 In
his two years in Australia, the Casual Cowboy Conjurer became known as
Claude (as in Clawed) and made forty plus TV appearances. He also
made a controversial appearance on the Nine Network's Don Lane's Tonight
Show when he described Australian TV as being  'full
of singers and old movies.' During the commercial break Network boss
Sir Frank Packer called the control room and told the director to get him
off. For a month after that show, people stopped him on the street
to comment on their reaction to the interview.
 Behind
the scenes, Clive lobbied the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) to
introduce more domestic drama and encouraged the industry to produce serial
drama like Coronation Street which was the most cost-effective way to train
Australian actors, writers and directors for television.
 Clive
was simply passing on what he had learned working at Granada TV with executive
producer Harry Elton. When the ABT required the networks to produce
a minimum of two hours of Australian drama per week, the commercial networks
heeded Clive's advice. Harry Kershaw brought the Coronation Street
stars on their first promotional tour of Australia and Clive caught up
with them in Sydney.
Clive launched the Australian TV Workshop in Sydney as a public access
group to develop performers, writers and directors for television.
They also held a wild Christmas party on a double-decker bus touring Sydney.
 
 TV
WEEK referred to Clive as "One of the best known magicians on Australian
television," and while he feels that may have been stretching it a bit,
he's proud of the fact that he managed to get two famous Australian magicians,
Les Levante and Maurice Rooklyn, their first TV appearances in years.
This was part of his promotional work for The 6th Convention of Australian
Magicians in Sydney, magicians roamed Sydney performing for anyone who
asked them. More than 300 were turned away from their sold out, standing
room only public show.
New Zealand was the next stop on the Casual
Cowboy Conjurer's world TV tour. |
