1. David McPhail went on to appear in multiple series of sketch show McPhail and Gadsby, and hit comedy Letter to Blanchy.
12 Facts About David McPhail
1. 2.
David McPhail was born in Christchurch on 11 April 1945, the son of Alexander Edward David McPhail and his second wife, Ivy Freda Halford.
3.
David McPhail's father was described as a "devout atheist" of Scottish descent who was a businessman and chairman of New Zealand Rugby.
4.
David McPhail's half-siblings included Neil McPhail and Clement McPhail, both of whom represented Canterbury at rugby.
5.
Neil David McPhail was coach of the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks, from 1961 to 1965.
6.
David McPhail joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation as a journalist in 1967 and worked on both radio and television news stories.
7.
David McPhail went on to create and appear in at least seven series of skit show David McPhail and Gadsby, co-starring his A Week of It colleague Jon Gadsby, and backwoods comedy Letter to Blanchy, which spawned a 2008 play.
8.
David McPhail starred in the two seasons of the series Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby.
9.
David McPhail went on to play eccentric superhero The Green Termite in The Amazing Extraordinary Friends.
10.
David McPhail was presented the Reilly Comedy Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand in 2003.
11.
David McPhail died on 14 May 2021 at the Merivale Retirement Village in Christchurch.
12.
David McPhail was 76, and suffered a heart attack prior to his death.