Jamie Dunn has left behind a wave of sadness.
The comedian was bold and brash and I loved him. He was a shock jock, but he was also a pussy cat underneath all the bravado. The world is a little less bright with his death.
Agro, his beloved shaggy puppet, will be as missed as his naughty owner who made us laugh for more than five decades with his TV shows, radio programs and live entertainment.
I met Jamie more than 20 years ago when we worked in the same radio building. We started our mornings at 4am. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave as he was always working on writing a funny skit for the show or producing plays with character voices. It was a master class for me in proper, old-school radio.
Jamie was at his best on air with that razor-quick wit and interacting with callers who adored him. Off air, he was a true gentleman and even funnier, as he could swear often and say whatever he wanted to, ensuring I was left gobsmacked.
Jamie always carried Agro with him in a little black bag. I saw hundreds of people ask for a selfie with Agro before posting their treasured photo to social media. Jamie was so generous, and even created a painting for me of one fish swimming in the opposite direction to the rest of the school. I guess that one fish was Jamie.
The story he loved best about us both was the day I was on my hands and knees looking for something under the table and my dress had caught on the chair. All Jamie could see when he walked into our office was my backside and giant ‘Bridget Jones’ undies in all their glory. He roared laughing and dined out on the story every time we caught up because he knew I would turn bright red and die a thousand deaths.
I drove into work about five weeks ago just to see Jamie and give him a hug. I am so glad I did. He posted this message to Facebook a few hours later: “Met up with long-time pal Sami today! She’s been a wonderful friend who I respect and love. She’s always been so happy for me and drove into Mix FM especially to catch up with me for ‘sh*ts and giggles’. Real friends like her are hard to come by.”
You are the one who was hard to come by, Mr Dunn. Keep swimming in your own direction in the radio studio in the sky.
Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator, wife and mum of three.
