Jeremy Mansfield

Robert Jeremy Clayton Mansfield (15 August 1963 – 31 October 2022) was a South African radio and television celebrity. He worked on numerous radio stations as a presenter, and also presented numerous television shows and inserts for popular television magazine programs.

Jeremy Mansfield
Born
Robert Jeremy Mansfield

(1963-08-15)15 August 1963
Grahamstown, Cape Province, South Africa
Died31 October 2022(2022-10-31) (aged 59)
South Africa
NationalitySouth African citizenship
Other namesJem Jerome
EducationKingswood College
Alma materRhodes University
OccupationRadio presenter
Known forRadio presenting, television presenting, journalism, philanthropy
Spouses
  • Cornelia Agnes Schulz (1988 - 1997)
  • Jacqui Thompson (2003 - )
ChildrenGabriella Mansfield
ParentPeter & Veron

Early life

Mansfield was born in Grahamstown, South Africa.[1] He attended school at Kingswood College. He remained in Grahamstown attending Rhodes University, where he studied speech, Drama and Journalism.[1]

Media career

Radio

In 1985, while at university, he started working for the Durban-based radio station Capital Radio 604.[1] During the same year, he was awarded the AA Vita Award as The Most Promising Young South African Actor. In 1990, Mansfield left Capital Radio (then broadcasting from Johannesburg). He was recruited to work for Super Sport on M-Net and was requested to do sport on the John Berks show on the Primedia-owned 702 Talk Radio.[2]

Mansfield's popularity continued to grow, and in 1993, he was appointed as a regular presenter of 702's Saturday Afternoon magazine program.[1] In 1995, Mansfield took over hosting of the afternoon show.[1]

In 1997, Mansfield moved to 702 Talk Radio's sister station 94.7 Highveld Stereo where he created and hosted the hugely popular weekday breakfast show, The Rude Awakening which at its peak was the most commercially successful show in southern Africa. [1] In 2009, he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and received six months of medical treatment.[1] In June 2010, Mansfield announced he would be leaving the show. He hosted his last show on Monday 12 July 2010.[3][4]

Jeremy Mansfield returned to radio in November 2018 as the host of the breakfast show, "Mansfield in the Morning", on community radio station, Hot 91.9fm.

Television and film

In the mid-1990s, Mansfield started appearing as a features contributor and guest presenter on South African Pay television channels M-Net for Front Row and SuperSport. In 1998 he left the channel and started presenting A Word or 2,[5][6] on SABC 2. The show ran for 10 seasons.

In 2005, Mansfield co-presented the M-Net comedy show Laugh Out Loud for two seasons.

In 2010, Mansfield was cast in Disney's local release of Toy Story 3 as the voice of Lifer.[7]

In 2010, Mansfield hosted his own weekly finance show, Mansfield's Moneysense on CNBC Africa.[8]

Mansfield presented Mansfield2day on the YouTube channel of the same name.

CDs and books

Mansfield released five CDs containing characters he created on-air, humorous stories and songs (most of which he wrote himself) poking fun at many South African personalities and situations.

Mansfield wrote a number of joke books, of which Vrot Jokes (ISBN 978-1-86872-335-5) is a South African bestseller.

He co-authored multi award-winning contemporary cookbook titled Zhoozsh! (ISBN 978-1-77007-785-0) in February 2009 with his wife, Jacqui. It won amongst other awards; Best Cook Book in South Africa and won Third Best Cook Book in the World at the Gourmand Awards. Their second cookbook, Zhoozsh! Faking It (ISBN 9781770078659) is also an award-winner. Both books are best-sellers.

Death

Mansfield was diagnosed with liver cancer in January 2022 after previously battling cirrhosis. He died on 31 October 2022, at the age of 59.[9][1]

Awards and accolades

1985: AA Vita Award as The Most Promising Young South African Actor

1996–2010: Best Radio Personality of the year (Best of Johannesburg Readers' Choice Awards) wins 14 years in a row

1996–2010: Best Radio Show wins 14 years in a row

2004: The only radio personality to make the Top 100 South Africans list

Won Leisure Options' Most Popular Personality

2008: Three wins in the South African sector of the Gourmand Cookbook Awards: wins Book of the Year, Innovative and Media for 'Zhoozsh!'

2008: Zhoozsh! wins Bronze as Third Best Cookbook in the World at London ceremony on 13 April

2008: 'Zhoozsh!'wins Random House Struik Best Seller of the Year

2009: You magazine wins Radio Personality of the Year 2009

2011: Zhoozsh! Faking It wins South Africa's Easy Cook Book in the South African sector of the Gourmand Cookbook Awards

2019 Liberty Radio Awards: Community Radio category: wins Best Breakfast Show Presenter, Best Breakfast Show for "Mansfield in the Morning" and his show wins Best Content Producer

2020: He wins both Breakfast Show Presenter and Best Breakfast Show again.

Charity work
  • The Christmas Wish:
  • Hear for Life Trust: the Hear for Life Trust was established out of the Christmas Wish. The trust was set up to assist in Cochlear implants to needy individuals who can not otherwise afford the procedures.[10]
  • He was a patron, along with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, of The Sunflower Fund[11] and an Ambassador of Hope for them
  • He was an Honorary Member of the SA Chef's Association.[12]
  • Jeremy was also an ambassador for the Springbok Rugby Supporter's Club.
  • Recipient of the first SAB Inqaba Award (2010)

Mansfield was thanked personally by South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela for the charity work he had done which raised over R12 million.

References
  1. Wagner, Leonie (11 September 2022). "Cancer is no joke..unless you're Jeremy Mansfield". Sunday Times (South Africa). p. 15.
  2. "Primedia Website". Primedia. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  3. "Mansfield hosts last Rude Awakening". Independent Online (IOL). Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  4. "Mansfield leaves Breakfast FM". News24.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  5. "Different People, Different Nations, DIFFERENT GAMES!: A Word or 2 (South Africa, 2004)". Brother's Bar. Archived from the original on 26 May 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  6. Stemmet, Johan (Executive Producer). "A Word or 2: Official site". Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. "Jeremy Mansfield in Toy Story 3 : News24: Entertainment: South Africa". Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  8. Gordon, Doug (14 July 2010). "South Africa: New Horizons Await Radio-Whiz Mansfield". allAfrica. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. McKay, Bronwyn. "Radio legend Jeremy Mansfield, 59, has died". News24 Channel. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  10. broadcasting, PMB. "Hear for life with 947 and Bidvest". www.hearforlife.co.za. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  11. "The Sunflower Fund | non-profit organisation | stem cell donors | blood disease". The Sunflower Fund. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  12. "The South African Chefs Association - Cultivate a community. Celebrate a craft". The South African Chefs Association. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
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