Television personality Jason Gunn this week dazzled the residents at Diana Isaac village with his energy, storytelling and self-deprecating humour – taking a swipe at himself and some early mistakes in the workplace.
One of his initial jobs was in the china department at Farmers department store. He was polishing glass shelving to support the Royal Doulton display and unfortunately, distracted dropped a very expensive piece on lots of other similarly expensive pieces.
The humour resonated with the audience, and everyone was in stitches. “I have provided my family with much laughter... not (always) intentionally,” he says.
His story included talking about becoming good at tennis, with teachers suggesting he be better out on the tennis court rather than the classroom.
“I’ve got two school reports, that I remember. They were never good. I mean nowadays if you get an ‘e’ it means excellence. My children have had e’s for excellence. I show them my e’s and I go, those e’s did not stand for excellence. They came behind the d and the c, the b and the a.”
The entertainer has a close association with Christchurch, where he and his wife Janine Morrell-Gunn run a production and facilities company WhitebaitMedia. Often it is children the pair entertain through programmes like What Now! Jason grew up in Ilam with his parents and brother Andrew, now a writer.
The shows Jason is associated with include After School (1989) and co-hosted The Son of a Gunn Show (1992–1995) and Jase TV (1992) with his sidekick Thingee, a grey puppet with bulbous eyes.
Nowadays he does corporate events and of course a few other things. While his wife Janine does a lot of the Whitebait Media work, he has founded another company, Easily Said, to deliver online coaching to clients to help improve their speaking and communication skills. Those skills still need honing given that the world is in a difficult place, he says.
“The biggest issue in the world, at the moment, is that we’re not communicating very well. Businesses need to learn how to communicate internally and also how to talk to their clients and potential clients,” Jason says.
“She’s a bit broken, the world, at the moment.”
Jason’s also been a long-time radio host and has presented an extensive list of television shows including Dancing with the Stars and Wheel of Fortune.
Following his Farmers’ memories, he shared stories of his career in television and radio and family.
He says the older generation, including residents from villages like Diana Isaac, are sometimes underrated. “I have the greatest respect for this audience. It’s like, sadly, they are such a forgotten generation... you look around this room and what stories (do they have).
“They’re a beautiful generation, because I find (because my Mum is this age) they’re very grateful, very generous and very genuine. So, they love a good story, they love a good laugh.”
Village sales advisors Chris Ashton and Adrienne Todd and the wider team enjoyed some of the Gunn show, taking the chance to relax for a minute. Chris introduced Jason as a household name, noting Gunn also worked behind the camera, producing, writing and directing.
Jason came back complementing Diana Isaac village, the residents, team members and the gardens. “I’m not sure what age I’m able to become a resident here... 53 is it? I’m in.” The residents agreed with Jason that laughter is the best medicine.
Ryman is hosting a number of speakers throughout its villages. Upcoming events can be found here: