Remembering Big Kev: The sudden death that shocked Australia 20 years on
Big Kev's death 20 years ago this week came with cruel timing - the cleaning product king had lost weight and was ‘thoroughly enjoying life’ before tragedy struck.
‘Big Kev’ McQuay was one of Australia’s best-known quirky figures of the 1990s and early 2000s.
The man, dubbed a “master salesman” was a spruiker extraordinaire whose catchphrase “I’m excited” became a part of the Australian cultural lexicon.
This week marks 20 years since Mr McQuay’s death.
The 56-year-old died at Allamanda Private Hospital at 8.30pm on December 5, 2005.
Mr McQuay’s health suddenly declined, leading to renal failure and a staph infection which caused a fatal heart attack.
His wife Michelle told the Bulletin at the time his death was a “huge shock”.
“He died of staph infection in the end (and) it gave him a heart attack … it’s a huge shock. It all happened quickly – it all happened within a couple of hours,” she said.
“It was an absolute accident (and) he was on the road to recovery.
“He was on a major health kick, had lost weight and was thoroughly enjoying life. He had a big turnaround and then this happened.”
It was a sad end after a difficult few years for the man who came to national fame on daytime television selling his cleaning products.
He was a frequent guest on Bert Newton’s Good Morning Australia in the 1990s.
Taking his company public in the early 2000s, its float on the stock exchange was unsuccessful and saw it take significant losses.
Tributes flowed from across the country.
Premier Peter Beattie led the mourning, saying “Everybody knew Big Kev”.
“He was larger than life. He was a very colourful Gold Coast character and he will really be missed. He had a really big heart and he had a go,” he said.
Close friend Dennis Cobbing remembered Mr McQuay with fondness.
“He was larger than life, but there was a spiritual side to him. He used to carry a Bible around with him in his car,” he said.
“He was one of a kind; a generous man who used to devote a lot of money to charities.
“This was a side of Kev that not many people knew about.”
Mr Cobbing said Mr McQuay was a one-of-a-kind person.
“You never heard him complain when he was hospitalised and you never heard him ever complain when he was hungover,’’ he said.
“He grabbed life by the reins and rode it.
“I spoke with his sons and we have decided that there was only one way to farewell him – to go all out. That is the way Kev would have wanted it.”
Mr McQuay’s funeral did proved to be a colourful affair, with more than 700 people packing into Robina’s Uniting Church to say goodbye
Mourners all wore the colourful Hawaiian shirts associated with Big Kev, with musical tributes featuring songs by The Beatles, Robbie Williams, Frank Sinatra and Simon and Garfunkel.
Mrs McQuay told mourners about how she met her future husband when they were neighbours and developed an “over-the-fence” relationship.
They soon partnered on a series of businesses from Chooka’s takeaway shops to his famous cleaning products.
“In 1991, he was down at Carrara markets putting stain remover on a piece of carpet,’’ she said.
“No one was interested in the carpet, they just wanted the cleaner.”
His sister Lee Wakelin said her brother had long struggled with his weight but had used it to develop his public persona.
“And thus evolved the Big Kev persona and all the excitement which came with it,’’ she told mourners.
“Kev was a showman but had an acute intelligence that belied his public image.”
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