James Valentine, radio and TV presenter for almost 40 years, has died at the age of 64.
Born in Ballarat, he studied music at university before playing saxophone for The Models. He played for artists including Joe Camilleri, Kate Ceberano and Wendy Matthews and was also a member of Absent Friends.
By the mid-1980s as The Models was winding up, he hunted around for a career in the media, eventually landing a presenting role on ABC‘s children’s programming block, The Afternoon Show, debuting in 1987. After four years he left The Afternoon Show to host a late-night music program, Racket, lasting for ten weeks, and had a brief stint at Ten‘s Good Morning Australia.
He returned to ABC as a presenter, and later co-host, of television review TVTV.
He went on to a long career in radio, initially at ABC radio 2CN in Canberra before hosting mornings at 2BL (now 702 ABC Sydney). In 1999, he moved to the afternoon program, where he held the timeslot for 20 years. He took a brief detour to the breakfast shift in 2022. He later returned to afternoons before stepping away in 2024 to receive treatment for oesophageal cancer. He retired in February this year.
Other television credits included presenting for the Showtime channel, appearing on Midday, Sunrise and It Takes Two, and narrating the Foxtel series Come Dine With Me Australia.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) at a ceremony last Saturday.
James Valentine is survived by his wife Joanne and children Ruby and Roy.
Source: ABC, ABC. Sydney Morning Herald, 1 April 1991, 10 June 1991, 13 September 1993.
YouTube: ABC News (Australia)
