History Creator / CliveJames

* TakeThat: His poem ''[[https://web.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poetry/bookofmyenemy.html The Book of my Enemy Has Been Remaindered]]'' is a massive TakeThat, although James never revealed who his "enemy" was

* DeadpanSnarker: He is notorious for his dry, witty commentary, both in writing as during his commentary over video footage. There are several of his old UsefulNotes/FormulaOne review videos that are full of wit (and a little sarcasm): "The Renaults looked very impressive touring around together like Fangio and Moss. Or Flanagan and Allen"; "In Mansell's pit I was glad to see that his helmet was still globular. Instead of crushed flat by the burden of being called 'The British Hope'"; "While the Renaults were being put back together so they could be thrown away..."; "Senna was so moved that he spoke"; "Piquet was on the pole. He was still on it when everyone else went past."

* MentorInSourArmor: When he needs to learn to drive for a celebrity race in his native Australia he hires his hero - Stirling Moss. Moss's opening line is "How the hell did you get to be this old without learning to drive?". James doesn't mind though since part of the answer is he was so awed by Moss's abilities as when watching him race he decided "not to bother learning to do what he could do so well".

* MentorInSourArmor: When he needs to learn to drive for a celebrity race in his native Australia he hires his hero - Stirling Moss. Moss's opening line is "How the hell did you get to be this old without learning to drive?". James doesn't mind though since part of the answer is he was so awed by Moss's abilities as a student he decided "not to bother learning to do what he could do so well".

* DeadpanSnarker: He is notorious for his dry, witty commentary, both in writing as during his commentary over video footage. There are several old UsefulNotes/FormulaOne review videos presented by Clive James that are full of wit (and a little sarcasm): "The Renaults looked very impressive touring around together like Fangio and Moss. Or Flanagan and Allen"; "In Mansell's pit I was glad to see that his helmet was still globular. Instead of crushed flat by the burden of being called 'The British Hope'"; "While the Renaults were being put back together so they could be thrown away..."; "Senna was so moved that he spoke"; "Piquet was on the pole. He was still on it when everyone else went past."

Vivian Leopold James (born 7 October 1939, died 24 November 2019), better known as Clive James, was an Australian-British journalist, critic, poet, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought-provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

Vivian Leopold James (born 7 October 1939, died 24 November 2019), better known as Clive James, was an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

He was very prominent throughout the 1980s and early 1990s on Creator/{{ITV}} and Creator/TheBBC where he presented various talk shows (''"Saturday Night Clive", "Sunday Night Clive"''), travel series (''"Postcards"''), documentaries (''"Fame In The 20th Century"''), UsefulNotes/FormulaOne races (the 1982, 1984 and 1986 seasons), programmes showcasing unusual footage from foreign TV shows (''"Clive James On Television"'') and New Year shows looking back at the past year via archive footage. Sadly most of James' TV work is a case of KeepCirculatingTheTapes. Snippets of his talkshows do turn up on Youtube from time to time, but will likely not see reruns or a DVD release soon seeing that he often poked fun at archive footage from other TV stations for which copyright needs to be paid. Another example of this is his 1993 ambitious documentary series ''Fame In The 20th Century'', about celebrities in the 20th century. The show used a lot of archive footage and clips from films and TV series, again bringing copyright problems into the mix. There is a book about the series, though, and it is available online on James' personal web site. On the Internet itself there is hardly any footage of this interesting series to be found.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: His documentary series "Fame Of The 20th Century" talked about how fame evolved during the 20th century as a result of the rise of mass media, especially film. From the 20th century on people could become famous in a matter of days and without having to do something first. Every episode handled roughly a decade and discussed many universally famous celebrities. He noted that "fame without achievement is nothing".
* DeadpanSnarker: He is notorious for his dry, witty commentary, both in writing as during his commentary over video footage.
** There are several old UsefulNotes/FormulaOne review videos presented by Clive James that are full of wit (and a little sarcasm): "The Renaults looked very impressive touring around together like Fangio and Moss. Or Flanagan and Allen"; "In Mansell's pit I was glad to see that his helmet was still globular. Instead of crushed flat by the burden of being called 'The British Hope'"; "While the Renaults were being put back together so they could be thrown away..."; "Senna was so moved that he spoke"; "Piquet was on the pole. He was still on it when everyone else went past."

* {{Homage}}: He was a personal friend of Princess Diana and heart broken when he heard of her death. He wrote a touching in memoriam about her: [[http://www.peteatkin.com/diana.htm]]

* LongRunners: James was a mainstay in British media since 1972, despite slowing down a bit due to his terminal cancer since the early 2010s.

* MistakenNationality: Due to the fact that he often appeared on British television many people assume he was English, but he was actually a native of UsefulNotes/{{Sydney}}, Australia. He lived and worked in the UK since 1962.
* PopCulturalOsmosis: To the general public he was most famous as a TV presenter, rather than an author.

* SelfDeprecation: Clive often poked fun at his baldness and old looks.
** In a 1987 TV special where he visited Japan he conversed with a salaryman who gives his age as 38. To which James responds, "You're 38, and you look 20. [[OlderThanTheyLook I'm 47, and I look 87.]]"
* SharpDressedMan: Often appeared in tuxedo while presenting his TV shows.

* TakeThat: His poem ''[[https://web.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poetry/bookofmyenemy.html The Book of my Enemy Has Been Remaindered]]'' is a massive TakeThat, although James never revealed who his 'enemy' was
* VacationEpisode: His TV series "Postcards" had Clive James travel to many large cities in the world, including New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Tokyo, Bombay, Miami, Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai and Sydney.

