Weekend Rewind: Remembering John Clarke

John Clarke. Photo / File

Opinion

NZ On Screen looks back at the legacy of comic genius John Clarke.

A year ago this week, New Zealanders (and our cousins across the ditch) were shocked by the sudden death of John Clarke. His offbeat humour set the standard in Australasian comedy for many. Throughout his five-decade career, Clarke flew the flag for an unashamedly Kiwi style, his droll wit always delivered with a wickedly understated authenticity. While his death came as a "kick in the guts", his legacy can be found on screens, stages and recordings throughout the country.

Clarke's New Zealand screen career began in 1973; showcasing his comedic talents on current affairs show Gallery. That show also provided the launch pad for what would become his most famous character – Taihape farmer Fred Dagg. In this 2003 interview with Kim Hill, Clarke speaks about Dagg's origins, and seizing the opportunity to bring him to a TV audience.

See an excerpt from Face to Face with Kim Hill - John Clarke here:

Some classic Fred Dagg footage – along with Clarke's huge influence on local comedy – can be seen in documentary Beyond A Joke! In it, Clarke is also interviewed about the nature of New Zealand satire, and there's a snippet of Dagg's top 10 single Gumboots.

Watch Beyond a Joke! here:

Gumboots

wasn't Clarke's first foray into the music world. In 1975, he released

We Don't Know How Lucky We Are

, Dagg's ode to New Zealand, simultaneously celebrating and poking fun at our national pride.

We Don't Know How Lucky We Are

was featured on the album

Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits

, going on to sell over 100,000 copies. In 1998, the song was given a reboot, instigated by Sports Cafe's Graeme Hill. In the accompanying video, Clarke appears alongside a host of Kiwi celebs and politicians, including Sean Fitzpatrick, Chris Cairns, Zinzan Brooke, Richard Prebble, Helen Clark and more.

Watch the 1998 video for We Don't Know How Lucky We Are here:

Though inarguably his biggest, Fred Dagg was far from Clarke's only character. His career saw him take on a huge range of roles, not all of them comedy based. His love of caricature, however, remained at his core. This 1975 Grunt Machine clip sees him take on the persona of visiting American rock star Hiram W Violent, trading Dagg's Kiwi delivery for a southern drawl and a badly tuned guitar.

Watch Hiram W Violet on Grunt Machine here:

Clarke also spent plenty of time on the big screen, making his New Zealand film debut in 1977, thanks to a brief appearance in friend Geoff Murphy's Wild Man. In 1986, a tailor-made opportunity was presented to him – voicing the character of Wal in the movie adaptation of Footrot Flats. In this piece on the making of the film, Clarke reflects on the privilege of playing "one of the most sensitive characters in modern literature", and on narrowly beating Meryl Streep to the part.

Watch John Clarke in part one of The Making of Footrot Flats here:

In 1988, Clarke took a role in another local feature, making a cameo in the Murphy-produced action comedy Never Say Die. Appearing alongside Temuera Morrison, Clarke played a used car salesman, his pitch including gems such as "runs like a haunted shit-house for a bit, but once she warms up…"

See John Clarke in an excerpt from Never Say Die here: