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Re: terrible news

Messages in this topic: 22 View All
Dean BedfordApr 16, 2009
 

 
lots of great thoughts so far. Please everyone - post your thoughts or
tribute and if we have a good number, I'll collate them to send to his
family.

Here's my blog post.... not very good but I'll write some more perhaps...




I'm deeply sad right now - but perhaps that's the right time to write
something about what Clement meant to JAM.

The facts first - 41 and a half years - 543 radio editions, four TV
editions, 230 wins. He appeared in the first show back in December 1967
and appeared in every subsequent season. At 84 he has had a long life -
half of it as a JAM panellist!

But apart from the sadness of Clement passing, it's also the passing of
the last "Beatle", the last member of the gang of four. It's the end of
an era in a very real sense.

He is already being pegged in obits as the competitve one. I saw him a
few years ago on a doco saying how much he liked the competitive side of
the show and competing with people like Paul Merton and Graham Norton.
And it's true. He clearly had a feeling for playing the game correctly
and jumped on any breach of the rules, and any ruling that offended his
sense of how the game should be played.

But he was also very witty. I noticed that he always tried to say
something interesting or amusing. If another contestant had just two
seconds to go, they'd more than likely just repeat the subject to fill
in the time. Not Clement - too easy. He'd think up something clever to
fill even that small bit of time. Yes he was competitive - but he knew
the game was an entertainment too.

He had such a great relationship with Kenneth Williams and Paul Merton.
He sat beside them, put up with their attempts to put him off, but
clearly admired them and was prepared to act as a sort of staright man
for them. He had great comic timing.

And he thought up some of the show's best lines. "The interesting thing
about Virgin Records is that they have no holes in them" is one of those
lines that always always raises a smile. I also like "giving up smoking,
drinking and sex doesn't mean you will have a longer life, it just seems
longer". Even his recent line in response to the subject "why I enjoy
Just A Minute: - "Actually I've always preferred I'm Sorry I Haven't A
Clue" pronounced in that deadpan way - comedy magic.

We'll miss Clement on JAM. A lot. He leaves Nicholas at 85 very much on
his own as the old guard. But we have about 270 hours of Clement's wit,
challenges and lugubriosity to listen to.

My sincere condolences to his family.

 
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