John Clarke (satirist)

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person

John Morrison Clarke (29 July 1948 – 9 April 2017) was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s. He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in both radio and television and also in print. He is principally known for his character Fred Dagg and his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, which lasted from 1989 to his death in 2017, as well as for his success as a comic actor in Australian and New Zealand film and television.

Early life and career

Clarke was born on 29 July 1948 in Palmerston North, New Zealand,<ref name="theaustralian">Template:Cite news</ref> the son of Ted Clarke and Neva Clarke-McKenna.<ref name="Whos who">Template:Cite journal</ref> He moved to Wellington and attended Scots College<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> before studying at Victoria University of Wellington between 1967 and 1970.<ref name="Whos who"/>

Clarke first became known during the mid to late 1970s for portraying a laconic farmer called Fred Dagg on stage, film and television. Gumboot and singlet-clad, Dagg had seven sons all named "Trev".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Clarke also recorded a series of records and cassettes and published several books as Dagg. Over forty years after its release, the first Fred Dagg album, Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits (1976), remains one of New Zealand's biggest selling records. Some of his earliest appearances as Fred Dagg in the Australian media were on the ABC's The Science Show and Dagg later made regular radio appearances on 2JJ until the station moved to FM and was renamed 2JJJ in 1980. An LP of some 2JJ sketches, The Fred Dagg Tapes, was released in 1979.<ref name="stuff.co.nz">Template:Cite news</ref> He relocated to Australia in 1977.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite Q</ref>

In 1984 Clarke was part of the Australian ABC TV series The Gillies Report, starring Max Gillies. Among the highlights of this satire were Clarke's straight-faced reports on the fictional sport of "farnarkeling" and the exploits of Australia's farnarkeling champion, Dave Sorenson.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1998, together with others, Clarke developed the TV series The Games, a satirical series depicting the preparations for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Films

In 1972, he made his first film appearance in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, a film about an expatriate Australian in London.<ref name="theguardian"/> Although Clarke was only an extra, the film's makers, Bruce Beresford and Barry Humphries, instantly recognised his talent; "he was terribly funny and terribly real".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1974 he wrote and appeared (as Ken) in Buck House, a New Zealand comedy TV series set in a student flat.<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />

In 1982, he was nominated for an AFI award for co-writing the acclaimed Paul Cox film Lonely Hearts.<ref name="news.com.au">Template:Cite news</ref> He also co-wrote the mini-series Anzacs<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and provided the voice of Wal Footrot in the feature-length animated film, Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale (1986), based on the comic strips by Murray Ball.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Towards the end of the 1980s, he featured in a number of other films, and began to be known for his political satire.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Clarke featured in several films, including Never Say Die, alongside New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, Death in Brunswick, alongside another New Zealand actor, Sam Neill, and Blood Oath (released in some countries as Prisoners of the Sun).<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema"/>

Mock interviews

Template:Main In 1987<ref name=":1" /> or 1989 Clarke and collaborator Bryan Dawe introduced weekly satirical mock interviews to television, and these short pieces became a regular and popular segment of the Nine Network current affairs programme A Current Affair.<ref name="theaustralian" /> These are described by Robert Phiddian & Jessica Milner as John Clarke's "most sustained comic attack on public mendacity."<ref name=":1" />

Each segment addressed a topical issue, with Dawe acting as the interviewer, while Clarke assumed the persona of a politician or other figure, who typically tries to avoid directly answering any of Dawe's questions. Unusually for the genre, Clarke never attempted to directly mimic the voice, manner or appearance of his subject. This feature set the segments apart from the typical approach to this form of satire, including Clarke's earlier series The Gillies Report (1985–86).<ref name="theguardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

The pair continued to do mock interviews for A Current Affair until 1997, satirising a range of figures including Paul Keating, Alexander Downer, George Bush, and Alan Bond. After a break, the pair reappeared on ABC TV's The 7.30 Report in a similar format.<ref name="theaustralian" /> In 2013 the mock interviews became an eponymous program, Clarke and Dawe, which screened on ABC TV. The interviews were broadcast weekly on ABCTV and were made available online on both the ABC and on YouTube and for retail sale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> This format of mock interviews was continued by John Bird and John Fortune on the British TV show Bremner, Bird and Fortune from 1999 onwards.

