Kevan Moore
Sometimes referred to as the Godfather of New Zealand music TV, Kevan Moore was behind some of the iconic entertainment shows (Let's Go, C'mon) of the 1960s and 70s. Joining television at its birth, Moore was also responsible for shaping early current affairs content (eg Town and Around), and devising popular astronomy show The Night Sky.
Tony Williams
Tony Williams' contribution to the development of NZ film and television has been huge: his camerawork for John O'Shea's 60s feature-films, the nine ground-breaking documentaries he directed for Pacific Films, and his feature Solo, which helped launch the 70s new wave. After moving to Australia in 1980, Williams continued to wield a lively influence on our culture by directing many legendary commercials.
Graham Kerr
English-born Graham Kerr was New Zealand’s first celebrity chef. Initially RNZAF Chief Catering Adviser, he soon found himself on television in a flamboyant persona that would come to be known as the Galloping Gourmet. He has gone on to make more than 1,800 programmes around the world – but, in later years, conversion to Christianity and family ill health have considerably toned down his performance and recipes.
Christopher Bourn
From the mid 1960s into the 1980s, Christopher Bourn’s name was synonymous with entertainment on New Zealand television. But the man behind talent shows Studio One and New Faces also played a role in groundbreaking sports broadcasts, including the first All Black test screened on television. Bourn also held senior management roles in both the old NZ Broadcasting Corporation and TVNZ.
Michael Haigh
Michael Haigh gave up teaching to become a professional actor. A founding member of Wellington’s Circa Theatre, his TV legacy is the gruff office worker Jim in Roger Hall’s Gliding On — one of NZ television’s great comic characters and a role that won him a Feltex Award. He played Jim for five years and appeared in a number of other TV series and films (almost inevitably playing a policeman). Michael Haigh died in 1993.
Garth Maxwell
Long conscious that New Zealand is made up of many minorities, “all with something to say”, Garth Maxwell has brought his distinctive sensibility to gay love story Beyond Gravity, two features (the dark and offbeat Jack Be Nimble, and relationship drama When Love Comes), and chalk and cheese TV series Rude Awakenings.