Radio personality and agricultural puppeteer Jimmy Dunne dies at 76 | radio

Jimmy Dunne, the veteran radio personality who unleashed the Aggro puppet on Australia, entertaining children and adults alike for decades, has died at the age of 76.

Dan, once Australia’s longest-serving breakfast radio show host, died on Saturday.

The Brisbane radio presenter, who made a sharp-furred Agro Vision doll out of a bath rug, is remembered as a wanderer and artist.

Introducing Agro on the Seven Network’s children’s show Wombat in the 1980s, Dunn also brought his creativity to Agro’s Cartoon Connection, which aired on the network from 1990 to 1997.

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On radio, Dan co-hosted Brisbane’s top-rated breakfast show on B105 for 16 years before leaving the program in 2005.

Dunn was remembered by fellow radio personalities for his courage and unapologetic sense of humor.

Dan was one of those people you’ll never forget, said Cartoon Connection co-host Jill Rae Black.

“You either love it or hate it and sometimes both at the same time!!!!” she said on social media.

Ranger Stacey, who worked with Dan on television, said his death left a huge hole in the air.

“Jimmy was wonderful, funny, intelligent and above all a kind and loyal friend,” she told TV industry news website TV Blackbox.

For 10 years, Robin Bailey sat opposite Dan on B105, where she says he taught her the craft behind his “legendary” storytelling ability.

“Jimmy was a pioneer in our industry,” she said. “I am so grateful to be in his orbit.”

4BC Radio presenter Gary Hardgrave paid tribute to his old friend, saying he was a true entertainer.

He said Dan always liked to joke around, and take the “you know what” side of things, but he was also a family man with many children through two marriages.

“He had a lot of fun in his life. He had some challenges in his life, but he was always entertaining throughout his life,” Hardgrave said.

Brisbane Mayor Adrian Shriner praised the intelligence of the “proud Brisbane talent” who brought joy to millions of children like him who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s.

“Agro’s Cartoon Connection was a daily dose of mayhem, laughter and cheeky humour,” he said.

In December, Dunne said he was in talks with Channel 7 to bring back a one-hour special of Agro Up Late in 2026.