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John Clive

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For the American historian, see John Leonard Clive.

John Clive
Born
Clive John Frederick Hambley

(1933-01-06)6 January 1933
North London, England, UK
Died14 October 2012(2012-10-14) (aged 79)[1]
UK
OccupationActor & author
Years active1953–2012
Spouses
Carole White
​
​
(m. 1968; div. 1989)​
Bryony Elliott
​
(m. 2001)​
ChildrenHannah Clive
Alexander Clive
Websitejohnclive.net

John Clive (6 January 1933 – 14 October 2012) was an English actor and author, known internationally for his historical and social fiction, such as KG200 and Barossa.[2]

Clive was also an established British television and film actor. Beginning his career at the age of fourteen touring in rep, he went on to star on the West End stage, in plays such as Absurd Person Singular, The Wizard of Oz, Under Milk Wood, The Bandwagon at the Mermaid Theatre, The Winslow Boy, Young Woodley and Life with Father.

As a character actor he appeared in comic and straight acting roles in films, such as The Italian Job,[3] Yellow Submarine, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, A Clockwork Orange[4] and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He was a member of the Carry On Team appearing in two of the Carry on series of comedy films; Carry On Abroad,[5] and Carry On Dick[6][7] Clive was initiated into the Grand Order of Water Rats in 1988.[8]

Career

Born Clive John Frederick Hambley on 6 January 1933 in London.[9] He was still a child when his family moved to Liverpool, and in 1939 he was evacuated to North Wales.[10]

Clive left school when he was 14 years old, and began working as a page at the New Shakespeare Theatre.[10] He soon auditioned for plays and musicals, and was cast in singing roles in children's musicals and as an assistant to comedians in sketches. His first starring role was the lead in The Winslow Boy in 1938.[9] He developed a keen interest in motion pictures as a teenager, especially for the films of Errol Flynn.[10]

He spent his national service in the Royal Air Force,[9] and then returned to acting. He toured the West Country in repertory theatre in plays such as Lady Windermere's Fan, Life With Father, and Young Woodley.[10]

Clive soon moved to London, where he performed in revues at The Poor Millionaire club[9] and the Buxton Club. He continued to find work on the stage, appearing in West End productions of Absurd Person Singular, Under Milk Wood, The Winslow Boy, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.[10] He worked as a stand-up comedian and bingo caller between jobs.[10]

Acting

For his first film role, in Ealing Studios comedy The Magnet, he was credited as Clive Kendall, but he soon adopted the stage name John Clive.[10] In the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine[11] he provided the voice of John Lennon.[3][12] His television appearances also included Robert's Robots, Rising Damp, The Dick Emery Show, The Perils of Pendragon, The Sweeney, Great Expectations and The History of Mr Polly.

He made his television debut in the seventh Wednesday Play Wear a Very Big Hat, broadcast by BBC 1 in 1964.[9] Clive also featured in Lady Windermere's Fan, One Way Out and The Ten Percenters. He featured in a 1970s advert for Jacob's Coconut Cream Biscuits.

Author

In 1977, he co-wrote the historical novel KG 200 with J.D. Gilman, a story about a secret Luftwaffe unit during the Second World War.[13] This book was an international best-seller.[14] The Last Liberator,[15] followed in 1980 and was well received by literary critics.[14] Barossa [16] also achieved critical acclaim.[14] Broken Wings[17] was published in 1983 and matched the international success of KG 200.[14] Other fictional titles written by Clive followed including Ark co-written with Nicholas Headin, in 1986[18] which also received good reviews [14] and The Lions' Cage which was published in 1988.[19]

Death

John Clive died after a short illness on 14 October 2012 in England aged 79.[1] In 2023, his daughter appeared on the BBC TV show The Repair Shop, to which she brought a model of the yellow submarine by Corgi Toys. This had been given to her father at the premiere of the film in which he voiced John Lennon. Steve Fletcher on The Repair Shop restored the model.

Bibliography

  • Clive, John and Gilman J. D. KG 200: The Force with no Face. Simon and Schuster (1977). ISBN 978-0-671-22890-3
  • Clive, John. The Last Liberator. Hamlyn (1980). ISBN 0-600-20022-1
  • Clive, John. Barossa. Delacorte Press (1981). ISBN 0-440-00433-0
  • Clive, John. Broken Wings. Granada (1983). ISBN 978-0-586-05582-3
  • Clive, John and Head, Nicholas. Ark. Penguin (1986). ISBN 978-0-14-007727-8
  • Clive, John. The Lions Cage. Penguin (1988). ISBN 978-0-14-009289-9

Filmography

Feature films

Credits include:[20]

Television

Credits include:[7]

"Who Said Anything About the Law?: Part 2
"Who Said Anything About the Law?: Part 1
"Episode No.1.5"
"Episode No.1.4"
"Episode No.1.3"
"Episode No.1.2"
"Episode No.1.1"
"Episode No.1.6"
"Episode No.1.5"
"Episode No.1.4"
"Episode No.1.3"
"Episode No.1.2"
"Naught for Thy Comfort"
  • Rising Damp - (1977-1978) - Gwyn / Samaritan
  • Odd Man Out (1977) - TV Reporter
  • The Chiffy Kids (1978) - Mr. Melrose
  • Rings on Their Fingers (1978) - The Salesman
"Party Mood"
  • Leave It to Charlie (1979) - Andy Kirk
"Money, Money, Money"
  • The History of Mr. Polly (1980) - Hinks
"Episode No.1.4"
"Episode No.1.3"
"Episode No.1.2"
"Moving Day"
"Look on the Black Side"
"Race Day"
"The Big Job"
"It's All a Game"
Lady Windermere's Fan
  • Screen One' (1989) - Prudoe
"One Way Out"
"Surprise"

Other credits

Documentaries[7]
Appearances in deleted scenes[7]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Ben Quinn (15 October 2012). "Actor John Clive dies aged 79 | Stage | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. ^ "John Clive - Obituaries - The Stage". 9 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b Adams, Brad. "An interview with John Clive". oak.cats.ohiou.edu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  4. ^ McDougal, Stuart.Y (2003). Stanley Kubrick's: A Clockwork Orange. Cambridge University Press film handbooks series. Cambridge University Press (2003). p. 157.
  5. ^ "Carry On Abroad, cast". allmovie.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Carry On Dick, cast". allmovie.com. Retrieved 20 February 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "John Clive film and television credits". imdb.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  8. ^ "Biography of a Water Rat".
  9. ^ a b c d e Hayward, Anthony (18 October 2012). "John Clive obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "John Clive". The Telegraph. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  11. ^ LeVasseur, Andrea. "Yellow Submarine". allmmovie.com. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Yellow Submarine". movietome.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  13. ^ Clive, John and Gilman J. D. KG 200: a novel. Simon and Schuster (1977). pp. 1–317.
  14. ^ a b c d e Times (UK); et al. "John Clive. Best seller listings". johnclive.net. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  15. ^ Clive, John. The Last Liberator. Hamlyn (1980). pp. 1–253.
  16. ^ Clive, John. Borossa. Delacorte Press (1981). pp. 1–294.
  17. ^ Clive, John. Broken Wings. Granada (1983). pp. 1–416.
  18. ^ Clive, John and Head Nicholas. Ark. Penguin (1986). pp. 1–336.
  19. ^ Clive, John. The Lions Cage. Penguin (1988). pp. 1–286.
  20. ^ "John Clive Filmography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
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