Clarke, J.,Palmerston North...

An unfillable void…

… a cliché, but nothing I can find adequately expresses what the death of John Clarke means. The man himself, with his mastery of the language and unmatchable wit, would have put it better - and added a sly chuckle - but of course he is in no position to do that.

I didn’t know John well, but working with him on The Games was an absolute high point of my comedy career. I have been around a few productions, and no set was as happy a place as The Games. It was almost as though everyone there would have gladly worked 24 hours non-stop for nothing, knowing who they were doing it with.

Read any of the many tributes to John and they will mention his kindness and generosity, and with good reason.

I had recorded a voice-over for an episode of The Games, and John rang me at home, from his car, just to tell me how nicely it had gone in editing.

Above and beyond simple politeness.

My feet didn’t touch the ground for the rest of the day.

John’s unmistakable voice could convey so much. We chatted on one occasion about a project I had worked on that he (smelling a stinker well before I did) managed to side-step with his usual grace. “ I think you’re probably like me ..” he mused “… you expect satire to be something that takes you off at the knees”.

That’s what John did – he took his targets off at the knees, with a twinkle in his eye.

If you only read one tribute, try this one: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/jonathan-green-pays-tribute-to-john-clarke/8431088

Enormously gifted himself, he left so many gifts to the rest of us.

One thing I will treasure for the rest of my life is the knowledge that I did something that made John Clarke laugh.

...And April just became a whole lot crueler.