Veteran New Zealand radio star Lindsay Yeo died on Tuesday aged 78, following a long illness.
The iconic broadcaster hosted Wellington’s top rated breakfast show on commercial station 2ZB for 25 years, from 1972 to 1997.
His upbeat demeanour and hilarious banter became a firm fixture of NZ radio.
He regularly dominated in the ratings, at one point engaging with more than 50 per cent of listeners.
Born in the South Island in 1946, Lindsay began his radio career in 1964 as a copywriter, but quickly learned his real talent lie in presenting.
He also created the iconic children’s character Buzz O’Bumble, a human-sized bee known for his cheeky antics, who regularly appeared in the stations ads, in 1973.
The character became a huge hit among the stations younger listeners, with people regularly dressing up in Buzz costumes for children’s parties.
In 2022, Wellington Museum commemorated the iconic character with a permanent exhibit.
Veteran New Zealand radio star Lindsay Yeo (pictured) died on Tuesday aged 78, following a long illness
Buzz was so popular across the nation that plush toys and soundtrack albums were released featuring the character.
Several of his relatives followed him into showbusiness, including his namesake nephew Lindsay, who is a popular singer and actress across NZ.
For a quarter of a century he engaged listeners with his hilarious and engaging talk shows.
Throughout his celebrated career he also hosted programs on Classic Hits FM and TVNZ’s Top Dance, and often toured the country with live shows.
The iconic broadcaster hosted Wellington’s top rated breakfast show on commercial station 2ZB for 25 years, from 1972 to 1997. He also created the iconic children’s character Buzz O’ Bumble in 1973, a human-sized bee known for his cheeky antics
However, in 1997 Lindsay was informed 2ZB was switching to a more hard news format.
The radio legend opted to enjoy an early retirement at age 51.
Lindsay is survived by his wife Jan and their four children.
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