Brisbane radio and TV veteran, Jim Iliffe, has died in a private hospital, aged 83, after complications from a recent fall.

Iliffe hosted one of Brisbane’s longest running children’s TV shows, ‘Channel Niners’, from 1959 until the mid ’70s.

He also opened Brisbane’s first radio and TV school, AIR-TV, in 1952 while working as a radio announcer.

Wife, Melody, has told Natalie Gregg in The Courier-Mail that her husband dedicated his life to young people.

“He meant a lot to people when he was on television and discovered a whole new life when he retired.

“He was dedicated to young people and he had a great rapport with them.”

4KQ News’ Director, John Knox, who helped run AIR-TV for many years, has told Gregg that Iliffe will be sadly missed.

“I met him when he came to work at 4IP as a morning announcer in 1962.

“He was the sort of guy who wouldn’t have a single enemy in the world.

“I’ve never heard a bad world said against him.”

Knox says Iliffe was credited with discovering Kerri-Anne Kennerley. He remembers Iliffe coming to his church as a guest speaker about a year ago.

“He held the audience in the palm of his hand with funny stories.”

Iliffe wrote two books, one of them about working in the radio and television industry.

His funeral will he held at 10am tomorrow at St Andrew’s Church, Indooroopilly.