Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.
[Clive James — writer, TV broadcaster and critic — dies aged 80](_blank)
''ABC News'', 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019. He began his career specialising in literary criticism before becoming television critic for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' in 1972, where he made his name for his wry,
deadpan
Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
humour.
During this period, he earned an independent reputation as a poet and
satirist
This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.
Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...
. He achieved mainstream success in the UK first as a writer for television, and eventually as the lead in his own programmes, including ''
...on Television''.
Early life
James was born Vivian Leopold James in
Kogarah
Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George, New South ...
, a southern suburb of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. He was allowed to change his name as a child because "after
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...
played
Scarlett O'Hara
Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the m ...
the name became irrevocably a girl's name no matter how you spelled it".
[James, C., ''Unreliable Memoirs'', Pan Books, 1981, p. 29.] He chose "Clive", the name of
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...
's character in the 1942 film ''
This Above All''.
James's father, Albert Arthur James, was taken prisoner by the Japanese during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Although he survived the
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
, he died when the American
B-24
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
carrying him and other freed allied POWs ran into the tail of a typhoon en route from Okinawa to Manila, and crashed into the mountains of southeastern Taiwan. He was buried at
Sai Wan War Cemetery
Sai Wan War Cemetery is a military cemetery located in Chai Wan, Hong Kong which was built in 1946. The cemetery was created to commemorate soldiers of Hong Kong Garrison who perished during the Second World War. The cemetery also contains 12 Wo ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
James would later state that his life's works originated in his father's death.
James, an only child, was brought up by his mother (Minora May, née Darke), a factory worker,
[Decca Aitkenhea]
"Clive James: 'I would have been an obvious first choice for cocaine death. I could use up a lifetime's supply of anything in two weeks'"
''The Guardian'', 25 May 2009. in the Sydney suburbs of Kogarah and
Jannali
Jannali is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Jannali is located 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. The majority of land use in ...
, living some years with his English maternal grandfather.
He was educated at
Sydney Technical High School
Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Technic ...
(despite winning a
bursary award to
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...
) and the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, where he studied English and psychology from 1957 to 1960, and became associated with the
Sydney Push
The Sydney Push was an intellectual subculture in Sydney from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. Its politics were predominantly left-wing libertarianism. The Push operated in a pub culture and included university students, academics, manual w ...
, a
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
intellectual subculture. At the university, he contributed to the student newspaper, ''
Honi Soit
''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. The name is an abbrevi ...
'', and directed the annual
students' union revue. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
with Honours in English in 1961. After graduating, James worked for a year as an assistant editor for the magazine page at ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
''.
In 1962, James moved to England, which became his home for the rest of his life. During his first three years in London, he shared a flat with the Australian film director
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...
(disguised as "Dave Dalziel" in the first three volumes of James's memoirs), was a neighbour of Australian artist
Brett Whiteley
Brett Whiteley AO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitions ...
, became acquainted with
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...
(disguised as "Bruce Jennings") and had a variety of occasionally disastrous short-term jobs – sheet metal worker, library assistant, photo archivist and market researcher.
James gained a place at
Pembroke College,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, to read
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
. While there, he contributed to all the undergraduate periodicals, was a member and later President of the
Cambridge Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
, and appeared on ''
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
'' as captain of the Pembroke team, beating
St Hilda's,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, but losing to
Balliol on the last question in a tied game.
During one summer vacation, he worked as a circus
roustabout
Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who handled materials ...
to save enough money to travel to Italy. His contemporaries at Cambridge included
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Specializing in English and women's literatu ...
(known as "Romaine Rand" in the first three volumes of his memoirs),
Simon Schama
Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.
He fir ...
and
Eric Idle
Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...
. Having, he claimed, scrupulously avoided reading any of the course material (but having read widely otherwise in English and foreign literature), James graduated with a
2:1—better than he had expected—and began a PhD thesis on
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
.
Career
Critic and essayist
James became the television critic for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' in 1972,
remaining in the role until 1982.
Mark Lawson described a James review as "so funny it was dangerous to read while holding a hot drink".
He was at times merciless. Selections from the column were published in three books – ''
Visions Before Midnight
''Visions Before Midnight'' is a selection of the television criticism written by Clive James during his first four years (1972–1976) as ''The Observers weekly television critic. The selection begins with a piece on the 1972 Summer Olympics ...
'', ''The Crystal Bucket'' and ''
Glued to the Box'' – and finally in a compendium, ''On Television''. He wrote literary criticism for newspapers, magazines and periodicals in Britain, Australia and the United States, including, among many others, the ''
Australian Book Review'', ''
The Monthly
''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...
'', ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', ''
The Liberal
''The Liberal'' was a London-based magazine "dedicated to promoting liberalism around the world", which ran in print from 2004 to 2009 and online until 2012. The publication explored liberal attitudes to a range of cultural issues, and encouraged ...
'' and ''
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...
''.
John Gross
John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an eminent English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic, ''The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several pu ...
included James's essay "A Blizzard of Tiny Kisses" in the ''Oxford Book of Essays'' (1992, 1999).
''The Metropolitan Critic'' (1974), his first collection of literary criticism, was followed by ''At the Pillars of Hercules'' (1979), ''From the Land of Shadows'' (1982), ''Snakecharmers in Texas'' (1988), ''The Dreaming Swimmer'' (1992), ''Even As We Speak'' (2001), ''The Meaning of Recognition'' (2005) and ''
Cultural Amnesia
Cultural Amnesia (CA) are an England, English post-punk music group, first active between 1979 and 1983 as participants in the so-called cassette culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK. During this first period the band released t ...
