John Morrison Clarke (29 July 1948 – 9 April 2017) was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s.

He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in both radio and television and also in print.

He is principally known for his character Fred Dagg and his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, which lasted from 1989 to his death in 2017, as well as for his success as a comic actor in Australian and New Zealand film and television.

[2] Clarke first became known during the mid to late 1970s for portraying a laconic farmer called Fred Dagg on stage, film and television.

[1] These are described by Robert Phiddian & Jessica Milner as John Clarke's "most sustained comic attack on public mendacity.

This feature set the segments apart from the typical approach to this form of satire, including Clarke's earlier series The Gillies Report (1985–86).

[9] The pair continued to do mock interviews for A Current Affair until 1997, satirising a range of figures including Paul Keating, Alexander Downer, George Bush, and Alan Bond.

[9] In 2001, Billy Connolly starred in a film based on Clarke's screenplay The Man Who Sued God (re-written by Don Watson).

[20] In 2002 Clarke appeared in a villainous role in the movie Crackerjack[21] and as a comedy club owner in the award-winning telemovie Roy Hollsdotter Live.

[22] After a quiet period, he re-emerged in 2004, adapting Melbourne author Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan series for film.

[25] In 2004 he was the recipient of the Byron Kennedy Award, "for his works of sustained excellence and for the inspiration he presents to all of us in his roles as poet, playwright, actor, author, director and producer.

"[32] Long-time collaborator Bryan Dawe said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, "He'd never forget what was going on in your life", and paid tribute to their partnership; "The trick with John was he had these sparkling eyes.

ABC television also screened a program containing tributes from Dawe and other friends, politicians, colleagues and comedians entitled John Clarke: Thanks for Your Time.

[42] The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards added a category in 2024 named the John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing for works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.