more thoughts on Clement
I've had about 50 emails (including a few blog posts in the comments section) about Clement today. I've taken out the names but here's a selection of what the fans are saying...
Sad but not unexpected at 84. A good life.
Can't believe they are now all gone.
How terribly, terribly sad. I'm so glad I got to see him at last August's Fringe recordings; he was, as always, on form and as sharp as ever. He shall be missed, and JAM will surely mourn the loss of his wit. Thank you for years of laughter, Clement.
Without meaning to be insensitive, may I please lodge a fond and final challenge to Clement: Hesitation! And I bet Clement would battle all the angels, devils, and Gods to return through the ether to explain that he was just pausing between words... Many thanks, Clement, for half a century of wit and fun.
Was Clement my favorite panellist? No. That would be Peter Jones. But he was always quintessentially Clement on Just a Minute whether it be his never ending lists, his insistence on bonus points or just a simple "Yes". More than any other panellist, he got the most laughs out of saying very little. Even when it was his turn, he talked so slowly that you sometimes wondered if he was going to make it to the end of the sentence much less the minute. He had the same adeptness of one liners that Peter had ("The great thing about Virgin Records is they have no holes in them"). But he was also a terrific player of the game into his 80s. He got the ire of the late Wendy Richard by seemingly always buzzing in and getting a point with one second to go no matter what the score was. He will be solely missed by those of us who prefer our humor on the dry side. Goodbye Clement. I hope that eternity will treat you well. And that you always get the last point you always seemed to want.
I feel sadder this morning hearing of Clement's death than I did when I heard Humph had died. Perhaps it's that Clement performed on radio unscripted and things that he said (mostly funny, very occasionally less so) were off-the-cuff and improvised. Perhaps its that I had a fondness for his off-radio work as well. I too will miss him on JaM.
Clement... you'll be very much missed...
This is very sad news, but as the old cliche goes, at least he had a good innings. He may have been getting slower and slower on JAM as the years went by, but he was still a superb wit with a deadpan sense of timing. He will be greatly missed from future episodes, and no doubt from all his other activities in life.
Rest in peace. What a legend.
I read the news on the BBC and came straight here (the blog). Sir Clement was a resonant link with an era now almost vanished, an era of dignified eloquence combined with self-deprecation. The last time I heard him, a few weeks ago, on "Just a Minute", he was on great form, better than I'd heard him for a couple of years - the combination of his great gravitas and his sense of mischief was a sea-anchor in the ebb and flow of the show. He will indeed be much missed. It comes as some consolation, and must also do so for his family, that he was fit and active to the end, and that he had such a large and loving family. Rest in peace!
I will certainly miss spending time in his lugubrious and sharp company. I am so glad that I got to shake his hand at the end of the last JAM recording in London I attended. God Bless.
I will miss him dearly - he was fantastic on the show right up until the end.
We'll miss Clement Freud
The show will simply not be the same without him. I always felt like something was missing when Clement wasn't on the show. I never could put my finger on it. A sense of history perhaps? Maybe we'll see Sheila on the show more. I hope so. But you can't replace Clement. He was one of a kind. And he was a bit Soho. Even that beard of his said so
I listen to the Today programme later in the day having recorded it earlier, so have only just found out the news that I have been dreading. No one can replace this original personality. His exceptional wit coupled with dead-pan delivery, life experiences, natural competitiveness and the friendly rivalry between himself and Paul Merton will be greatly missed from Just A Minute. More than that, if anyone hasn't read his autobiography 'Freud, Ego', then they should get hold of a copy immediately. It is one of the funniest books I've ever read, not least because anyone reading it who didn't 'know' Clement would probably find it virtually humourless. I SO much wanted him to release a second autobiographical book, as the above finished with his election to parliament. I feel certain he could have easily filled another book with his stories following that election, his continued appearances on JAM, his love of cricket and horse racing and all the other celebrity appearances he made between then and now. What a terrible, devestating loss to Just A Minute, England and, forgive me, to myself. Future series of Just A minute will never be quite the same again. If I could live half a full a life as he, then i shall die happy.
it seemed almost inevitable, but still very sad news nonetheless. Clement Freud was a wonderful individual, I've talked about him at great length in my own thread praising the talents of the Original Foursome, and it is indeed very sad that such a man of knowledge and wit is gone. But I take solace in the fact that he is now reunited with his friends, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams, and Peter Jones in that BBC Panel Game in the sky.
A very sad loss of a great man. It seems very fitting that he has the middle name "Raphael."
I am deeply saddened by the loss of Sir Clement the only comfort I can find is to paraphrase the great man himself:
Sir Clement Freud
born 24 April 1924
best before 15 April 2009
Very sad news indeed. His tombstone should read (paraphrasing the magnificent man himself in a final display of his own dry wit):
Sir CLEMENT FREUD
Born 24th April 1924
Best before 15th April 2009
He was not speaking when the whistle went.
We’ll miss you, Clement!
(this in reaction to my post there is a little more of Clement on JAM to hear) Great news on this sad day. Thank you for sharing.
