John Clarke

Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand

Biography

CLARKE, John, Dip Lid, PhD in Cattle (Oxen). Advisor and comforter to various governments. Born 1948. Educ. subsequently. Travelled extensively throughout Holy Lands, then left New Zealand for Europe. Stationed in London 1971-73. Escaped (decorated). Rejoined unit. Arrived Australia 1977. Held positions with ABC radio (Sckd), ABC Television (Dfnct), Various newspapers (Dcd), and Aust Film Industry (Fkd). Currently a freelance expert specialising in matters of a general character. Recreations: Whistling. Address: C/– the people next door. Or just pop it inside the door of the fusebox. Should be back Friday.

Movies

Kath & Kim is a character-driven Australian television situation comedy series. The series was created by, and is written by Jane Turner and Gina Riley who play the title characters: a suburban mother and daughter with a dysfunctional relationship. The series main characters consist of Kath Day-Knight, a cheerful 50-year-old woman, her self-indulgent daughter Kim Craig, Kath's boyfriend and second husband, the metrosexual Kel Knight, as well as Kim's estranged husband Brett Craig and her lonely, overweight "second best friend" Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in the fictional suburb of Fountain Lakes in Melbourne. It is primarily filmed in Patterson Lakes. The series was conceived by Turner and Riley in the early 1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Fast Forward. The skit was then developed into a full-series. The first series of Kath & Kim premiered on ABC TV on 16 May 2002, with three further series following, while a television movie, entitled Da Kath and Kim Code, was broadcast nationally on 25 November 2005. Kath & Kim has garnered much critical acclaim since its debut, winning two Logie Awards, for "Outstanding Comedy Programme" and the "Best Television Drama Series" award at the Australian Film Institute Awards. In Australia, it has become a pop culture phenomenon, and is a success with audiences nationwide. Internationally, the series has spawned a cult fanbase, and in 2006 it was announced an American version of the series would be produced, to air on NBC. Riley and Turner served as executive producers on the US version. The American version was also picked up by Seven, which debuted the program on 12 October 2008, just three days after its debut in the United States.

More info
Kath & Kim
2002