Dancing got Cocksy his break
Turns out it wasn’t his building skills that helped get John Cocks his big television break.
That’s according to the woman who first took a chance on him – veteran television producer Julie Christie.
Reflecting on her multiple collaborations (My House My Castle,
Angels) with the beloved builder, after the 52-year-old’s death on Wednesday from kidney cancer, she said the first thing she noticed about him was his dancing.
‘‘It was the late-1990s and we were auditioning for people to be a part of our new reality show
As part of it, we wanted to do things that would take them out of their comfort zone and his dancing was so bad. He was like an old hippie, even when was young that’s why cast him.’’
However,
Christie says he proved his worth in other areas, which led to him becoming a fixture on television screens for more than a decade.
‘‘He really had a phenomenal ability to do anything. He had a No 8 wire mentality. He won
[in 2001] and that was because he could make anything out of anything ... He personified the Kiwi bloke.’’
Virtually always clad in surfie shorts and ‘‘a man who shaved his head before it was trendy to have it shaved’’, Christie said he was ‘‘just a really good friend to everybody’’.
It was sentiment echoed by Cocks’ co-star April Ieremia. ‘‘One of the kindest men on the planet,’’ she posted online.
And, noting that Cocks appeared on some of TVNZ’s biggest shows, a spokeswoman for the state broadcaster said their sympathies were with John’s family and friends.
She believed viewers ‘‘appreciated his can-do attitude, his honesty and warmth’’. he – he