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RNZ
In 1977, David McPhail, then a young producer with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, pitched an idea for a satirical comedy show to air on its second channel, South Pacific Television.
In 1977, David McPhail, then a young producer with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, pitched an idea for a satirical comedy show to air on its second channel, South Pacific Television. The response from his superiors was that it was a terrible idea because New Zealanders are staunch sensible people who don t like laughing, and certainly don t like laughing at themselves.
Photography by Jane Wyles Luckily, he ignored that and went on to make
“He leaves a great big hole in our lives but not in our hearts. A truly beautiful man,” his son Matt said. McPhail s wife Anne had said goodnight to him before going home from the resthome. He died soon after, Matt said. “She said her farewell, and we feel like he was happy. He knew everyone was there and he was ready,” he said. Although his health had taken a bad turn, Matt said his father remained in good spirits. “He was sharp as a tack, one of the most intelligent men I have met and one of the funniest as well. He had that right till the end.”
Hon Carmel Sepuloni
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni today pays tribute to David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) – New Zealand comedian, actor, producer and writer.
David McPhail ONZM QSM had a comedy career that spanned four decades, across both television and theatre.
“David’s contribution to New Zealand comedy was immense, and his passing is a great loss to Aotearoa,” Carmel Sepuloni said.
“David began his celebrated career as a television journalist for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. From there he went on to report on Town and Around, working also as a producer and actor.
“David fronted one of the earliest New Zealand comedy shows, A Week of It, which was hugely popular for its innovative style of political satire and sketch format.
Deep in basements beneath Mulgrave St, archivist Shaun McGuire winches a cog that opens towering rows of what are known as stacks – giant shelving units weighing as much as buses and holding any type of archive you can imagine. The basements are filled with these units after a 1952 blaze at a Dixon St office saw a treasure trove of government archives incinerated. Back then, archives were erratically stored around the city, and the inferno led to the creation of a national archive to safeguard the country’s records.
MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
Archives New Zealand holds hundreds of thousands of physical records, equating to more than 271 kilometres.