Dai Henwood pays tearful tribute to his father, acting legend Ray Henwood

It was a funeral where a comedian drew tears and one of the biggest laughs came from a judge.

As his crisp white casket dressed with red and white roses sat centre stage at Wellington's State Opera House on Monday afternoon, TV star Dai Henwood bid a tearful farewell to his father, renowned actor Ray Henwood who died last week.

"Dad, I know that you were proud of me, and as a son that means a lot. I am proud of you and I have always looked up to you. I am grateful for the pies and the coffees we shared.

"You make me a better man and as your soul is carried by the warm wind, I want you to know that you are always a part of me. I love you Dad, and you rest amongst the stars. Goodbye," a teary Dai said.

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In one of the lighter moments, Dai told a story about how the funeral was organised by a man called Simon Manning.

He then went on to publicly apologise to former Warriors' captain Simon Mannering "for all of the emails you've got about my Dad's funeral over the past week".

Many of Dai Henwood's 7 Days colleagues were at the service, including Jeremy Corbett and Paul Ego. Ben Hurley was also one of six pallbearers, alongside Dai.

Other notable attendees included Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Governor-General Anand Satyanand.

"It is quite a good house - they have opened up the dress circle," long-time colleague and friend Colin McColl told Henwood's casket.

The good, the great and the eccentric turned out to celebrate 82-year-old Ray's life, a man who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film and theatre in 2006.

Among those to speak were Ian Fraser, Sir Roger Hall, Tom Scott, Hugh Rennie, Colin McColl and Cathy Downes, paying tribute to Henwood born in Swansea, Wales, on January 15, 1937.

Henwood's Welsh roots were a common point of reference throughout the service, ranging from "a passionate New Zealander who just happened to be Welsh" through to the more comical, "Tom Jones with a thesaurus".

It was a few hundred metres away from the Opera House where Henwood played one of his best roles - establishing his beloved Circa Theatre in the capital.

It was there where a "passionate" Henwood did everything from changing lightbulbs through to handing out hundreds of leaflets at local fairs and even "fought like a tiger at theatre meetings".

Ray's wife of 50 years, Judge Carolyn Henwood said the Gliding On star was "a free man, a thinker, a brain box."

She also said that while Henwood was gone, Circa Theatre would live on. "No one can stop the flame."

With parliamentarians in attendance, Carolyn Henwood even made a pointed joke about the lack of Government funding for the arts, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Henwood was to be cremated in a private ceremony on Monday. He is survived by Carolyn, Dai and his two grandchildren.