABC correspondent, working eight days a week. Still, I think about all the things I didn’t do and should have done.
Ray Martin (pictured) will plan his own funeral next year for an upcoming SBS documentary series exploring cultural traditions surrounding death
“You have forever to sleep, you should try it.”
The esteemed A Current Affair host added that as he gets older, he is more committed than ever to spending time with his children Jenna and Luke and two grandchildren.
In March, Martin opened up about his memorable interview with Prince Philip in 1981, in which the late royal’s “arrogant” behavior blindsided him.
The veteran journalist spoke to Prince Philip for 60 Minutes about his then role as president of the World Wildlife Fund and said he was unimpressed by his behavior.
Although the veteran journalist, 78, will host Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye, which examines Australian trends surrounding death, he says he still has a lot of life left in him.
“I didn’t like him, he was quite stubborn and arrogant, and that confirmed all my worst suspicions about the royal family,” Martin told the newspaper. I have news for you podcast.
‘It was purely about the world’s animals; we couldn’t talk about anything else,” he added.
In the interview, Martin asked Philip whether the royal family became “involved in political issues” through his work for the WWF.
“It’s almost impossible to avoid politics when you open your mouth, apart from saying rhubarb, because almost every issue is political,” Philip replied.
While he didn’t warm to the Duke of Edinburgh, Martin added that he felt his son, King Charles III, was the opposite when he interviewed him in 1994.
Martin is one of Australia’s most iconic TV journalists, with a career spanning more than 50 years.
Martin is one of Australia’s most iconic TV journalists, with a career spanning more than 50 years