The interviews have been compiled into books and CD releases. Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century won the ARIA Award for Best Australian Comedy Album in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved 23 July 2009.</ref> The Annual Report won the same award in 1992 and Secret Men's Business was nominated in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved 23 July 2009.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved 23 July 2009.</ref>

Later career

Clarke had a commercial success in 1998, when he co-wrote (with Ross Stevenson) and starred (with Dawe and Gina Riley) in The Games, a mockumentary about the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG).<ref name="theguardian"/> In 2001, Billy Connolly starred in a film based on Clarke's screenplay The Man Who Sued God (re-written by Don Watson).<ref name="radiolive">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002 Clarke appeared in a villainous role in the movie Crackerjack<ref name="variety">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and as a comedy club owner in the award-winning telemovie Roy Hollsdotter Live.<ref name=Kuipers>Template:Cite magazine</ref> After a quiet period, he re-emerged in 2004, adapting Melbourne author Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan series for film. This resulted in two films, Stiff and The Brush-Off, both starring David Wenham and Mick Molloy. Clarke directed Stiff himself and made a cameo appearance in The Brush-Off, which was directed by his old friend Sam Neill.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Clarke was the author of several books, notably two mock compilations of Australian poetry, and The Tournament, a book describing a fictional tennis tournament involving many philosophical and literary figures of the twentieth century.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During the 1980s, Clarke was an influential Board member of Film Victoria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2004 he was the recipient of the Byron Kennedy Award, "for his works of sustained excellence and for the inspiration he presents to all of us in his roles as poet, playwright, actor, author, director and producer."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Clarke was patron of the Australian Poetry Centre, launched in June 2007, one of the forerunners of the national peak body for poets, Australian Poetry.<ref name=wollongong>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved 23 July 2009.</ref> The Logie was presented to him by long-time collaborator and friend Bryan Dawe.<ref name="businessinsider">Template:Cite news</ref> At the ARIA Music Awards of 2017 his posthumous album, Clarke's Classics, won the award for Best Comedy Release in October of that year.<ref name="ARIA noms">Template:Cite web</ref>

Death and legacy

On 9 April 2017, Clarke died of a heart attack while on a bushwalk up Mount Abrupt<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in the Grampians National Park, Victoria.<ref name="abc">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="theguardian" /> Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the opposition Bill Shorten, and New Zealand prime minister Bill English paid tribute to his role as a political satirist; Turnbull saying that "His satire served a noble purpose. It spoke truth to power. It made our democracy richer and stronger. It kept politicians on their toes."<ref name="abc" />

Long-time collaborator Bryan Dawe said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, "He'd never forget what was going on in your life", and paid tribute to their partnership; "The trick with John was he had these sparkling eyes. He was a mischief maker and his eyes went looking for mischief. You could see it and it would set you off. Neither of us could look at each other when we were doing the show." He added, "It was always about the audience. And now he's gone." Episodes of Clarke & Dawe were re-released online and interviews with the pair were repeated on ABC Radio in the wake of Clarke's death.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Clarke's work was presented on ABC radio and television over a period of nearly 30 years. In tribute to him and his work, the ABC repeated many pieces after his death, including his guest presentation for ABC Classic FM from October 2016 and the three-part documentary Sporting Nation, repeated on ABC television. ABC television also screened a program containing tributes from Dawe and other friends, politicians, colleagues and comedians entitled John Clarke: Thanks for Your Time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Comedian and fellow New Zealander Tony Martin delivered a tribute to Clarke at the 2017 Logie Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Clarke and his works are the subject of an academic study in the journal Comedy Studies. The study was written and compiled by New Zealand film producer and writer Paul Horan in collaboration with film researcher and archivist Mark Hutchings.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Fred Award, named after Clarke's character Fred Dagg, is the top award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival and has been presented since 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards added a category in 2024 named the John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing for works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His daughter Lorin Clarke published the memoir Would that be funny? in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She also directed But Also John Clarke, a feature-length documentary about her father which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

  • The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) – Expatriate<ref name="theguardian"/>
  • Buck House (1974) TV Series – Ken (1975) (also writer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • The Wonderful World of Fred Dagg (1975) TV Series – Fred Dagg (also writer)<ref name="The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Fred Dagg Live: A Bit of a Dagg (1976) (TV) – Fred Dagg (also writer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Dagg Day Afternoon (1977) – Fred Dagg (also writer/director)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Wild Man (1977) – Dr. Frederick Z. Daggenheimer<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Lonely Hearts (1982) – Alan (also writer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • The Gillies Report (1984) TV Series – Various including Farnarkeling Expert (also writer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • The Fast Lane (1985–1987) – Writer & creator (alongside Andrew Knight)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Man and Boy (1986) – Man asking directions (also writer/director)<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema" />
  • A Matter of Convenience (1987) (TV) – Joe McGuiness<ref name="nzherald">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale (1986) (voice) – Wal<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Les Patterson Saves the World (1987) – Mike Rooke<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema" />
  • Those Dear Departed (1987) – Insp. Jerry<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema" />
  • Never Say Die (1988) – Car salesman<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • A Current Affair – Mock Interviews (1989–1997) (also writer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Blood Oath (1990) – Sheedy<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Death in Brunswick (1991) – Dave<ref name="theguardian"/>
  • Stark (1993) (TV) – Magistrate<ref name="The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • The Alive Tribe (1997) – Coach Smith<ref name="The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema" />
  • The Problem With Men (1997) TV Series – Himself (also writer)<ref name="The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television" />
  • The Games (1998) TV Series – John (1998–2000) (also writer/executive producer)<ref name="theguardian"/>
  • Crackerjack (2002) – Bernie Fowler<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Roy Hollsdotter Live (2003) (TV) – Mike<ref name=Kuipers />
  • Stiff (2004) (TV) – (writer/director/producer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • The Brush-Off (2004) (TV) – Ken Sproule (also writer/producer)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Kath & Kim (2004) – Paul Collins
  • Bro'Town (2006, 2009) (TV) guest<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (2007) (Stage Musical) (Script writer/May Gibbs book adaptation)<ref name="abc" />
  • A Month of Sundays (2015) – Phillip Lang<ref name="A Month of Sundays review – schleppy tale of Adelaide real-estate ">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Sporting Nation (2016) – (writer/presenter)
  • The Ex-PM (2015–2017) TV Series – Henry<ref name="theguardian"/>