'' (2007), a collection of miniature intellectual biographies of over 100 significant figures in modern culture, history and politics. A defence of
humanism
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
,
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
and
literary clarity, the book was listed among the best of 2007 by ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''. Another volume of essays, ''The Revolt of the Pendulum'', was published in June 2009.
He also published ''Flying Visits'', a collection of
travel writing
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...
for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
''. For many years, until mid-2014, he wrote the weekly television critique page in the "Review" section of the Saturday edition of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
''.
Poet and lyricist
James published several books of poetry, including ''Poem of the Year'' (1983), a verse-diary; ''Other Passports: Poems 1958–1985'', a first collection; and ''The Book of My Enemy'' (2003), a volume that takes its title from his poem "The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered".
He published four
mock-heroic
Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...
poems – ''The Fate of Felicity Fark in the Land of the Media: a moral poem'' (1975), ''Peregrine Prykke's Pilgrimage Through the London Literary World'' (1976), ''Britannia Bright's Bewilderment in the Wilderness of Westminster'' (1976) and ''Charles Charming's Challenges on the Pathway to the Throne'' (1981) – and one long autobiographical epic, ''The River in the Sky'' (2018).
During the 1970s he also collaborated on six albums of songs with
Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin (born 22 August 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer, notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series, '' This Sceptred Isle''.
Early life
Born in Cambridge, ...
:
* ''Beware of the Beautiful Stranger'' (1970)
* ''Driving Through Mythical America'' (1971)
* ''A King at Nightfall'' (1973)
* ''The Road of Silk'' (1974)
* ''Secret Drinker'' (1974)
* ''Live Libel'' (1975)
Atkin and James toured together to promote both the final album – a "contractual obligation" collection consisting of parodies and humour numbers written over the years - and James's own ''Felicity Fark'' epic poem. James wrote the album sleeve notes, which mostly linked the songs with thinly disguised jibes at popular artists and trends. On stage James both read from his poem, and introduced the album songs. Despite the success of the tour, there were no more recordings by Atkin, who pursued other opportunities and eventually became a BBC radio producer.
A revival of interest in the songs in the late 1990s, triggered largely by the creation by Steve Birkill of an Internet mailing list "Midnight Voices" in 1997, led to the reissue of the six albums on CD between 1997 and 2001, as well as live performances by the pair. A double album of previously unrecorded songs written in the seventies and entitled ''The Lakeside Sessions: Volumes 1 and 2'' was released in 2002 and ''Winter Spring'', an album of new material written by James and Atkin was released in 2003.
This was followed by ''Midnight Voices'', an album of remakes of the best Atkin/James songs from the early albums, and, in 2015, by ''The Colours of the Night'', which included several newly completed songs.
James acknowledged the importance of the ''Midnight Voices'' group in bringing to wider attention the lyric-writing aspect of his career. He wrote in November 1997, "That one of the midnight voices of my own fate should be the music of Pete Atkin continues to rank high among the blessings of my life".
In 2013, he issued his translation of
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
''. The work, adopting
quatrain
A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines.
Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
s to translate the original's
terza rima
''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rhy ...
, was well received by Australian critics. Writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Joseph Luzzi thought it often failed to capture the more dramatic moments of the ''Inferno'', but that it was more successful where Dante slows down, in the more theological and deliberative cantos of the ''Purgatorio'' and ''Paradiso''.
Novelist and memoirist
In 1980 James published his first book of autobiography, ''
Unreliable Memoirs'', which recounted his early life in Australia and extended to over 100 reprintings. It was followed by four other volumes of autobiography: ''Falling Towards England'' (1985), which covered his London years; ''May Week Was in June'' (1990), which dealt with his time at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
; ''North Face of Soho'' (2006); and ''The Blaze of Obscurity'' (2009), concerning his subsequent career as a television presenter. An omnibus edition of the first three volumes was published under the generic title of ''Always Unreliable''. James also wrote four novels: ''Brilliant Creatures'' (1983); ''The Remake'' (1987); ''Brrm! Brrm!'' (1991), published in the United States as ''The Man from Japan''; and ''The Silver Castle'' (1996).
In 1999,
John Gross
John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an eminent English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic, ''The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several pu ...
included an excerpt from ''Unreliable Memoirs'' in ''The New Oxford Book of English Prose''.
John Carey chose ''Unreliable Memoirs'' as one of the 50 most enjoyable books of the 20th century in his book ''Pure Pleasure'' (2000).
Television
James developed his television career as a guest commentator on various shows, including as an occasional co-presenter with
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4.
As a co-founder o ...
on the first series of ''
So It Goes'', the
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
pop music show. On the show when the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
made their TV debut, James commented: "During the recording, the task of keeping the little bastards under control was given to me. With the aid of a radio microphone, I was able to shout them down, but it was a near thing ... they attacked everything around them and had difficulty in being polite even to each other".
James subsequently hosted the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
show ''
Clive James on Television'', in which he showcased unusual or (often unintentionally) amusing television programmes from around the world, notably the Japanese TV show ''
Endurance
Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...
''. After his move to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1988, he hosted a similarly-formatted programme called ''Saturday Night Clive'' (1989–1991), which began on
in 1991. It returned in 1994 on Sunday nights, under the title ''Sunday Night Clive''.
In 1995 he set up Watchmaker Productions to produce ''The Clive James Show'' for ITV, and a subsequent series launched the British career of singer and comedian
. James hosted one of the early chat shows on
and fronted the BBC's ''Review of the Year'' programmes in the late 1980s (''Clive James on the '80s'') and 1990s (''Clive James on the '90s''), which formed part of the channel's New Year's Eve celebrations.
In the mid-1980s, James featured in a travel programme called ''Clive James in...'' (beginning with ''Clive James Live in Las Vegas'') for
...