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April 16, 2009

RIP Sir Clement Freud

Some of the first obits...

The BBC reports the sad news....


Writer Clement Freud dies aged 84

Broadcaster and former Liberal MP Sir Clement Freud has died aged 84.
A statement from his family said Sir Clement had died on Wednesday evening at his London home.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, the actress Jill Freud, five children and 17 grandchildren. His funeral will be held next week.
A grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Sir Clement had a varied career as a cookery expert, press columnist and radio game show contestant.
Renowned for his lugubrious expression and mournful voice, he was a regular panellist on the BBC's Just a Minute for more than 30 years.
Comedian Tony Hawks, another regular on the long-running Radio 4 show, remembered him being a "formidable" character.
"I had listened to the show as a boy, so meeting him was like meeting a hero," he told BBC Breakfast.
"You always knew he would be a challenging performer. Through his great intellect he'd always bring out the best in you."
Born in 1924, the young Clement Freud began his career in the hotel business before turning to journalism.
He started writing on cookery for newspapers and magazines in the 1950s, later expanding into a variety of subjects, including sport.
His idiosyncratic pet food commercials with Henry the dog, first broadcast in the 1960s, launched him on a long career as a television and radio personality.
His political career began in 1973, when - against the odds - he won the Isle of Ely constituency for the Liberal Party.
Ten years later he transferred to North East Cambridgeshire, a seat he held until 1987. He was knighted the same year.
Sir Clement worked for a string of titles, including the Observer, the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express.
Last year he wrote about his death in The Times, claiming his relatives would want to inherit his wine.
"I took my children around our flat in turns to glean who wanted to have what when we died," he wrote.
"They all wanted all the wine, my wife's desk, my collection of cookery books and the same picture, so that will be no trouble."


and this is their obituary

Obituary: Sir Clement Freud
Sir Clement Freud, who has died aged 84, had a varied career as a Liberal MP, cookery expert, newspaper columnist and broadcaster.
His lugubrious expression and mournful voice launched him as a TV personality in the 1960s with a series of dog food commercials.
Clement Freud was born in Vienna in April 1924, a grandson of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis (another grandson was Clement's elder brother, the artist Lucian Freud.)
The family moved to Britain in 1933, and Clement went to St Paul's School, in London, before going into the hotel business as an apprentice at the Dorchester in London.
After Army service, during which he was a liaison officer at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, he returned to the hotel business, at the Martinez in Cannes.
He started writing on cookery for newspapers and magazines in the 1950s, and expanded into a variety of subjects, including sport.
His idiosyncratic pet food commercials with Henry the dog launched him on a long career as a television and radio personality - he was a stalwart of the BBC's Just a Minute for more than 30 years.
Clement Freud's political career began in 1973, when - against all the odds - he won the Isle of Ely constituency for the Liberals.
Ten years later he transferred to North East Cambridgeshire after boundary changes, but lost the seat in 1987.
An energetic MP, he was party spokesman on education, the arts and broadcasting, and sponsored an anti-secrets Official Information Bill, which played a part in the collapse of the Callaghan government in 1979.
After a row over "wrecking" amendments to his Bill, the Labour Whips offered to facilitate it if he avoided voting to bring down the government. He refused, and the government fell.
Clement Freud was knighted in 1987. He was married, and had five children, including the television personality, Emma, and the PR guru, Matthew.


This is a good piece in the Daily Telegraph


Sir Clement Freud dies at 84
Sir Clement Freud, the writer, broadcaster and former MP, has died aged 84.
He died on Wednesday at his desk at home in London, a statement from his family said.
He was best known for his deadpan performances on Just A Minute, BBC Radio 4's comedy panel programme, and for appearing alongside a bloodhound in a television advertisement for dog food.
Sir Clement was the grandson of Sigmund Freud and the brother of Lucian Freud, the artist. He was the father of five children including Matthew Freud, the PR executive, and Emma Freud, the broadcaster, and a grandfather of 17.
Born in Berlin in 1924, Sir Clement arrived in Britain with his family as Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany in 1934.
After working as an aide to Field Marshal Montgomery during the Second World War, he worked as a chef at the Dorchester Hotel before going on to run his own restaurant in Sloane Square.
He married June Flewett - later Jill Freud - who is said to have been the inspiration for the character of Lucy Pevensie in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, in 1950.
He went on to run a nightclub, in which he met a newspaper editor who gave him a job as a sports journalist. From there he became an award-winning food and drink writer.
Sir Clement became a well-known television personality when he appeared in a series of advertisements for Minced Morsels, a brand of dog food, alongside a bloodhound called Henry.
He appeared in the first episode of Just A Minute in 1967 and returned to take part in every subsequent series.
He became the Liberal MP for the Isle of Ely in 1973 and remained in the post until 1988. He received a knighthood on his departure from Parliament. In 2002, he was elected Rector of St Andrews University, holding the position for one term.
Tony Hawks, a comedian and regular on Just A Minute, paid tribute to his colleague, describing him as a "formidable" character.
"You always knew he would be a challenging performer," Hawks told BBC Breakfast. "Through his great intellect he'd always bring out the best in you."
His funeral is to be held next week.


I'll post more tributes as I see them, but I'll try not to repeat pieces that just give the same details.

1 Comments:

Blogger Alex said...

There's an online tribute to Clement Freud with biography and videos where fans can leave memories: http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/freud/2889289

Rest in peace. What a legend.

9:01 pm  

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