00:02You get a year's worth of salt from...
00:04James Valentine mastered the art of warmth and whimsical.
00:08Thanks for that, Josh. Gee, that's my lunch tomorrow.
00:10That is my lunch tomorrow. Vegemite and a salt and vinegar chip.
00:14Glad it is for you.
00:15For more than 25 years, his afternoon's radio show was a staple of Sydney life.
00:21Tell me about music that's meant a lot to you at a particular point in your life.
00:28Before radio, Valentine was already a familiar figure in showbiz,
00:32as a member of the rock band Models.
00:36A media career then beckoned, fronting an afternoon children's show.
00:41I'm James Valentine, and every weekday from 5 to 6.30,
00:45I'll be here to bring you 90 minutes of unbeatable television.
00:48He soon became a trusted voice on radio,
00:51where many of his fans learned of his passing.
00:54We're setting aside our regular programming for this morning
00:57because we have some very sad news to share with you.
01:01James Valentine has died.
01:03We're going to miss him so much. He's just remarkable.
01:08He always left me feeling uplifted after I'd listened to him on the radio.
01:13I think he invented this brand of talkback radio,
01:17where he literally came into the studio
01:20and made the audience his co-star, his co-host.
01:25In his final days, James Valentine had been awarded the Order of Australia.
01:29So he knew the community in Australia really regarded him as someone
01:34who should be on a role.
01:35He is someone who was engaging to talk with
01:39and who Australians listened to and trusted.
01:44He survived by his wife, Joanne, and their two children.
01:48Obviously, everyone knows that he was such a kind man
01:50and so generous and compassionate,
01:52but he was just such a great dad as well.
01:54This period has just been like one of kind of pure joy with him and love.
02:01James Valentine retired earlier this year
02:03to focus on his treatment for cancer in the abdomen.
02:06The relationship's very, very strong.
02:08People walk up to me and just start talking like they're my best friend.
02:11They are. They are my best friend.
02:13They've known me for 15 years or they've been listening for a decade.
02:15They've been listening for the whole lot.
02:17So you have to sort of...
02:18You have to really honour and respect that relationship.
02:21It's a friendship.
02:22A voice across generations of wit and empathy.
02:30A voice across generations of wit and empathy.
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