He was very prominent throughout the 1980s and early 1990s on Creator/{{ITV}} and Creator/TheBBC where he presented various talk shows (''"Saturday Night Clive", "Sunday Night Clive"''), travel series (''"Postcards"''), documentaries (''"Fame In The 20th Century"''), UsefulNotes/FormulaOne races (the 1982, 1984 and 1986 seasons), programmes showcasing unusual footage from foreign TV shows (''"Clive James On Television"'') and New Year shows looking back at the past year via archive footage. Sadly most of James' TV work is a case of KeepCirculatingTheTapes. Snippets of his talkshows do turn up on Youtube from time to time, but will likely not see reruns or a DVD release soon seeing that he often pokes fun at archive footage from other TV stations for which copyright needs to be paid. Another example of this is his 1993 ambitious documentary series ''Fame In The 20th Century'', about celebrities in the 20th century. The show used a lot of archive footage and clips from films and TV series, again bringing copyright problems into the mix. There is a book about the series, though, and it is available online on James' personal web site. On the Internet itself there is hardly any footage of this interesting series to be found.

Vivian Leopold James (born 7 October 1939, died 24 November 2019), better known as Clive James, is an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

James has written many books on literary criticism, essays and poetry. In 2013 he translated ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' into English.

* AwesomeAussie: He is an Australian who managed to become a popular presenter and author in the United Kingdom.
* CelebrityIsOverrated: His documentary series "Fame Of The 20th Century" talks about how fame evolved during the 20th century as a result of the rise of mass media, especially film. From the 20th century on people could become famous in a matter of days and without having to do something first. Every episode handled roughly a decade and discussed many universally famous celebrities. He notes that "fame without achievement is nothing".

* LongRunners: James has been a mainstay in British media since 1972, despite slowing down a bit due to his terminal cancer since the early 2010s.
* MeaningfulRename: His real given name is Vivien, but he was allowed to change it to Clive to avoid gender confusion.
* MistakenNationality: Due to the fact that he often appeared on British television many people assume he is English, but he is actually a native of Sydney, Australia. He has lived and worked in the UK since 1962.
* PopCulturalOsmosis: To the general public he is most famous as a TV presenter, rather than an author.

* SelfDeprecation: Clive often pokes fun at his baldness and old looks.
** In a 1987 TV special where he visited Japan he converses with a salaryman who gives his age as 38. To which James responds, "You're 38, and you look 20. [[OlderThanTheyLook I'm 47, and I look 87.]]"

Vivian Leopold James (born 7 October 1939), better known as Clive James, is an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

* MeaningfulRename: His real surname is Vivien, but he was allowed to change it to Clive to avoid gender confusion.

Clive James (1939) is an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

'''Clive James''' (1939) is an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in ''"The Guardian"'', published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

'''Clive James''' (1939) is an Australian-British journalist, novelist and TV presenter who gained fame in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom from 1972 on thanks to his thought provoking interviews and witty analysis of politicians, literature, music, art, film and television, published in various newspapers, magazines and periodicals. His television column in "The Guardian", published from 1972 to 1982, brought in many new readers and subscribers.

He was very prominent throughout the 1980s and early 1990s on Creator/{{ITV}} and Creator/TheBBC where he presented various talk shows ("Saturday Night Clive", "Sunday Night Clive"), travel series ("Postcards"), documentaries ("Fame In The 20th Century"), UsefulNotes/FormulaOne races (the 1982, 1984 and 1986 seasons), programmes showcasing unusual footage from foreign TV shows ("Clive James On Television") and New Year shows looking back at the past year via archive footage. Sadly most of James' TV work is a case of KeepCirculatingTheTapes. Snippets of his talkshows do turn up on Youtube from time to time, but will likely not see reruns or a DVD release soon seeing that he often pokes fun at archive footage from other TV stations for which copyright needs to be paid. Another example of this is his 1993 ambitious documentary series ''Fame In The 20th Century'', about celebrities in the 20th century. The show used a lot of archive footage and clips from films and TV series, again bringing copyright problems into the mix. There is a book about the series, though, and it is available online on James' personal web site. On the Internet itself there is hardly any footage of this interesting series to be found.

** There are several old Formula One review videos presented by Clive James that are full of wit (and a little sarcasm): "The Renaults looked very impressive touring around together like Fangio and Moss. Or Flanagan and Allen"; "In Mansell's pit I was glad to see that his helmet was still globular. Instead of crushed flat by the burden of being called 'The British Hope'"; "While the Renaults were being put back together so they could be thrown away..."; "Senna was so moved that he spoke"; "Piquet was on the pole. He was still on it when everyone else went past."

* MistakenNationality: Due to the fact that he often appeared on British television many people assume he is English, but he is actually a native of Sydney. He has lived and worked in the UK since 1962.

* PunBasedTitle: His shows "Saturday Night Clive" and "Sunday Night Clive"

He was very prominent throughout the 1980s and early 1990s on Creator/{{ITV}} and Creator/TheBBC where he presented various talk shows ("Saturday Night Clive", "Sunday Night Clive"), travel series ("Postcards"), documentaries ("Fame In The 20th Century"), UsefulNotes/FormulaOne races (the 1982, 1984 and 1986 seasons), programmes showcasing unusual footage from foreign TV shows ("Clive James On Television") and New Year shows looking back at the past year via archive footage.