John Clarke
One of the funniest people on either side of the Tasman, John Clarke’s brand of droll wit (always delivered with a wickedly understated authenticity) defined the high-water mark of Kiwi and Australian comedy for 30 years. Spawned in the early 70s, his gumboot-clad character Fred Dagg marked a defining moment in the development of New Zealand comedy. Clarke passed away on 9 April 2017.
Jordan Watson
What began as a joke video for a friend about to have a baby ended up transforming Jordan Watson's life. In 2015 Watson filmed his infant daughter Alba in various comical poses for a short video called How To Hold a Baby, and uploaded it to his friend's Facebook page. Overnight the clip went viral. Watson ended up quitting his day job as a director on Jono and Ben to focus on the How To Dad series, becoming a comical parenting guru in the process. The videos have topped 200 million views on YouTube and Facebook. Watson started his television career in 2007, as a runner for Greenstone Pictures.