Books

  • Fred Dagg's Year (1975)<ref name="The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature"/>
  • The Thoughts of chairman Fred (1976)<ref name="The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature"/>
  • The Fred Dagg Careers Advisory Bureau (1978)<ref name="dailytelegraph">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • The Fred Dagg Scripts (1981)<ref name="Australian Book Review, Issues 38-47">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Daggshead Revisited (1982)<ref name="Who's Who of Australian Writers">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • The Complete Book of Australian Verse (1989)<ref name="dailytelegraph" />
  • A Complete Dagg (1989)<ref name="Who's Who of Australian Writers" />
  • Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century (1990)<ref name="Who's Who of Australian Writers" />
  • A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy (1991) (with Ross Stevenson)<ref name="Who's Who of Australian Writers" />
  • More Great Interviews (1992). St Leonards, N.S.W., Allen and Unwin. Template:ISBN
  • The Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse (1994) Template:ISBN
  • A Dagg at My Table: Selected Writings (1996)Template:Sfn
  • Still the Two (1997)<ref name="Who's who in Australia">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • The Games (1999) (with Ross Stevenson)<ref name="stuff.co.nz" />
  • The Games II: Sharing the Blame (2000) (with Ross Stevenson) Template:ISBN
  • The Tournament (2002) Template:ISBN
  • The Howard Miracle (2003) Template:ISBN
  • The 7.56 report (2006) Template:ISBN
  • The Catastrophe Continues: Selected Interviews (2008) Template:ISBN
  • Tinkering: The Complete Book of John Clarke (2017) Template:ISBN

Discography

Studio and live albums

List of albums with Australian chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
<ref name=aus>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Cite book</ref>
Credited as Fred Dagg
Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits
  • Released: 1975
  • Label: EMI (DAGG 1)
  • Format: LP, Cassette
 –
Fred Dagg Live
  • Released: 1976
  • Label: EMI (DAGG 3)
  • Format: LP, Cassette
 –
The Fred Dagg Tapes
  • Released: 1979
  • Label: EMI (EMC 159)
  • Format: LP, CD
 36
Credited as John Clarke
Swim Between the Flags
  • Released: 1987
  • Label: Festival (L38874)
  • Format: LP, CD
 –
Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century
(with Bryan Dawe)
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: WEA (903172769-2)
  • Format: LP, CD, Cassette
 49
The Annual Report
(with Bryan Dawe)
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: WEA (903175998-2)
  • Format: CD, Cassette
 94
Secret Men's Business
(with Bryan Dawe)
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Columbia (487108-2)
  • Format: CD
 –
The Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse –
Clarke's Classics –

Compilation albums

List of compilation
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
NZ<ref name="NZchart">Template:Cite web</ref>
Fred Dagg Anthology
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Columbia (489885-2)
  • Format: CD, Cassette
 2
The Taihape Years
  • Released: August 2008
  • Label: Jigsaw
  • Format: CD, DD
 34

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. John Clarke has won three awards from four nominations. Template:Awards table |- | 1991 | Great Interviews of the 20th Century Template:Small | rowspan="4"| Best Comedy Release | Template:Won |- | 1992 | The Annual Report Template:Small | Template:Won |- | 1997 | Secret Men's Business Template:Small | Template:Nom |- | 2017 | Clarke's Classics | Template:Won |- Template:End

References

Template:Reflist 

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0164819|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0164819/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+John+Clarke%0A++++++%7C+John+Clarke%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if:  0164819 {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: John Clarke
 | John Clarke
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0164819{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0164819|plain=false}} 

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

Template:Byron Kennedy Award

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=John_Clarke_(satirist)&oldid=535882"