Fred Dagg is a fictional character from New Zealand created and acted on stage, film and television by satirist John Clarke. Clarke appeared on New Zealand TV screens as Dagg during the mid to late 1970s, "taking the piss" out of the post-pioneering Kiwi "blokes" and "blokesses". The sense of the name "Dagg" is associated with the slang term dag. The Fred Dagg character is a stereotypical farmer and New Zealand bloke: clad in a black singlet and gumboots, hailing from the isolated rural town of Taihape, and attended by numerous associates all named "Trev". One memorable expression was uttered whenever there was a knock at the door: "That'll be the door." When Clarke first unveiled the character of Fred Dagg in recordings and on New Zealand TV in 1975, he became a national star. He also recorded a series of records and cassettes as Dagg, as well as publishing several books.
The Games was an Australian mockumentary television series about the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The series was originally broadcast on the ABC and had two seasons of 13 episodes each, the first in 1998 and the second in 2000.
Christopher Thornton Taylor is an Australian comedy writer, performer and broadcaster from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN (2002–2003) and The Chaser's War on Everything. He formerly co-hosted the drive radio show Today Today (2004–05) on Triple J with fellow Chaser member Craig Reucassel, and in 2007, he wrote the musical comedy Dead Caesar. Taylor also hosted the mini documentary series 'Australia's Heritage: National Treasures'. In 2010, with his Chaser colleague Andrew Hansen, Taylor made a musical comedy series for Triple J titled The Blow Parade, which became the number one podcast in the country, and won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release. In 2019, Taylor was the creator and co-writer of the drama Upright starring Tim Minchin. The series screened to critical acclaim in both Australia and the UK.
John Morrison Clarke was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s. He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in both radio and television and also in print. He is principally known for his character Fred Dagg and his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, which lasted from 1989 to his death in 2017, as well as for his success as a comic actor in Australian and New Zealand film and television.
Andrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie–nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope and the ABC game show Randling. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique. He is also responsible for introducing the troupe of The Chaser to Australian audiences.
New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He was the only Gold Logie winning fictional character on Australian television, with McDonald collecting the 1976 Gold Logie and the George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent in character.
The Gillies Report is an Australian topical satirical sketch comedy television series that was broadcast on the ABC between 1984 and 1985. The program was best known for sending up politicians and media personalities of the day such as Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Opposition Leader Andrew Peacock.
Garry George McDonald AO is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is best known as the seemingly naive celebrity interviewer Norman Gunston, through whom he pioneered the "ambush interviewer" technique since followed by many others. He received a Gold Logie award for the television Norman Gunston Show in which he developed the character. He is also famed for his role of the hapless Arthur Beare in the television sitcom Mother and Son. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003 for service to the community in the mental health field and to the arts as an entertainer, he has also been a board member of the Australian mental health organisation Beyond Blue.
The 7.30 Report is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at 7.30 pm from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into 7.30, a revamped current affairs program.
Drew Forsythe is an Australian actor, singer, writer, and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage, and television, as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programs.
Andrew Zaltzman is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport-related material.
Tony Moclair is an Australian comedy actor, writer, performer and radio broadcaster. He has worked on various Australian radio networks, often appearing in character rather than as himself.
Samuel Jonathan McMillan is an Australian musical comedian, satirist, writer and radio presenter who performs under the stage name Sammy J. He embraces a variety of media in his comedy, including the use of video and self-composed music, and frequently collaborates with fellow Australian puppet comedian Randy Feltface. He has released several CDs and DVD compilations of his work; most recently the album Symphony in J Minor which was nominated for Best Comedy Release at the 2019 ARIA Awards. He has performed at comedy festivals in Australia, Edinburgh and Montreal, and has appeared on various Australian television shows, including Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane, a sitcom based on the duo's touring show of the same name. He currently produces a weekly political sketch for ABC Television, satirising the news through various characters, and is the Breakfast presenter on ABC Radio Melbourne.
Australian comedy refers to the comedy and humour performed in or about Australia or by the people of Australia. Australian humour can be traced to various origins, and today is manifested in a diversity of cultural practices and pursuits. Writers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson helped to establish a tradition of laconic, ironic and irreverent wit in Australian literature, while Australian politicians and cultural stereotypes have each proved rich sources of comedy for artists from poet C. J. Dennis to satirist Barry Humphries to iconic film maker Paul Hogan, each of whom have given wide circulation to Australian slang.
Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef is an Egyptian comedian, television host, and surgeon. He is best-known in his media career for having hosted El Bernameg, a satirical comedy show focused on Egyptian politics, from 2011 to 2014. Youssef's comedic style has led to him being dubbed "Egypt's Jon Stewart" in the press after Stewart's satirical The Daily Show, which had itself inspired Youssef to pursue a career in television. In 2013, Youssef was named on Time 100. His current projects are Tickling Giants, The Democracy Handbook, and Revolution For Dummies.
The 12th Man Again is the second album released by The Twelfth Man. Released in February 1990, it reached number one on the ARIA Charts in March 1990.
Clarke and Dawe is an Australian news satire television program that originally aired on the Nine Network from 1989 to 1996 and later on ABC TV from 2000 until 2017. Almost all episodes feature comedians John Clarke and Bryan Dawe engaging in a mock interview, with Dawe playing the interviewer and Clarke playing the interviewee.
Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century is a comedy studio album by New Zealand satirist John Clarke and Australian Bryan Dawe. The album was released in November 1990 and peaked at number 49 on The Australian ARIA Charts.
The Annual Report is a second comedy studio album by New Zealand satirist John Clarke and Australian Bryan Dawe. The album was released in November 1991 and peaked at number 94 on The Australian ARIA Charts. The interviews first broadcast on A Current Affair on the Nine Network.