I am sitting here saddened by the news of the passing of Sir Clement. My Condolences to his family & friends.
Sad but not unexpected at 84. A good life.
Can't believe they are now all gone.
How terribly, terribly sad. I'm so glad I got to see him at last August's Fringe recordings; he was, as always, on form and as sharp as ever. He shall be missed, and JAM will surely mourn the loss of his wit. Thank you for years of laughter, Clement.
Without meaning to be insensitive, may I please lodge a fond and final challenge to Clement:
Was Clement my favorite panellist? No. That would be Peter Jones. But he was always quintessentially Clement on Just a Minute whether it be his never ending lists, his insistence on bonus points or just a simple "Yes". More than any other panellist, he got the most laughs out of saying very little. Even when it was his turn, he talked so slowly that you sometimes wondered if he was going to make it to the end of the sentence much less the minute. He had the same adeptness of one liners that Peter had ("The great thing about Virgin Records is they have no holes in them"). But he was also a terrific player of the game into his 80s. He got the ire of the late Wendy Richard by seemingly always buzzing in and getting a point with one second to go no matter what the score was. He will be solely missed by those of us who prefer our humor on the dry side. Goodbye Clement. I hope that eternity will treat you well. And that you always get the last point you always seemed to want.
I feel sadder this morning hearing of Clement's death than I did when I heard Humph had died. Perhaps it's that Clement performed on radio unscripted and things that he said (mostly funny, very occasionally less so) were off-the-cuff and improvised. Perhaps its that I had a fondness for his off-radio work as well. I too will miss him on JaM.
Clement... you'll be very much missed...
This is very sad news, but as the old cliche goes, at least he had a good innings. He may have been getting slower and slower on JAM as the years went by, but he was still a superb wit with a deadpan sense of timing. He will be greatly missed from future episodes, and no doubt from all his other activities in life.
Rest in peace. What a legend.
I read the news on the BBC and came straight here (the blog). Sir Clement was a resonant link with an era now almost vanished, an era of dignified eloquence combined with self-deprecation. The last time I heard him, a few weeks ago, on "Just a Minute", he was on great form, better than I'd heard him for a couple of years - the combination of his great gravitas and his sense of mischief was a sea-anchor in the ebb and flow of the show. He will indeed be much missed. It comes as some consolation, and must also do so for his family, that he was fit and active to the end, and that he had such a large and loving family. Rest in peace!
I will certainly miss spending time in his lugubrious and sharp company. I am so glad that I got to shake his hand at the end of the last JAM recording in London I attended. God Bless.
I will miss him dearly - he was fantastic on the show right up until the end.
We'll miss Clement Freud
The show will simply not be the same without him. I always felt like something was missing when Clement wasn't on the show. I never could put my finger on it. A sense of history perhaps? Maybe we'll see Sheila on the show more. I hope so. But you can't replace Clement. He was one of a kind. And he was a bit Soho. Even that beard of his said so
I listen to the Today programme later in the day having recorded it earlier, so have only just found out the news that I have been dreading. No one can replace this original personality. His exceptional wit coupled with dead-pan delivery, life experiences, natural competitiveness and the friendly rivalry between himself and Paul Merton will be greatly missed from Just A Minute. More than that, if anyone hasn't read his autobiography 'Freud, Ego', then they should get hold of a copy immediately. It is one of the funniest books I've ever read, not least because anyone reading it who didn't 'know' Clement would probably find it virtually humourless. I SO much wanted him to release a second autobiographical book, as the above finished with his election to parliament. I feel certain he could have easily filled another book with his stories following that election, his continued appearances on JAM, his love of cricket and horse racing and all the other celebrity appearances he made between then and now. What a terrible, devestating loss to Just A Minute, England and, forgive me, to myself. Future series of Just A minute will never be quite the same again. If I could live half a full a life as he, then i shall die happy.
it seemed almost inevitable, but still very sad news nonetheless. Clement Freud was a wonderful individual, I've talked about him at great length in my own thread praising the talents of the Original Foursome, and it is indeed very sad that such a man of knowledge and wit is gone. But I take solace in the fact that he is now reunited with his friends, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams, and Peter Jones in that BBC Panel Game in the sky.
A very sad loss of a great man. It seems very fitting that he has the middle name "Raphael."
I am deeply saddened by the loss of Sir Clement the only comfort I can find is to paraphrase the great man himself:
Sir Clement Freud
born 24 April 1924
best before 15 April 2009
Very sad news indeed. His tombstone should read (paraphrasing the magnificent man himself in a final display of his own dry wit):
Sir CLEMENT FREUD
Born 24th April 1924
Best before 15th April 2009
He was not speaking when the whistle went.
We’ll miss you, Clement!
(this in reaction to my post there is a little more of Clement on JAM to hear) Great news on this sad day. Thank you for sharing.
I am sitting here saddened by the news of the passing of Sir Clement. My Condolences to his family & friends.
posted by Dean | 10:26 am
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