I am not normally a cut and paste guy, but this is for the industry. Cheers to Clive.



Clive McLean Remembered

LOS ANGELES - As I pulled up to the Hotel Bel Air, all I could think of was how what an incredibly beautiful day it was, and how sad it was that I was spending this sunny day mourning one of the adult industry's finest and most influential photographers. Clive McLean was a handsome man of 60, and along with his rugged good looks and wonderfully British sense of humor, Clive was the kind of man that couldn't go unnoticed. With a cigar and good jokes in hand, he was a man impossible not to warm up to. When I first met him I was a little girl, so of course I can't recall the meeting. But when I met him again, at 23 when I was still new to the business, I found him incredibly charming and, well (sorry, Erica, don't get jealous), sexy! At first, this was much to the dismay of my mother who had been a huge competitor of his for years, but recently became a close friend of his after so many years of the "pussy wars." But, after all the porn competition had died down, Suze came to realize what an incredible man he was, and what a wonderfully great friend he could be. And though I must say that Clive's death was a huge blow to her, through his death she instilled in me the promise never to take anything for granted.

Clive was a brilliant man who, as Larry Flynt put it, "Is much a part of Hustler as I am." I have never seen Larry emotional, and to see him shed tears made me realize how many lives (both the great and the small) Clive had touched. The service was beautiful, and during all of the speeches, there wasn't a dry eye in sight. I sat in the second row and sobbed - and I didn't even get the privilege of knowing him as well as I could have. The service began with Flynt's speech, and though he was obviously distraught, he was amazingly pulled together. It was apparent to the entire service that he was heartbroken - as were we all - but he wore his grief with dignity. The service continued with a speech from Clive's physical therapist, his wife's spiritual counselor, as well as a few others that I didn't recognize but who certainly expressed a deep sense of loss at his passing. But one of the greatest speeches came from Matti Klatt.

Matti had been an associate photographer at Hustler with Clive for years, and spoke of the good times they had together. He didn't dwell on the loss, or the awful realization of Clive's death - he spoke about the good times. He talked about the amazing photo shoots they'd done together, the drunk nights in Mexico, and ultimately, the influence Clive provided. To watch Matti speak of Clive was to live Clive's life all over again. When he said, "I feel robbed, because we had so many good times together, and I know there were so many more to come," everyone else in the service felt robbed, too.

But at the end of the day, the funeral was about Clive's beautiful wife, Erica.

When I first met her she gushed over how much I had changed since she'd seen me as a little girl, which is something I get fairly often in this business, since my mother has been around for so long. But Erica's enthusiasm was genuine, and I remember how beautiful she made me feel that day. The love Erica and Clive enjoyed really struck me at his funeral, and in all honesty it made me hope for the possibility of finding that "something" they had. In the context of death, I longed for the love they had shared. In fact, my grief was at that moment almost muddled by the jealousy of the love between them. And when she finally took the stand and spoke, though her words were few they were the most significant of the entire ceremony. She said, "If you love someone, love them with all your heart. Because you never know when you will tell them that for the last time."

Near the podium, there was a collage of all of the images of Clive's life - his times with Erica, his times with his son Roman, his times just enjoying life. It made me realize, that I may be 26, but life ends too abruptly for everyone. And it was at that moment that I honestly had my first taste of my own mortality. And I had a taste of the loss Erica, Roman, and everyone else that loved Clive must have been feeling.

As a nod to his Scottish heritage, bagpipes sang mournfully, and a kilt was hung up below the large black and white portrait of Clive that was displayed. Butterflies were the theme of the ceremony, and I found that especially significant. According to legend, if a butterfly is to land upon you, it is considered good luck. Butterflies also live for approximately one week to one year, depending on the species. I felt it was an appropriate symbol, because everyone who knew Clive felt lucky that he "landed" upon them, and also felt that his life span was much too short.

- Holly Randall
hollyrandall.com

From.... http://www.avninsider.com/stories/lead041405.shtml