Julian Clary

Julian Clary – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Julian Clary is a British comedian, actor, presenter, and author known for his camp humour, witty innuendos, and fearless persona. Explore his life, career, legacy, and most memorable quotes in this definitive biography.

Introduction

Julian Clary (born 25 May 1959) is one of the United Kingdom’s most distinctive and celebrated comedic voices. With his flamboyant style, razor-sharp wit, and bold openness about his identity, he broke new ground for gay entertainers in mainstream media. Beyond stand-up, he has worked in television, theatre, radio, and as a writer, showing remarkable versatility. Today, his story continues to resonate as an example of authenticity, humour, and resilience.

Early Life and Family

Julian Peter McDonald Clary was born in Surbiton, Surrey, on 25 May 1959.

Although raised in a Catholic household, Clary would later distance himself from organized religion.

From a young age, he exhibited a playful sense of performance, theatrics, and a flair for the dramatic—traits that would come to define his stage persona.

Youth and Education

Clary attended St Benedict’s School in Ealing for his earlier schooling. It was during his time at Goldsmiths that he refined his sensibility toward theatricality, satire, and the dark humour that would become a signature in his work.

While still in his formative years, Clary began exploring cabaret and alternative comedy circuits under stage names such as The Joan Collins Fan Club. He embraced camp aesthetics, innuendo, and flamboyance even before fully entering television.

Career and Achievements

Early Stage and Cabaret

In the early 1980s, Julian Clary began performing in cabaret circuits, sometimes billed as The Joan Collins Fan Club. He experimented with persona, costume, and audience provocations. Eventually, his sharp comedic voice caught attention, and he moved into television.

Television Breakthrough

Clary’s television breakthrough came with Sticky Moments with Julian Clary on Channel 4 in 1989.

He also starred in Terry & Julian (1992), a comedic sitcom with audience interaction elements. Have I Got News for You), and engaged in celebrity reality formats. Celebrity Big Brother 10.

Radio, Stage, and Theatre

On radio, Clary hosted Intimate Contact on BBC Radio 1 in the early 1990s. Just a Minute (Radio 4).

In theatre and on stage, he has played roles in West End productions and pantomimes. Notably, he portrayed Leigh Bowery in Taboo, and was cast as the Emcee in Cabaret (West End). The Dresser, and more recently joined the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar (UK tour) as Herod.

Writing & Literary Work

Clary is also an accomplished writer:

• His memoir A Young Man’s Passage (published in 2005) chronicles his life up to the early 1990s.

• A later memoir, The Lick of Love: How Dogs Changed My Life, was released in 2021.

• He has published adult novels: Murder Most Fab (2007), Devil in Disguise (2009), Briefs Encountered (2012), and Curtain Call to Murder (2024).

• For children, he is the author of The Bolds series (beginning 2015) and related works.

Recognition & Honors

Goldsmiths, University of London, made Clary an Honorary Fellow in 2005.

His longevity in entertainment and willingness to push boundaries have made him both beloved and controversial over decades.

Historical Milestones & Context

Clary emerged in a time when openly gay performers were rare in mainstream British television. In embracing his identity unapologetically, he contributed to a broader shift in LGBT visibility in British media.

One of his most notorious moments came at the British Comedy Awards in 1993, when he made a risqué joke referencing the former Chancellor Norman Lamont and "fisting," which sparked media uproar.

He also navigated personal tragedy publicly: his boyfriend Christopher died of AIDS in 1991, a loss he has addressed in his memoir and work.

Through the years, the norms of television, censorship, and social acceptance have evolved, and Clary both influenced and echoed those changes via his provocative style.

Legacy and Influence

Clary’s impact is felt on several fronts:

1. LGBT Representation in Comedy
   By being overtly gay, camp, and irreverent, he challenged the restrictive norms of entertainment, making space for more diverse voices in British comedy.

