David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour

Tag: RIP

  • RIP David “Daisy” Day

    I’ve just spent 9 hours driving from Adelaide to Melbourne and I’ve arrived safely only to hear the news that Adelaide radio legend David Day has passed away.

    I would not have a career in radio if it were not for this man.

    In 2006, I was 18 and in second year uni when I decided I wanted to get involved with Flinders University Student Radio. Not having the courage to just jump on air and do it, I saw an ad for David Day’s “Intro to Radio Course” at his Australian Radio School, and figured it was worth a shot. Me and a bunch of other guys and gals of various ages and backgrounds met with Daisy one night a week for 12 weeks in his little studio on South Terrace to learn how to make radio. It was great. I remember one night he gave us a tour of the Triple M studios and he showed us this digital audio editing machine called Vox-Pro. I’d never seen anything like that before and I remember watching in awe as he recorded a sentence and chopped it up, rearranged it and put music under it in about 10 seconds. I had this huge epiphany: “So THAT’S how they do it!” I always wanted to make comedy sketches and I saw Daisy do that and my imagination just ran away, thinking of all the possibilities.

    I had a meeting with him in 2007 to get some career guidance. By this stage, I’d done a few comedy shows on community radio but I was prepared to go out and work at a country station to get some more experience. He said he reckoned I’d be bored if I went out to the country, so he passed my demo directly to then Today Network Content Director Craig Bruce. That lead to my first gig in radio as a panel operator at SAFM. That lead to my next one at MTR. And that lead to my current one at Crocmedia.

    That was my relationship with Daisy. He was a great guy. Always had time to listen. He lived hard and fast and had some incredible stories from the golden years of FM radio. The last time I saw him was December 2009 at one of his SA Music Hall of Fame lunches. I went up to him at the end to say goodbye and thanks for everything because I was moving to Melbourne to pursue show biz. He shook my hand and said: “Good. I expect big things from you”.

    I’m thinking of his friends and family at this difficult time.

    Cheers Daisy. RIP.

    David M. Green

  • RIP Joe Murray

    Very sad this week to hear veteran ABC director Joe Murray passed away Wednesday morning.

    Joe directed some of Australia’s most memorable TV comedies, including The Late Show and DAAS Kapital. He was vision mixer on Countdown and The Gillies Report. Backberner, Recovery, The D Generation – the list goes on.

    I had the pleasure of working with Joe last year when he came out of retirement to direct the third season of 31 Questions. He was very generous with his time and taught us all so much about how to make television. He was always cool, calm and collected. When there was chaos in the studio, I’d hear Joe speak with that softly-spoken voice of his and I knew it was all under control. And I loved hearing his stories about the old days at the ABC.

    He shared his wealth of knowledge and experience with a new generation of television-makers. It was a rare opportunity and an honour to work with a legend. We will always cherish the brief time we had with Joe, and he will be sorely missed among the cast and crew.

    My thoughts are with Joe’s family and close friends at this difficult time. RIP.

    Yours sincerely,
    David M. Green

  • Ed Fella!?! Oh hang on… Michael Jackson!?!

    Well, it’s already yesterday’s news, but hey, I’ve been busy. That’s right… Ed McMahon is dead. Also, Michael Jackson. And Farrah Fawcett… plus countless others if you want to be pedantic about it (which you clearly do), but I can’t possibly write obituaries for all of these people, so just FREAKING BACK OFF man! Excuse me.

    But Michael Jackson. Wow. Who saw that coming? What a guy. At his peak, of course. Back in the early ’80s he was incredible. Just look at the “Thriller” music video. JUST LOOK AT IT!?! Outstanding. It’s in a league of its own. “Billy Jean”: probably the best song of the last 30 years. No one else came close to the greatness of Michael Jackson. I’m talking creatively, of course. As for the scandals, obviously when someone reaches the heights that he did, it turns you a bit peculiar. Like at all the great ones; they work hard for years until they get their big break. They’re amazing. Then they go crazy and die early or turn into a recluse.

    But from 1975 to 1992, Michael Jackson was truly great. And although I barely lived through this period, his music has had a definite presence on the soundtrack to my life. I recall listening to “Black or White” in my year 2 class in 1994, followed by a discussion on racism, and then substituting “purple” and “blue” into the song lyrics the following recess, to much amusement. “Beat It” was played at my year 9 social, and I have forever associated it with being awkward around girls. The first time I ever took a drive in my car by myself, I turned on the radio and it was Michael Jackson singing “Bad.” Luckily for me I had just that day acquired my license, so it was all legitimate… So for the next week at least, I’ll be driving around with my windows down, blasting nothing but Michael Jackson from my cassette player and driving like it’s 1983. So in other words, I’ll be doing 60km/h instead of the modern limit of 50, coincidentally, the age of Michael Jackson. RIP.

