Bugger.
Written By:
- Date published:
1:55 pm, April 10th, 2017 - 45 comments
Categories: humour -
Tags: fred dagg, john clarke
Rest in a peace after a bloody good laugh mate.
An ABC spokesman said Clarke died of natural causes while hiking in Victoria’s Grampians national park at the weekend. – The Guardian
Oh, my heart. John Clarke was the wryly comedic voice of reason for so long. https://t.co/SWZfdE5pdC
— Jane Needham SC (@JaneNeedhamSC) April 10, 2017
the classic Clarke and Dawe "the front fell off" sketch is still as funny (and relevant) today as it was in 1991 https://t.co/tUhVnPA7Ry
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) April 10, 2017
Genius is an over used word these days – but I don't think misplaced when talking about John Clarke. A true talent. #ValeJohnClarke
— Ms T (@MsTrudes) April 10, 2017
Fucking devastating to lose John Clarke. We need him. So much bullshit in the world right now, and he was the best at cutting through it.
— Geoff Lemon 🍋 (@geofflemon) April 10, 2017
John Clarke: Satire loses its statesman https://t.co/6m9stShzK9 #sydneynews
— Sydney News (@SydneyBrk) April 10, 2017
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This is as sad a loss as Murray Ball . We are losing so many of our iconic people, they were social commentators and humorists that ensured that those in power over us were scrutinized and called to account .
RIP John Clarke.
Yes, can’t help but think that despite his many years gone from NZ, he would have been especially needed here at this time.
Losing iconic people isn’t sad. What’s sad is that they’re not being replaced.
So true Draco so true, and so sad.
I was thinking about Clarke on the weekend. I’d been wondering about satire in NZ and where we are at so I looked up White Man Behind A Desk and saw he’s got a TV show now! Fingers crossed he gets a better deal than Clarke did.
I can’t believe it. Only 68. I am never going out in the fresh open air tramping. Far too bloody dangerous.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/renowned-satirist-john-clarke-dead-at-68-20170409-gvhg1r.html
As John would say:
Fair words butter no parsnips.
Words Quotes, by John Clarke , Source: Paroemiologia (p. 21, ed. 1639)
and
http://mrjohnclarke.com/
and
Who owes who, what in the EC?
I wouldn’t stop tramping mate, just did the Tongariro crossing with the old man a few weeks ago. He is 70, and sporting a titanium knee (admittedly he is an extreme example)
Did he have his gumboots?
damn – should always read full thread before commenting 🙂
I can’t think of a better way to go than out tramping and a heart attack/stroke that takes me quickly (I’m guessing that’s what happened).
I was a little disappointed to hear the TV1 newsreader refer to what he was doing as “hiking” – surely the whole thing that Fred Dagg (and John Clarke) represented was the repudiation of overseas RP on radio and TV and the glorification of the NZ accent and NZ words
ropata
For some reason that reminds me of Groucho Marx talking about some thing being so easy it could be done by a child of five. He breaks off to request “Get me a child of five”. When I get a titanium knee I’ll give it a go mate.
Could mod release some other comments I have done between 11 am and 12pm
thanks? I’ll have to delve further into I’m always getting sidelined.
Dammit. I guess he wasn’t wearing his gumboots…
Bugger all right! A genius with a wonderful political compass to boot.
Unfortunately when John left that political compass got booted to touch.
I think he left NZ when Roger Douglas and cronies starting ripping the guts out of the society we once knew. From a 2008 interview:
http://lumiere.net.nz/index.php/a-complete-dagg-an-interview-with-john-clarke/
Many dusty trips were spent in the old Holden station wagon on NZ back roads with Dad singing and joking along to Fred Dagg on cassette
🙁
Raising our kids on our OE we made sure they knew the correct words to things like xmas carols ….
“We 3 kings of orient are,
one in a tractor, one in a car,
one on a scooter tooting a ho-ooter,
following yonder star
Oh star of wonder star of light
star of beauty, that’s the story
styar of glory, that’s the story,
following yonder star”
I so got that wrong, last verse should be:
“Oh star of wonder star of light
star of beauty, she’ll be right
star of glory, that’s the story,
following yonder star”
+1 a classic.
