{"id":327060,"date":"2022-11-29T09:49:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T23:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=327060"},"modified":"2022-11-29T19:13:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T09:13:00","slug":"merry-medic-dies-aged-94","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/11\/29\/merry-medic-dies-aged-94\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Merry Medic’ Dies, Aged 94"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Dr John Knight AM aka “merry medic” Dr James Wright
(Photo: Celebrity Speakers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 29, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australia’s “merry medic” Dr James Wright – real name Dr John Franklin Knight AM – has died aged 94.<\/p>\n

His “merry medic” health spots have been broadcast on radio stations for decades, including the South Burnett where his voice would be familiar to thousands of listeners.<\/p>\n

Dr Knight’s 50-year multi-media career spanned newspaper columns, regular television appearances on the Mike Walsh Show and The Midday Show, as well as radio shows.<\/p>\n

He was also a popular celebrity guest speaker, and wrote almost 30 books, including an autobiography “Dr James Wright: Adventures of a Merry Medic”, published in 2016.<\/p>\n

His medical career included a spell as a country GP in NSW before setting up a family practice in Sydney where he worked well into his 80s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Knight and his wife Noreen set up a charitable foundation to receive funds from his media work.<\/p>\n

According to his friend Bruce Ferrier, Dr Knight donated more than $50 million from this charity to subsidise housing for older people.<\/p>\n

He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1998 for his work in media and philanthropy.<\/p>\n

His AM citation reads: “For service to the community through philanthropic contributions, in particular the establishment of the Medi-Aid Centre Foundation, and as an advocate through the media of public health and medical issues.”<\/p>\n

Dr Knight, who died on November 27, is survived by his four children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia’s “merry medic” Dr James Wright – real name Dr John Knight AM – has died.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":327062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[1551],"yoast_head":"\n'Merry Medic' Dies, Aged 94 - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Australia's "merry medic" Dr James Wright - real name Dr John Franklin Knight AM - has died aged 94.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/11\/29\/merry-medic-dies-aged-94\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Merry Medic' Dies, Aged 94 - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australia's "merry medic" Dr James Wright - 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