    Yours sincerely,
    David M. Green

  • RIP Grandma Terry

    Last night, my Grandma, Terry Lawlor-Smith, died in her McLaren Vale nursing home, in the presence of family members. She was 78.

    We were close, and during the time we had, we had some great times. From a very young age, right up until I was almost 18, I would regularly stay with her in McLaren Vale. We’d see movies and hire videos and play carpet bowls and Grand Canasta. For the first 10ish years, she drove me around, then for the last few, I drove her. She showed me how to make an excellent roast, which still has the rest of the family marvelling at my fantastic cooking ability. The funny thing is it’s not even that hard; peel vegetables, coat them with oil and cook them for an hour, there you go.

    As a child, I rarely drank soft drinks. It wasn’t until I started working at Kmart and I was earning my own money that I started buying my own and keeping it in my little fridge. So when I was little, going to Grandma’s and having unlimited access to all the caffeine-free diet coke I could drink was a real treat. I probably took it a little too far… But to you I say, don’t knock it until you get up in the morning, and pour yourself a bowl of porridge and a glass of coke. Hmm mmm.

    Grandma was a smoker. She quit in the mid 1990s but she smoked for practically her whole life. Understandably this had quite an affect on her ability to breathe, and any small cold quickly turned into a trip to the hospital. To the smokers out there today, to you I say, you are idiots. The evidence has existed for decades now, that smoking will eventually kill you. If it weren’t for cigarettes, my Grandma would still be alive today, or at the very least, her quality of life would have been much better in her final years. But really, that’s what it’s all about; “quality of life.” Who wants to live to be 100 if you don’t know where you are and can’t do anything yourself? It was Grandma’s decision not to return to hospital, and I respect that.

    I last saw her on Monday. I told her the latest news with me. She said it was good to see me and we each said “I love you.” Of course it’s sad. But hey, that’s life. I’m really going to miss her.

    Yours sincerely,
    David M. Green

  • Richard Marsland’s Funeral

    Hi all,

    I’ve just returned from Richard Marsland’s funeral at St Ignatius Church in Norwood. The place was packed. I’ve never seen so many people at a funeral. Granted, I’ve only been to a few, and they were all for family members who died in old age. It was a very touching service. And nice to see that the priest officiating, Farther Lawrie Moate, actually knew the Marsland family. His words were personal, accurate and moving, as was everything that was said by all the speakers, I must say.

    I was there in the capacity of an acquaintance, a colleague and a fan. I didn’t know Richard that well. I would have liked to have known him more. But I realise I am more privileged than most to have recorded that interview with him, and then to meet him in person just that one time. For most of the last two weeks I’ve felt shock more than anything. I felt like crying, but I didn’t. But then today when I saw Richard’s coffin being carried into the church, with Tony Martin as one of his pallbearers, I just lost it, along with most of the people around me, and not in the good way. Curiously though, I always figured I’d want my enemies carrying my coffin; not my friends. Personally I hate heavy lifting…

    There was laughter too of course. Just hearing about Richard as a youth and about his comic escapades with friends, and the pranks he used to pull on his sisters, I couldn’t help but smile. Tony Martin stood up at the front and lent into the mic, before saying “Normally this is where Richard would be checking the levels,” before delivering a warm tribute to Richard, his comedy and his work ethic. Outside there was a station wagon set up with two people in T-shirts reading “Generic Radio Station,” giving out “icy cold cans of coke” (room temperature) and Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee. A nice touch!

    There’s not much else I can say that hasn’t already been said. It’s sad. I’m sad. I hope I can bring joy and laughter to as many people as Richard did. That’s going to be my new ultimate life goal… well, I already had that goal, but hey, I’ll add “do it for Richard Marsland” to my list of reasons.

    Thank you also to the many people who have emailed me, shared your stories, and posted in forums, thanking and complimenting me for making my interview with Richard available to everyone online. It’s been downloaded over 400 times in the last 2 weeks. Like I’ve said, it was an absolute pleasure and a privilege to have had the little contact I had with Richard Marsland. A truly remarkable guy.

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green