Matt Heath (actor)

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Matt Heath
Born
Leslie Matthew Heath

20 April
Oxford, England[1]
NationalityNew Zealand
Occupation(s)Media personality, actor, musician

Leslie Matthew Heath is a New Zealand actor, producer, radio host, sports commentator, columnist and musician. He played Danny Parker on Back Of The Y Masterpiece Television and Dick Johansonson in the feature film The Devil Dared Me To. He was guitarist and singer for the 2000s band Deja Voodoo.[2] He has worked on shows for MTV2 in the UK and appeared on Eating Media Lunch. Heath hosts the Matt and Jerry Breakfast Show with Jeremy Wells on Radio Hauraki.[3][4][5] He has been a columnist for The New Zealand Herald since June 2014[6] and provides cricket commentary for The Alternative Commentary Collective.[2][7] Heath runs the motion graphics company Vinewood Animation Studios with Philip Brough.[8] In 2018, he co-hosted The Moment with Mike Lane on TVNZ Duke throughout the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[9] Heath is the author of a cookbook titled "The Best of Leslie's Kitchen".[10]

Personal life[edit]

Born on the 20th of April,[11] Heath was given the first name Leslie as a tribute to his mother's favourite actor Leslie Nielsen. Co-host Jeremy Wells announced Heath's legal name on the Hauraki Breakfast Show, prompting Heath to acknowledge while his birth certificate says Leslie, he goes by the name Matt and would like an apology.[12][13] As a result of this, several listeners of the breakfast show submitted parodied songs making fun of Heath's birth name.[14][15][16][17]

In a Twelve Questions interview with the New Zealand Herald, Heath reveals his father Christopher Heath was in medicine, often referring to him as Doctor Heath during the Hauraki Breakfast radio show. Heath's mother taught languages at secondary level and he was the only boy in a family of 3 sisters.[18]

Heath has two children, Charlie and Barry Heath,[19] with Lani Purkis.[18][20] In 2018, Heath mentioned on his radio show that he was no longer together with Purkis.[21] They previously lived in the suburb of Mount Eden in Auckland.[2]

Television[edit]

Heath was a contestant in series 2 of Taskmaster NZ, a show hosted by his radio colleague, Wells.[22] In 2023, Heath appeared on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Feel My Bean". Taskmaster. Series 2. Episode 5. 4 August 2021. TVNZ. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Matt Heath". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Stars to Host New Look Hauraki Breakfast" (Press release). Radio Hauraki. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2021 – via Scoop.
  4. ^ "The Matt & Jerry Show". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ Heath, Matt. "Matt Heath". The Spinoff. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Matt Heath Archive". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Alternative Commentary Collective to continue broadcasts". Stuff. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. ^ "CONTACT | Vinewood Animation". vinewoodanimation. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. ^ "How TVNZ finally seized The Moment". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  10. ^ Shuker, Joe. "Introducing 'The Best of Leslie's Kitchen' cookbook". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. ^ "A very (un)Happy Birthday surprise for Matt Heath". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Best of the Matt & Jerry Show - May 27 2020". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Matt & Jerry's Sports Chat with Scotty J - August 3 2020". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Matt reacts to the "Leslie" version of a Pearl Jam song". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. ^ "A listener sent in a "Leslie Heath" song". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Now That's What I Call Leslie: Volume Heath". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  17. ^ ""Simply The Les" - Here's another 'Leslie Heath' song". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Twelve Questions: Matt Heath". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. 15 December 2014. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. ^ Baser, Darryl (12 July 2008). "Baby coming along". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  20. ^ McKee, Hannah (28 February 2017). "Elemeno P frontman ready for Homegrown reunion". Stuff. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Matt Heath: Top Tips for a single Dad". Radio Hauraki. NZME. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Taskmaster NZ to return with new line up of comedians". Stuff. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

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