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Well-known former Christchurch breakfast radio show host Phil Gifford has died aged 79, ending a varied career that spanned more than half a century.
The New Zealand Herald reported Gifford died in Auckland on Tuesday and is survived by his wife Jan and three children.
Gifford wrote several popular rugby books, including Grizz, The Legend, which told the story of Canterbury rugby legend Alex Wyllie and sold 30,000 copies, making it the highest-selling New Zealand sports book of the 1990s.
He also co-hosted a top-rated breakfast show with Simon Barnett on 91ZM Christchurch between 1992 and 1997, before he was enticed to move to the opposition station 92 More FM.
Gifford continued to co-host breakfast on More FM, Christchurch, until 2003 when he moved to Radio Sport.
In 2019, Gifford rejoined Simon Barnett on Newstalk ZB Weekday Afternoons until mid-2021.
As a teenager, Gifford took up a journalism cadetship at the New Zealand Herald in 1965 and emerged as an accomplished writer.
He rose to further prominence in the early 1970s by creating the satirical rugby character "Loosehead Len", who offered anti-establishment commentary on the sport and its culture.
As an author he wrote more than 25 books, mostly sport-related, and often focused on his primary interest of rugby.
Blessed with a laconic turn of phrase and insightful wisdom, he was twice named New Zealand sportswriter of the year, and three times won the sports columnist prize.
He covered numerous rugby internationals and Olympic and Commonwealth Games and developed into a quality broadcaster, both in the sporting sphere and, latterly, as a general talkback host.
In the 2024 New Year's Honours, Gifford was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to broadcasting and sports journalism.
-Allied Media and RNZ