I never met John Clarke But all the people I know who met him could not stop praises. He was a real genius of comedy, and of gentle niceness, offering great insight in the bullshit of government with the best, the most imaginative type of satire on TV there is: being oneself and make sure people see someone else. His documentary on Aussie sports was the summit of mixing satire without denigration of people. It's a very delicate surgery work that I cannot do. I am bombastic, Clarke was subtle. I am acidic, Clarke was generous. 

I loved Fred Dagg. I loved the farnackling... I hope I have the correct spelling...

Condolences to his family and to his partner in crime, Bryan Dawe who entertained us with political satire skits for over 25 years. The ABC has collated some of their most loved segments and classic exchanges.

Go there.

'The highest accolade one could have': politicians pay

read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-highest-accola...

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"It's terribly sad and just a loss, I feel so much for John's family, but [it is] a loss to the comedy community and broader Australian society," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"Forget other political parties, he was the one who kept the bastards honest because he just had this moral centre that was so flawless and a sense of true north that was impeccable.

"He was just such an honourable man and I think that informed his comedy and what made it so brilliant."

"He's been someone who's been a very important figure for all of us, the next generation of comedians," she said.

"As [comedian] Gina [Riley] mentioned, he was the one who rang us after Big Girl's Blouse when we stepped out to do something we didn't think was controversial but apparently was, three women doing comedy.

"To get his tick of approval meant so much, because we did face some opposition.

"He was just such a thoroughly honourable man, and not everyone in our business is."

Szubanski said Clarke was also a man of hidden talents.

"A friend of mine said she was talking to him at a party about ornithology and his knowledge was comprehensive and he would often shoot me poems from Irish poets," she said.

"He was just such an extremely intelligent, well read, very considered man. There was no bullshit in him at all. 

"He was so wry and [had] that twinkle in his eye, he was just naughty. You know, that delicious naughty giggly. 

"He was a really exceptional man. We're really grieving his loss."

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-11/john-clarke-kept-the-bastards-hone...

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The tears of sadness are still coming to my eyes but the one thing I know from my long experience, SATIRE HAS NEVER KEPT THE BASTARDS HONEST.  Satire will make you laugh but it never tells the real hardship the trodden will suffer. For all politicians, especially the sarcastic psychos, satire is water on a duck's back. It amuses the plebs and those who desperately want to be entertained, but overall, it DOES NOTHING TO STOP THE BASTARDS SCREWING YOU.

And this is a fact. Only a revolution does stop the bastards, a revolution the ground of which is prepared by satire.

Mr Keating, who led the country as prime minister through the early-to-mid 1990s, was not spared by the pair.

"One had to take it in a good-natured way," Mr Keating told ABC TV's tribute special, John Clarke: Thanks For Your Time.

"John Clarke had enormous intellectual energy and an acute power of observation.

"No fact, argument, mannerism, habit escaped him. It all went into the mix. He was making a story, in a sense, all the time."

Mr Keating said Clarke had an unequalled way of understanding what politicians were actually thinking, stripping them of "humbug and cant" and translating their thoughts for the broader public.

"He revealed things that may not have been immediately apparent to the community at large," Mr Keating said.

"In his hands, a set of circumstances or facts or a moment was revealed with clarity.

"I think that revelation, that ability to do that, we're going to very greatly miss."

Mr Keating took the prime ministership after challenging Bob Hawke from the backbench on the last day of Parliament in 1991.

Before the successful challenge, Mr Keating, as treasurer, made an unsuccessful tilt for the leadership in a drama that was breathlessly covered by the press.

Clarke and Dawe skewered the two rivals in a skit, with Clarke playing both men.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-17/john-clarke-was-10-out-of-10-paul-...

I repeat:

The tears of sadness are still coming to my eyes but the one thing I know from my long experience, SATIRE HAS NEVER KEPT THE BASTARDS HONEST.  Satire will make you laugh but it never tells the real hardship the trodden will suffer. For all politicians, especially the sarcastic psychos, satire is water on a duck's back. It amuses the plebs and those who desperately want to be entertained, but overall, it DOES NOTHING TO STOP THE BASTARDS SCREWING YOU.

And this is a fact. Only a revolution does stop the bastards, a revolution the ground of which is prepared by satire.

The late satirist, John Clarke, has left another lasting legacy — this time, to conservation.

Key points:

• John Clarke and his family spent years planting trees and birdwatching on the property
• Clarke's widow Helen McDonald has donated the land to the Trust for Nature
• The property will now be used for education and conservation purposes

The much-loved performer, who was also an avid birdwatcher and nature-lover, died while bushwalking in Victoria in 2017, at the age of 68.

His family has donated an eight-hectare section of Ramsar-listed, globally significant wetland on Phillip Island to the conservation organisation, Trust for Nature.

John Clarke was born in New Zealand but made his name as a comedian and satirist in Australia after arriving in the 1970s.

For 27 years he appeared on Australian television conducting mock interviews and skewering politicians with his comedy partner, Bryan Dawe.

His daughter, Lorin Clarke, told ABC Radio Melbourne it was "a lovely thing to have happen, especially because it was Dad's birthday yesterday, so we feel there is a nice celebratory element to it as well".

She said her parents bought the property on the Rhyll peninsula in 1999 as a conservation project, and spent many years planting trees, weeding and birdwatching on what used to be farmland, with group tree-planting days that would often take place around this time of the year.

"We built up this area with vegetation and we wanted that to continue," she said.

"It's quite an incredible area, Western Port Bay, and my mum and dad were quite involved, they ended up learning quite a lot about that area and why it's particularly special and needs to be protected," she said.

"We spent a lot of time on the beach and walking through the bush saying 'look at that bird, no look closely, see that yellow beak, that means it's the yellow spotted whatever'," she said.

Lorin Clarke said her family would continue to visit the area, where they always felt a bit closer to her father.

"We all love it dearly, it'll always be a really important part of our family and hopefully it'll be important in a sort of grander sense now too."

"It's magical because of the work they did."

Trust for Nature Port Phillip and Westernport Manager Ben Cullen said John Clarke and his wife Helen McDonald had been "fantastic custodians".

"The way they've done the revegetation is fantastic," he said.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-30/john-clarke-family-gives-phillip-island-property-to-conservation/12506334

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We still need satire, mind you, for our own sanity even if IT DOES NOT KEEP THE BASTARDS HONEST...