FEATURE: SUZY CATO
Sunlight and shower ballads: How Suzy shines through
By Heather Barker Vermeer
Sprinkling a little sunshine – it’s what Suzy Cato does. Just like the words in her hit children’s song, Suzy has uplifted, educated and inspired millions through decades in children’s TV and radio. And the North Shore-based national treasure continues to bring hope and happiness wherever she goes. With her powers of positivity perhaps needed now more than ever, Suzy sat down with Channel’s Heather Barker Vermeer for a shot of sunshine and storytelling… Born in Brisbane to Kiwi parents, Suzy’s family moved to New Zealand when she was just one month old. After five years in Hamilton, the family moved to the Bay of Islands, where she and her younger sister were raised in the small town of Kaikohe. Contemplating a quiet life in the country, 17 year-old Suzy did a secondary school work experience stint radio broadcasting with Radio Northland, in Whangarei. It lit a torch in the previously ‘shy and angsty’ teen. Taking a punt on her newfound passion, she decided to pursue radio broadcasting and after a couple of years in Whangarei with KCC FM, as one of the youngest female Kiwi broadcasters at that time, she moved down to ‘the big smoke’ to take her career a step further. “Coming to Auckland was rather daunting,” she recalls. “I didn’t think I’d like city life at all – I was such a country girl. I wasn’t sure it would suit me, but I discovered I loved the buzz! Young Suzy began flatting in Hauraki Corner in the late 1980s. “I began on 91FM with ‘Muzza in the Morning’, beaming out of the heart of Takapuna, from a two-storey building on Campbell Road.” There, she met another young broadcaster called Steve, and the pair began a radio station romance that would eventually lead to marriage. Following a fairy tale-style wedding, complete with horse and carriage, the couple moved to Birkenhead and have loved living there ever since. “I fell in love with Auckland,” she says. “And I fell in love here with the man who is now my husband. We love living on the Shore. In Hauraki Corner I loved having the beach so close by. In Birkenhead the beaches are still so close and there are gorgeous bush walks and pockets of farmland on your doorstep. “I love the simple things, like the tranquility of the bush, and seeing the horse paddocks on my walks. Our family has always loved Onepoto Domain and Little Shoal Bay. And I love the work of so many local organisations, such as Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust and the family events it puts on.” Suzy’s career in children’s broadcasting came about through conversations and charisma. Besides radio, she was did a stint as a photographer’s assistant and for a time also worked with a record company transporting celebrities to guest appearances on children’s entertainment shows. It was through this she struck up a conversation with the executive producer of The Early Bird Show. “I remember talking to the producer about how I felt a children’s presenter should connect with their audience in a way that includes them and isn’t just about voyeurism. That was exactly what they were looking for, he told me, and he felt I had the right kind of personality to be able to do this. Soon after, he offered me a presenting role.” From 1990, she hosted The Early Bird Show, until the show ended in 1993. She also hosted the show 3PM, joining the team
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Issue 140 - April 2023 www.channelmag.co.nz
in designing the show from props and set elements to the on-air content. “That was really empowering,” she says. “I had just turned 21 at the time and it really gave me a sense of voice and involvement.” Keen to develop her all-round entertainment abilities, Suzy enrolled with well-known North Shore singing coach Janice Webb for vocal training. This gave her the confidence to audition for pre-school show You and Me. She landed the role presenting and singing on the popular programme, travelling to Dunedin for two weeks of each month, for five years, to film the show. Like all good fairy tales, Suzy’s story hasn’t all been plain sailing. Her lust for life has had to be rebuilt from professional and personal setbacks. Abrupt redundancy hit her hard – financially and emotionally – and the misery of multiple miscarriages is a place Suzy knows all too well. “I hold onto the belief that things do tend to happen for a reason,” she says. “This can be hard to understand at the time because you are so overwhelmed with pain and frustration. Life can be tough.” Beyond the tears, she learned to develop her own coping mechanisms. “I found solace in my walks in nature. And there’s nothing like belting out a good old power ballad in the shower! That can do wonders for you, I find.”