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Culprit 
Joined: 06 Feb 2003
Location: Port Melbourne
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watt price tully 
Joined: 15 May 2007
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Vale John Clarke. A tragic sad loss. Gone. Australia's funniest comedian was a New Zealander.
From Fred Dagg, to The Gillies Report, to the Games and of course Clarke & Dawe.
A comedian, writer, actor, poet, and a wonderful presence.
What will Dave Sorensen do now? Farnarkling will never be the same
What we all do now?
A tragic loss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoT9xXRXtY
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“I even went as far as becoming a Southern Baptist until I realised they didn’t keep ‘em under long enough” Kinky Friedman |
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Pies4shaw 
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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| That's terrible news. |
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Tannin 
Can't remember
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Location: Huon Valley Tasmania
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007
Location: Between London and Melbourne
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I always find it hard to care deeply when a public figure whom I do not know personally dies, but this one actually pains me.
He is/was one of the greatest (honorary) Australians, and I am now mentally leafing through the many pleasures he has given over the years. His "Book of Australian Verse" was being read, with much mirth, to our poetry-loving daughter just a few weeks ago, and his 1980s Fred Dagg scripts - Real estate, Education, Philosophy - were among the funniest things ever written. The majestic Clarke and Dawe interview "the front fell off" is one of the best pieces of political satire ever devised, and I will always remember my mind spinning with a kind of giddy verbal wonder when the first farnarkling reports were delivered on the Gillies Report.
We still play this to our English friends who ask, when first exposed, "why haven't I head of this guy before? He's a genius!" And he was. Farewell, JC : We never knew how propitious were the circumstances, Frederick.
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Two more flags before I die! |
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stui magpie 
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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Not a fan personally, but nothing against the guy. Just not my cup of tea.
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Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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think positive 
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Location: somewhere
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Some great stuff there, thanks for sharing,
Really a very clever man, and I don't know how he kept such a straight face!
RIP xxx
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You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007
Location: Between London and Melbourne
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| stui magpie wrote: | | Not a fan personally, but nothing against the guy. Just not my cup of tea. |
In his latter years I'd tend to agree. Comedy is a job for the mercurial brains of the young, and as he got older the arteries of his invention hardened, and he became predictable. His politics (which were the opposite of mine in most respects) also showed through his act to the point where it dulled the wit very badly.
In the period 1980-2000 or thereabouts, however, he more or less personified the uniqueness of Australian (NZ) wit : laconic, ironic, absurd, dry, and with an incredible feel for the colour of Australian English and the Australian intonation. Based on your posts and interests, I reckon that he'd have been right up your street in his most creative period, Stui.
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Two more flags before I die! |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| Where did he get it? |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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| Mugwump wrote: | | stui magpie wrote: | | Not a fan personally, but nothing against the guy. Just not my cup of tea. |
In his latter years I'd tend to agree. Comedy is a job for the mercurial brains of the young, and as he got older the arteries of his invention hardened, and he became predictable. His politics (which were the opposite of mine in most respects) also showed through his act to the point where it dulled the wit very badly.
In the period 1980-2000 or thereabouts, however, he more or less personified the uniqueness of Australian (NZ) wit : laconic, ironic, absurd, dry, and with an incredible feel for the colour of Australian English and the Australian intonation. Based on your posts and interests, I reckon that he'd have been right up your street in his most creative period, Stui. |
I'd say that sounds spot on.
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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Pies4shaw
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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| He was brilliant as Fred Dagg - I have The Fred Dagg Tapes on vinyl (!) from the 80s. He got even funnier as he got older, though - he showed an absolutely perfect sense of the inanity of politico-bulldust from all parties. |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007
Location: Between London and Melbourne
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^ agree entirely on the first point, and I still have the vinyl and the book of transcripts. on the second point, I suppose the appreciation of some forms of comedy, like some footballers, reflects one's interests and tastes. He could be funny or mordant at times in Clarke and Dawe, but he was always funny and elevating as Fred Dagg, often while skewering politians in those days, too.
Great creative and original minds, as he surely was, rarely flare on into advanced age - but I still feel a deep regret at his passing so young.
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Two more flags before I die! |
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