2. Blending Genres
   His career—moving from stand-up to television, theatre, radio, and books—demonstrates versatility. Many modern performers now shift across media seamlessly; Clary was among the early ones doing so.

3. Voice of Outspokenness
   His brand of humor embraces innuendo, self-mockery, and boundary-pushing wit. Younger comedians often cite him as an influence in how to combine personal identity with performance.

4. Literary & Youth Appeal
   Through his novels and children’s lit (The Bolds), he shows that his creativity isn’t confined to adult comedy. He reaches new audiences who may never see his stage persona.

5. Cultural Longevity
   From the 1980s to the 2020s, Clary remains active and visible—testament to his adaptability, resilience, and enduring audience.

In interviews and writings, he often reflects on aging, legacy, and transformation—but always with humour and candour.

Personality and Talents

Julian Clary is known for his flamboyant dress, make-up, and audacious stage presence.

Despite the camp exterior, he is intellectually sharp and literate. Clary has often remarked that he gains as much satisfaction from crafting a beautifully turned sentence as from landing a punchline.

He also possesses emotional depth: he addresses loss, aging, desire, and identity beneath the comedy. His relationships, grief, and personal evolution have informed his memoirs and work.

In private life, Clary lives with his husband Ian Mackley (married in 2016).

His friendship with singer-songwriter Barb Jungr is also notable: they first met in 1985, collaborated, and have remained close ever since.

Clary is reflective about aging, beauty, and time—not denying them but confronting them with a mixture of humour, regret, acceptance, and defiant sparkle.

Famous Quotes of Julian Clary

Here are some memorable lines that capture his wit, perspective, and voice (slightly curated and adapted for flow):

• “I live in a kind of gay bubble. I live in a gay house, I drive a gay car. I eat gay food.”

• “I thought they were staring at me because I was gay. But it was because I was on the telly.”

• “If I’ve been here a long time, I think: I must go to London and speak to someone or see a bus.”

• “I didn’t think of myself as a tart, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who did.”

• “Just because someone’s dead doesn’t mean it’s over. My grandfather died more than 25 years ago, but I still think of him a lot and smell his smell.”

• “The English like eccentrics. They just don’t like them living next door.”

• “I’ve found a more personal, pagan kind of religion to satisfy the spiritual side of things.”

• “I was lightweight – that was the whole point of me.”

• “The good thing about getting older is that, as you become less attractive, so you have less desire to go out and conquer everyone you see.”

• “It’s a wise thing to hold back.”

These quotes reveal a mixture of self-deprecation, defiance, insight, and poetic sensitivity.

Lessons from Julian Clary

1. Authenticity matters
   Clary built his career not by hiding who he was, but by embracing it—even when it risked backlash. For creators and public figures, that boldness can pave new paths.

2. Humour as subversion
   His style used satire, irony, and camp to challenge conventions and norms. Comedy can be both entertainment and critique.

3. Versatility sustains
   Clary never limited himself to one medium. His moves into theatre, writing, radio, and children’s literature demonstrate how reinvention can sustain a long career.

4. Vulnerability is strength
   He confronts grief, loss, aging, and identity—not as weaknesses but as integral parts of life—and allows those themes into his public art.

5. Connection with the audience
   From flirting with a stranger in the audience to reading a personal anecdote, he bridges performer and people. That connection is at the heart of lasting influence.

Conclusion

Julian Clary’s journey is richer, more complex, and more daring than most comedians dare to tread. He is a trailblazer—once an outlier, now an enduring icon. His life is a testament to the power of being true to oneself, of using laughter to confront fears, and of stretching creative boundaries over decades.

Whether you encounter him through stand-up, television, theatre, or books, his voice remains unmistakable. And his quotes—witty, poignant, confrontational, tender—carry his spirit forward.

If you enjoy this, feel free to explore more Julian Clary quotes, learn from his multifaceted life and career, and dive deeper into the famous sayings that made him unforgettable.