Thanks for that Paul. Gems like that get their best effect when using the simple-sounding well-chosen words. He was definitely a star of wonder but she’ll be right.
My personal favourite from Clarke:
Absolutely agree – the combination of Dawe and Clarke was hilarious. Also his work on The Games. He will be missed, but never forgotten, by a generation of Kiwis.
Dammit. In the referendum we should’ve had a NZ flag with just 2 gumboots on it
R.I.P John Clarke, you made me smile even in my darkest times. You will be surely missed.
Bugger!!
A sane voice (disguised as humour) in an increasingly insane world.
A long necked waddle for peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17NKos-7GCo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Games_(Australian_TV_series)
Steve Keen:
Very moved by his passing.
Still, tramping in the grampians raises an appropriate smile.
John we will forgive you (or I would) if it was just a publicity stunt. I wish.
Of course with family there it must have been real. It must have been beyond belief for them. Deepest sympathy for all.
Here is a lovely little memory piece that John wrote about his mother who was Neva McKenna Clarke and was one of the Women in the War that Gaylene Preston wrote about.
http://mrjohnclarke.com/tinkering/page/2
My comment with reference to John’s mother, refers to her book Angel in God’s Office.
There are some of this book on Trade Me. She was as interesting and lively as her son,
or vice versa.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonfiction/war-military/world-war-ii/auction-1296956354.htm
Giovanni Tiso tells a story about asking Clarke to write for Overland, thinking he would write something satirical but instead Clarke wrote a eulogy for his mother,
https://twitter.com/gtiso/status/851254076452986880
https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-219/feature-john-clarke/
I should have a couple of comments for this post that are floating around or in mod if someone has time to check and get them out.
Nice photo of their Dagg installation … 🙂
Really sorry to hear. John Clarke will be badly missed – he was so clever, so funny.
I can still recall the quickness and wit of the series he did when the Olympic Games were to be held in Sydney – right on the ball, he was. Each episode.
There was another side about Clarke that was endearing, – something to do with the timbre of his voice. You hear it in the broad Aussie accent as well ,… that when these blokes are on the job you feel its in capable hands.
Difficult to describe.
But its warmth, cheerfulness, able to get the job done, gruff but fair , possibly antagonistic to overly academic theory but doing it none the less. Like cops who leap into raging waters to rescue family’s trapped in cars. And there’s the counterpart to that in the Dagg- esses up and down the country. Staunch ,.. and someone you don’t want to cross if they feel small children or young animals may be threatened.
There was a hint of all that in John Clarke’s ‘ Fred Dagg ‘ ,… dammit , … he will be sorely missed.
A sad shock; sympathy to family and friends.
The way Clarke and Dawe skewered authority and politicians (of all shades) was masterful, and Clarke was going strong to the end.
He had such a fine sense of the ridiculousness of some human priorities and pastimes.
Farnarkeling
And thank’s for the Gumboot Song (@4)) – a great anthem and sound advice. Don’t you worry about Daggy Boy…
Too young, Trev. Too young by half.
joe90
That was such a powerful and witty-clever way to show Australian rednecks how they could say ‘sorry’ and show they really mean it.
This was on the ABC’s 7:30 report tonight. My partner said tonight our Thursday night just before news is going to boring now without Clarke & Dawes show.
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2017/s4651571.htm
Suggest folk look up ‘the fast lane’ a comedy he wrote in the mid 80’s and ‘death in brunswick’ a movie he and Sam Neill were central characters in.
IMO they sum up his unique deadpan delivery and the fast lane is regarded by some as one of the finest local sitcoms ever made.
An underrated actor and highly valued writer who often worked behind the scenes as a script editor.
He will be mourned deeply by probably more Aussies than kiwis as melbourne saw his best years of output and Oz public broadcasting gladly gave him the platform to deliver.
RIP John Clark one damm funny human being.
I kept dreaming that somehow he would come back and save us from all the idiots running our country 🙁
See ya Trev….travel well my man.