John Clarke (satirist) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Clarke
Born	John Morrison Clarke (1948-07-29)29 July 1948 Palmerston North, New Zealand
Died	9 April 2017(2017-04-09) (aged 68) Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Satirist writer actor comedian
Years active	1972–2017

John Morrison Clarke (born July 29, 1948 – died April 9, 2017) was a very talented comedian, writer, and satirist from New Zealand. He moved to Australia in the late 1970s and became well-known there. John Clarke was a highly respected actor and writer. His work was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on both radio and television, and also in books.

He is best known for his funny farmer character, Fred Dagg. He also worked for many years with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, from 1989 until his death in 2017. John Clarke was also a successful comic actor in Australian and New Zealand movies and TV shows.

Early Life and Funny Beginnings

John Clarke was born on July 29, 1948, in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He later moved to Wellington and went to Scots College. After that, he studied at Victoria University of Wellington from 1967 to 1970.

Clarke first became famous in the mid-1970s for playing a laid-back farmer named Fred Dagg. Fred Dagg wore gumboots and a singlet (a type of sleeveless shirt). He also had seven sons, all named "Trev." John Clarke recorded many records and cassettes and published several books as Fred Dagg.

His first Fred Dagg album, Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits (1976), is still one of New Zealand's top-selling records. He first appeared as Fred Dagg in Australia on the ABC's The Science Show. He also made regular radio appearances on 2JJ. In 1977, John Clarke moved to Australia.

In 1984, Clarke was part of the Australian ABC TV show The Gillies Report. In this funny show, Clarke gave serious-looking reports on a made-up sport called "farnarkeling." He also talked about Australia's farnarkeling champion, Dave Sorenson.

Movies and TV Shows

In 1972, John Clarke appeared in his first movie, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. This film was about an Australian living in London. Even though Clarke was just an extra, the filmmakers quickly saw how talented he was.

In 1974, he wrote and acted in Buck House. This was a New Zealand comedy TV series about students living in a flat.

In 1982, he was nominated for an AFI award. This was for co-writing the well-known film Lonely Hearts. He also helped write the mini-series Anzacs. He was the voice of Wal Footrot in the animated movie, Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale (1986). This movie was based on the popular comic strips by Murray Ball.

By the late 1980s, he appeared in more films. He also started to become known for his political satire, which means making fun of politics and politicians.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Clarke was in several movies. These included Never Say Die with New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison. He also starred in Death in Brunswick with another New Zealand actor, Sam Neill. Another film was Blood Oath, also known as Prisoners of the Sun.

Funny Interviews with Bryan Dawe

In 1989, John Clarke and his friend Bryan Dawe started doing weekly funny, fake interviews on TV. These short segments became very popular on the Nine Network news show A Current Affair.

Each interview talked about a current topic. Bryan Dawe played the interviewer. John Clarke pretended to be a politician or another important person. Clarke's character would usually try to avoid answering Dawe's questions directly. What made these interviews special was that Clarke never tried to sound or look exactly like the person he was pretending to be. This was different from other comedy shows, like Clarke's earlier series The Gillies Report.

The pair continued their fake interviews for A Current Affair until 1997. They made fun of many famous people, including politicians like Paul Keating and George Bush. After a break, they appeared again on ABC TV's The 7.30 Report with a similar style. In 2013, their interviews became their own show, Clarke and Dawe, on ABC TV. These interviews were shown weekly on TV and were also available online and for sale.

The interviews were also put together into books and CDs. Their album Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century won an ARIA Award for Best Australian Comedy Album in 1991. The Annual Report won the same award in 1992.

Later Work and Awards

In 1998, Clarke had a big success when he co-wrote and starred in The Games. This was a funny fake documentary about the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). He worked with Ross Stevenson on the writing, and with Bryan Dawe and Gina Riley on screen.

In 2002, Clarke appeared in the movie Crackerjack. He also played a comedy club owner in the TV movie Roy Hollsdotter Live. Later, in 2004, he adapted a book series for film. This led to two movies, Stiff and The Brush-Off. Both starred David Wenham. Clarke directed Stiff himself.

John Clarke wrote several books. Two of them were funny collections of Australian poetry. He also wrote The Tournament. This book was about a made-up tennis tournament with many famous thinkers and writers from the 20th century.

In 2004, he received the Byron Kennedy Award. This award recognized his excellent work and how he inspired others as a writer, actor, and director.

He was honored in the Logies Hall of Fame in 2008. The Logie award was given to him by his long-time friend and partner, Bryan Dawe. After he passed away, his album Clarke's Classics won the Best Comedy Release at the ARIA Music Awards in October 2017.

His Passing and Lasting Impact

On April 9, 2017, John Clarke died from a heart attack. He was on a bushwalk in the Grampians National Park in Australia. Leaders like Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English spoke about his important role as a political satirist. Turnbull said that Clarke's humor "spoke truth to power" and made democracy stronger.

Bryan Dawe, his long-time friend, shared memories of Clarke. He said John always remembered what was happening in his friends' lives. Dawe also mentioned Clarke's "sparkling eyes" that "went looking for mischief." He added that their comedy was always about the audience.

John Clarke's work was shown on ABC radio and television for almost 30 years. After his death, the ABC replayed many of his shows and interviews to honor him. This included a program called John Clarke: Thanks for your Time, which featured tributes from friends, politicians, and other comedians.

Film and TV Appearances

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

Books Written by John Clarke

• Fred Dagg's Year (1975)
• The Thoughts of chairman Fred (1976)
• The Fred Dagg Careers Advisory Bureau (1978)
• The Fred Dagg Scripts (1981)
• Daggshead Revisited (1982)
• The Complete Book of Australian Verse (1989)
• A Complete Dagg (1989)
• Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century (1990)
• A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy (1991) (with Ross Stevenson)
• More Great Interviews (1992)
• The Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse (1994)
• A Dagg at My Table (1996)
• Still the Two (1997)
• The Games (1999) (with Ross Stevenson)
• The Games II: Sharing the Blame (2000) (with Ross Stevenson)
• The Tournament (2002)
• The Howard Miracle (2003)
• The 7.56 report (2006)
• The Catastrophe Continues: Selected Interviews (2008)

Music Albums

John Clarke also released several music albums, often as his character Fred Dagg or with Bryan Dawe.

• Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits (1975)
• Fred Dagg Live (1976)
• The Fred Dagg Tapes (1979)
• Swim Between the Flags (1987)
• Great Interviews of the Twentieth Century (1990) (with Bryan Dawe)
• The Annual Report (1991) (with Bryan Dawe)
• Secret Men's Business (1996) (with Bryan Dawe)
• The Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse (2003)
• Clarke's Classics (2017)

Awards and Recognition

John Clarke won several awards for his comedy and writing.

• ARIA Music Awards: He won three Best Comedy Release awards.
  • 1991: Great Interviews of the 20th Century (with Bryan Dawe) – Won
  • 1992: The Annual Report (with Bryan Dawe) – Won
  • 1997: Secret Men's Business (with Bryan Dawe) – Nominated
  • 2017: Clarke's Classics – Won
• Logie Awards: He was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 2008.