Clive Robertson (born 28 December 1945) is an Australian radio and television personality in Sydney who has been heard on both the AM and FM bands for over forty years.

Early life

Robertson was born in

Katoomba, New South Wales Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and the administrative headquarters of Blue Mountains City Council. The council's understanding is that Katoomba is located on the lands of the Dharug and ...

, in 1945. He left school at the age of 16 to begin work on a farm (including his beloved "Massey-Harris tractor"), going on to work for his father (a lawyer), later doing court work, and then moving on to become an electrical apprentice as well as running wires for the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

. He later worked on the railways cleaning

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomo ...

, and also driving them from time to time, which would fuel a lifelong fascination with them.

Career

In 1967 with the advent of

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, Robertson began his broadcasting career working at a number of stations in the southwest of Western Australia. In 1972 he joined the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) in Sydney, beginning on the radio station 2BL. He moved to Canberra a few months later and worked on 2CY and 2CN. A well known part of his breakfast show on 2BL was his daily ''tête-à-tête'' with either

Caroline Jones Caroline Jones (born June 30, 1990) is an American country music singer, songwriter and radio host. Jones has released a number of albums, the most successful one being ''Bare Feet''. Her most recent album, ''Antipodes'', was released on Novemb ...

Margaret Throsby Margaret Ellen Throsby AM, (born 1941) is an Australian radio and television broadcaster. She is known for having interviewed thousands of notable people for Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio programs. Early life Margaret Ellen Thros ...

. He also presented the 7 pm television news for the ABC. In 1980, he worked at 2DAY-FM, but returned to the ABC some months later. From 1982 to 1988 he was host of the ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

'' television talk show on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. Leaving ABC radio, he then moved to the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

where he hosted the news program '' 11AM'', and in 1985 became the host of ''Newsworld''. Robertson took a unique approach to ''Newsworld'', and his later news show on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

, ''Robbo's World Tonight'': Over the years Robertson has also presented radio programs on 6VA, 6TZ,

6IX 6IX (stylised as 6iX) is a commercial radio station in Perth, Western Australia, broadcasting a classic hits and oldies format from its studios in Osborne Park. First broadcast in 1933, the station is currently owned and operated as a joint ...

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the ...

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total radio ra ...

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's progr ...

and

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

, as well as TV station STW-9 and

. In 2006 he returned to national TV screens on the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

show ''Agony Aunts''. Robertson filled in for

Stan Zemanek Stan Zemanek (29 May 1947 – 12 July 2007) was an Australian radio broadcaster, television presenter, radio producer and author who presented a night-time show on The Macquarie Network station 2UE in Sydney and which was networked across par ...

on 2UE from 8 pm to midnight just prior to Christmas in 2006. After the new year, he was moved to the midnight to dawn overnight timeslot. Robertson left 2UE in March 2008, not able to cope with the hours, but returned to 3 pm to 6 pm on weekend afternoons, and later the 2UE ''Nights'' program (8:00 pm to 12:00 am).

On-air personality

Robertson is known for his wry wit and humorous dealings with

talk-back Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

callers, and his outspoken manner. He said that Perth radio station

fired him because he would not use the station's slogan, "Have a happy day".

Personal life

Robertson has been married twice. His second marriage was to actress

Penny Cook Penelope Cook (13 July 1957 – 26 December 2018) was an Australian actress, stage director, TV presenter and writer. She played roles in the soap opera ''A Country Practice'', as Vicki Dean Bowen from 1981 to 1985, '' E Street'' as lead anchor-c ...

. Both marriages ended in divorce.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Clive 1945 births Classical music radio presenters Australian talk radio hosts Australian television personalities Living people People from Sydney People from Katoomba, New South Wales ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Former 2GB presenters