John Morrison Clarke was born on July 29, 1948, in Palmerston North, New Zealand and died on April 9, 2017.

He was a New Zealand-born Australian comedian, writer, and satirist.

John Clarke lived in Australia since the late 1970s.

Clarke was a regular actor and writer on Australian television.

Initially, he became well-known during the mid to late 1970s for portraying a laconic farmer called Fred Dagg on stage, film and television.

In addition Gumboot and singlet-clad, Dagg had seven sons all named “Trev”.

He also recorded a series of records and cassettes and published several books as Dagg.

But, thirty years the release, the first Fred Dagg album, Fred Dagg’s Greatest Hits (1976), remains one of New Zealand’s biggest selling records.

His earliest appearances as Fred Dagg was in the Australian media were on the ABC’s The Science Show and Dagg later made regular radio appearances on 2JJ until the station moved to FM and was renamed 2JJJ in 1980.

In 1972, he made his first film appearance in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, a film about an expatriate Australian in London.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, John appeared in several films, such as Never Say Die, alongside New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, Death in Brunswick, alongside another New Zealand actor, Sam Neill, and Blood Oath (released in some countries as Prisoners of the Sun).

In 2008, he was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.

He was presented The Logie by long-time collaborator and friend Bryan Dawe.

John died of a severe heart attack while bushwalking in the Grampians National Park in the Australian state of Victoria.

John Clarke passed away at 68 years old