Jonathan Ernest Gadsby (1 November 1953 – 12 December 2015) was a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well known for his role in the comedy series ''

McPhail and Gadsby McPhail is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Addie McPhail (1905–2003), American film actress *Alastair McPhail, British diplomat, the first British ambassador to South Sudan * Andy McPhail, Scottish rugby league footballer w ...

'' co-starring alongside

David McPhail David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a New Zealand comedic actor and writer whose television career spanned four decades. McPhail first won fame on sketch comedy show ''A Week of It'', partly thanks to his impressions of ...

. He died of cancer aged 62.

Life and career

Gadsby was born in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and went to school in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

when his family moved to New Zealand. He studied law at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, leaving in his final year to work at

Radio Otago Radio Otago was a radio company that operated a group of local radio stations in radio markets around New Zealand from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Radio Otago was started in 1971 when Dunedin station 4XO was started, 4XO was originally branded a ...

. He entered television with David McPhail in the comedy ''

A Week of It ''A Week of It'' is a New Zealand television series screened from 1977 to 1979. A comedy sketch show, the series relied heavily on political satire, and as such was often written very shortly before it screened. Although it only ran for three yea ...

'' in 1977, before the pair went on to the successful and long-running 80s political satire ''McPhail and Gadsby''. Gadsby appeared in numerous television programmes, several films, and wrote more than 20 books, mainly for children. He wrote for ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'', ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' and '' The Listener'', and performed corporate voicing. He was the founding editor of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

magazine ''Avenues''. In 2008, he received a conviction for drink-driving, after being stopped at a checkpoint in December 2006. In 2011, he was convicted of his fourth drink-driving charge, having been stopped with a breath alcohol reading 2.5 times in excess of the legal limit. He died in

on 12 December 2015 from cancer.

Honours and awards

''McPhail and Gadsby'' won the "Best Television Entertainment Programme" award in 1981, and David McPhail and Gadsby were jointly voted the "Best Television Entertainer". In the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Gadsby was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for public services. Gadsby, David McPhail and

A. K. Grant Allan Keith Grant (11 February 1941 – 8 April 2000), generally known by his initials as A.K. Grant, was a New Zealand writer, historian, critic and humorist. Grant was born in Whanganui, and in 1964 he received his LL.B from the University of ...

, were named best writers at the 1996 Film and Television Awards, for the series ''Letter to Blanchy''.

Work

Television

* ''

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1980–1987, 1997–98) * ''Issues'' (1991) * ''More Issues'' (1992) * '' Letter to Blanchy'' (1996–1997) * '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' (2000) * ''

Intrepid Journeys ''Intrepid Journeys'' is a New Zealand television series, which screens on TV ONE in New Zealand and on Vibrant TV Network in the United States. Making its debut in 2003, the show focuses on New Zealand celebrities who travel to exotic countries ...

'' – Myanmar (Series 2, No 14; 2004)

Film

* 1980 '' Nutcase'' * 1984 ''

Second Time Lucky ''Second Time Lucky'' is a 1984 New Zealand erotic comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Diane Franklin and Roger Wilson.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p137 The story cent ...

'' * 1984 '' The Bounty'' * 2008 '' Sisterhood''

Writing

* 1984 ''Book of Beasts'' * 1998 ''Dave and the Giant Pickle'' (Illustrator) * 1989 ''The Dictionary of Wimps'' with

Allan Grant Allan Grant (October 23, 1919 – February 1, 2008) was an American photojournalist for ''Life (magazine), Life'' magazine. He had the last photo shoot with actress Marilyn Monroe and took the first photos of Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald's wi ...

and

* 1995 ''Martin's Gang and the Ogre (Tui turbo)'' * 1995 ''Griselda Marmalade Forsythe'' * 1997 ''The Fantail and the Weka'' * 1998 ''The song of Nelson Mandela : the freedom to be'' * 2000 ''The Trough'' * 2001 ''Toi Toi Valley: The Big Black Boulder'' * 2001 ''Toi Toi Valley: The Scary Scaly Visitor'' * 2004 ''Bumblebee Pie'' * 2005 ''Zoo, The: Feeding'' * 2005 ''Zoo, The: Babies'' * 2000 K''apai books''

Theatre

* 2008 ''Letter to Blanchy : Stir Crazy'' (with David McPhail)

References

External links

*
Avenues magazine Editors Corner
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadsby, Jon 1953 births 2015 deaths New Zealand comedians New Zealand male comedians New Zealand male novelists People from Christchurch English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand satirists Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists University of Otago alumni People from Derbyshire 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers