Satirist John Clarke, of Clarke and Dawe fame, dies aged 68

[gary]

New Zealanders will remember him under his alter ego, Fred Dagg.

He was walking along a track near Mt Abrupt around 11am on Sunday when he collapsed.

Obituary here at ABC :-
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-1...ged-68/8430174

Obituary here at Sydney Morning herald :-
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/...09-gvhg1r.html

[deanm (Dean)]

A great loss - I didn't know he was a Kiwi.
Dean

[glend (Glen)]

Yes sad news. I always enjoyed their pieces when they appeared on tv.

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

Sad indeed .... I always like the ABC ' skit ' when he played the part of a Politician being interviewed .

Always made me laugh ..!!

Col....

[pmrid (Peter)]

YEs, sad for his family and also Bryan Dawe, his TV partner.
I can think of one or two people on IIS whose "tongue-in-cheek"sense of satire/humor/sarcasm/wit would make a very good substitute.
Peter

[astroron (Ron)]

A great loss to be sure
RIP John

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

This one is quite sad. Really enjoyed his work.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

I just heard and I'm feeling a little gutted. The man was a comic genius. Fred Dagg used to be on 2JJ in the mornings and I regularly laughed while trying to eat my cereal - very messy. Then his show 'The Games' managed to predict every debacle of the 2000 Olympics just before it really happened. And of course Clarke and Dawe has been a Thursday night staple for years and years. Tony Burke (of all people) put it well .... "John Clark didn't need voices or mannerisms. He worked out the weaknesses in our arguments,gaps in our reasoning, and used satire perfectly."

At least he died doing what he loved and didn't linger in pain.

[JA]

Rest in Peace

[sharkbite]

Ooroo Fred - see ya labour weekend...

[Ric]

Very sad indeed.

He wasn't really old either.

[Boozlefoot]

[AndrewJ]

Sad day indeed
Who is now left to so expertly expose the current farnarkelling going on in Canberra.

Andrew

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

... farnarkelling ...

I've been a huge fan of John Clarke since he first came to Australian radio as Fred Dagg on "The Science Show" in the 1970s. (I still remember a piece he did where he explained how Leo Tolstoy was an "experimental" writer - he experimented with the length of the novel, and discovered that with sufficient practice, it could be very long indeed!)

And then of course, there were those memorable sports reports, generally focusing on the Australian Farnarkeling squad, and especially featuring the exploits of Dave Sorenson, as he arkled the gonad around the grommet.

For people who are only familiar with his "Clarke and Dawe" work - do try and find copies of "The Games" and "Death in Brunswick" (with fellow Kiwi Sam Neill). You might also be surprised to learn that the Billy Connolly movie "The Man Who Sued God" was based on a John Clarke screenplay.

He will be sadly missed - I can't think of anyone who can take his place as our leading political satirist.

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Sad news of his passing, a very talented writer, comic and comedian who provided me with many a laugh for a lot of years. Our Thursday 6:55pm timeslot will be empty without his wit. RIP.

[Robair (Robert)]

Collapsed suddenly on Mt Abrupt..
That's a John Clarkeism in itself, bet he's cracking jokes about that right now.
The world is a poorer place without his sharp as a tack humour and wit.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends, rest in peace Mr Clarke.
Rob B

[CJ (Chris)]

A great shame. He had a lovely wit.

[Wavytone]

Such a genuinely witty man - he had a serious side too, for those who saw the program "secret men's business"...