Broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine has died three months after retiring from ABC radio, after 25 years of hosting Sydney\u2019s Afternoons program.<\/p>\n
Valentine, 64, had been a fixture on the public broadcaster since he joined as host of the Afternoon Show for kids on ABC TV in 1987 after a decade of playing in bands including the Models.<\/p>\n
Valentine became a radio presenter in 1999. He held the role for more than two decades, with a brief detour presenting ABC Radio<\/a> Breakfast in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n In 2024 he revealed live on ABC radio that he had oesophageal cancer and was taking time off to undergo surgery<\/a>, saying he was \u201cequal parts hopeful and terrified\u201d.<\/p>\n He returned after treatment only to leave again last June when new tumours were discovered.<\/p>\n The Valentine family, including wife Joanne and their two children, Ruby and Roy, said the broadcaster made the choice to use voluntary assisted dying.<\/p>\n \u201cJames passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family, who adored him,\u201d Valentine\u2019s family said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout his illness, James did it his way, which lasted all the way until the end when he made the choice to do voluntary assisted dying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBoth he and his family are grateful he was given the option to go out on his own terms. He was calm, dignified as always and somehow still making us laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Valentine said in February he had pondered for some time how to tell his audience he was leaving again after he had twice gone on the radio<\/a> to reveal details of his disease.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad news, it\u2019s definitely sad news for me,\u201d Valentine told listeners.<\/p>\n Valentine was beloved for his creativity and offbeat humour. Listeners loved his unique segments including \u201crant\u201d, \u201cpetty crimes\u201d, \u201cthis is what I live with\u201d and conversations with comedian HG Nelson.<\/p>\n The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, said Valentine had been a \u201ctrusted companion\u201d for generations of Sydney listeners.<\/p>\n \u201cJames brought warmth, wit, and humanity to radio as an exemplar of radio craft,\u201d Marks said.<\/p>\n \u201cHis style was never about confrontation or noise \u2013 it was always about connection. James turned his patch of the Sydney airwaves into a place of companionship, and his daily presence will be deeply missed by his significant audience, and all of his colleagues at the ABC.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Drive presenter and friend Richard Glover said he could not think of anybody else who \u201clifted the mood of a city over such a long time as James did\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a daily effort to get people to concentrate on life, ordinary life, and how important and beautiful it is, and he did that every day for 25 years,\u201d Glover said on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you end up sitting, listening to radio, thinking, \u2018Gee, Sydneysiders are funny and lively and witty and gorgeous.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe brought that out in people.\u201d<\/p>\n On social media<\/a>, former Triple J and ABC Radio Sydney presenter Robbie Buck wrote: \u201cVale to one of the greatest. The joyous, irrepressible & unbelievably sharp James Valentine has left us. What a wonderful human to have worked with. Thanks for all the laughs James. Godspeed.X.\u201d<\/p>\n Another ex-colleague, Wendy Harmer, wrote<\/a>: \u201cLovely, clever man. You will be so missed!\u201d<\/p>\n