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 ''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 ...

'', partly thanks to his impressions of New Zealand prime minister

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

. He went on to appear in multiple series of sketch show ''

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 ...

'', and hit comedy ''

Letter to Blanchy ''Letter to Blanchy'' is a 1990s New Zealand television comedy series written by A. K. Grant and David McPhail, starring McPhail with Jon Gadsby and Peter Rowley as three smalltown Kiwi blokes, Barry (Gadsby), Derek (McPhail) and Ray (Rowley) ...

''. All three shows featured his longtime friend

Jon Gadsby 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'' co-starring alongside David McPhail. He died of canc ...

Early life and family

McPhail was born in

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 Rive ...

on 11 April 1945, the son of Alexander Edward McPhail and his second wife, Ivy Freda Halford. His father was described as a "devout atheist" of

Scottish descent The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

who was a businessman and chairman of

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

. His half-siblings included

Neil McPhail Neil McPhail was a New Zealand rugby union team coach from 1961 to 1965. Career McPhail coached the New Zealand rugby union team from 1961 to 1965 for a total of 20 tests. References New Zealand national rugby union team coaches ...

and Clement McPhail, both of whom represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

at rugby. Neil McPhail was also coach of the New Zealand national rugby union team, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, from 1961 to 1965. David McPhail was educated at Cathedral Grammar School and

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven Ro ...

, and went on to study at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

Career

McPhail joined the

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

as a journalist in 1967, and worked on both radio and television news stories. Between 1968 and 1969, he was a reporter on the magazine show ''

Town and Around A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

''. From 1971, he worked as a television producer and actor, and produced light entertainment shows for three years, before winning fame in 1977 with ''

''. One of the earliest New Zealand comedy shows, both to satirise politicians and win a wide audience, the series mixed sketches lampooning politics, sport, and television. McPhail went on to create and appear in at least seven series of skit show ''McPhail and Gadsby'', co-starring his ''A Week of It ''colleague Jon Gadsby, and backwoods comedy''

'', which spawned a 2008 play. McPhail starred in the two seasons of the series ''

Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby ''Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'' is a satirical New Zealand television series, created and written by Danny Mulheron (who also directs and co-produces), Dave Armstrong, and Tom Scott. It stars David McPhail as the titular Mr Gormsby, whose poli ...

''. McPhail plays Gormsby, a dominating, old-fashioned school teacher who ruffles feathers when he begins teaching at a ''low-decile'' school i.e. a school in a low-income area. McPhail went on to play eccentric superhero The Green Termite in ''

The Amazing Extraordinary Friends ''The Amazing Extraordinary Friends'' is a New Zealand superhero television series featuring the adventures of a modern-day superhero teenage boy and his friends. The protagonist is a teenage boy called Ben Wilson who finds out about a superhe ...

''. McPhail's autobiography'' The Years Before My Death: Memories of a Comic Life'' was published by Longacre in 2010.

Honours and awards

In the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of t ...

, McPhail 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. He was presented the Reilly Comedy Award from the

Variety Artists Club of New Zealand The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc (VAC) is a non-for-profit organisation and show business club. It was founded in 1966 and became an incorporated society in 1972. The VAC was formed to promote goodwill within the New Zealand enterta ...

in 2003. In the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

, he was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have re ...

, for services to television and the theatre.

Personal life

McPhail married Anne McLeod on 25 February 1967. He had two children. McPhail died on 14 May 2021 at the Merivale Retirement Village in Christchurch. He was 76, and suffered a heart attack prior to his death.

Credits

Television

* ''

'' (1977–1979) * ''

'' (1980–1987, 1997–1998) * '' Issues'' (1991) * ''

'' (1996–1997) * ''

'' (2005–2006) * '' The Life & Times of Te Tutu'' (director) * '' Crumpy'' (director) * '' Then Comes Love'' by James Griffin (director) * ''

Amazing Extraordinary Friends ''The Amazing Extraordinary Friends'' is a New Zealand superhero television series featuring the adventures of a modern-day superhero teenage boy and his friends. The protagonist is a teenage boy called Ben Wilson who finds out about a superher ...

'' (2007–2010) * ''The White Elephant'' (2012)

Theatre

* '' Then Comes Love'' (director, 2005) * ''

Alone it Stands ''Alone It Stands'' is a play by John Breen that tells the story of the 1978 rugby union match at Thomond Park between Irish provincial side Munster and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union t ...

'' – Court Theatre,

(director, 2005) * '' Muldoon'' –

Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Colin ...

, Wellington, (25 June – 17 July 2004) — a play about the former New Zealand Prime Minister

References

External links

* * Agent'
info page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhail, David 1945 births 2021 deaths New Zealand people of Scottish descent New Zealand male stage actors New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male comedians New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand satirists Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal 21st-century New Zealand male actors 20th-century New Zealand writers 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand writers People from Christchurch People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand television producers New Zealand television journalists New Zealand television personalities