Max Clifford: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Maxwell Clifford''' (born [[April 6]] [[1943]] in [[Kingston, Surrey]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[publicist]] |
|||
'''Maxwell Clifford''' (born [[April 6]] [[1943]] in [[Kingston, Surrey]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[publicist]]. Although his client range is varied, he is a controversial figure for sometimes representing unpopular clients (such as those accused or convicted of crimes) and acting as an agent to people selling "kiss-and-tell" stories to [[tabloid]] [[newspaper]]s. A traditional Labour supporter, Clifford openly vowed to bring down the government of [[John Major]] because he personally felt, due to family reasons (his one child was born with rheumatoid arthritis), that the [[British National Health Service|National Health Service]] was mismanaged. |
|||
Although his client range is varied, he is a controversial figure for sometimes representing unpopular clients (such as those accused or convicted of crimes) and acting as an agent to people selling "kiss-and-tell" stories to [[tabloid]] [[newspaper]]s. |
|||
==Background== |
|||
Clifford is a more complex character than just a purveyor of [[sleaze]], as many of his victims have branded him. While he is rich, what motivates him is much more than just money - he cannot stand hypocrisy in public life, and reserves a particular disgust for lying politicians. His only daughter Lousie, who has suffered from [[rheumatoid arthritis]] since childhood - is also a motivating factor behind many of his decision, saying he has watched with growing anger at what has happened to the health service over the past 20 years. |
|||
Resultantly, as with a working class background, Clifford is a traditional Labour supporter who worked to bring down the government of [[John Major]] because he personally felt that the [[British National Health Service|National Health Service]] was mismanaged. |
|||
==Biography== |
|||
As a young man he was a press officer for [[EMI]], and helped to promote [[The Beatles]] early in their career. |
As a young man he was a press officer for [[EMI]], and helped to promote [[The Beatles]] early in their career. |
||
Revision as of 16:50, 21 June 2006
Maxwell Clifford (born April 6 1943 in Kingston, Surrey) is a British publicist
Although his client range is varied, he is a controversial figure for sometimes representing unpopular clients (such as those accused or convicted of crimes) and acting as an agent to people selling "kiss-and-tell" stories to tabloid newspapers.
Background
Clifford is a more complex character than just a purveyor of sleaze, as many of his victims have branded him. While he is rich, what motivates him is much more than just money - he cannot stand hypocrisy in public life, and reserves a particular disgust for lying politicians. His only daughter Lousie, who has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis since childhood - is also a motivating factor behind many of his decision, saying he has watched with growing anger at what has happened to the health service over the past 20 years.
Resultantly, as with a working class background, Clifford is a traditional Labour supporter who worked to bring down the government of John Major because he personally felt that the National Health Service was mismanaged.
Biography
As a young man he was a press officer for EMI, and helped to promote The Beatles early in their career.
Clifford made his name for his role with client Freddie Starr in one of the most famous British tabloid newspaper headlines of all time. On 13 March 1986 The Sun carried as its main headline: FREDDIE STARR ATE MY HAMSTER. According to the text of the story, Starr had been staying at the home of Vince McCaffrey and his 23-year old girlfriend Lea La Salle in Birchwood, Cheshire when the incident took place. Starr was claimed to have returned home from a performance at a Manchester nightclub in the small hours of the morning and demanded that Lea La Salle make him a sandwich. When she refused, he went into the kitchen and put her pet hamster Supersonic between two slices of bread and proceeded to eat it.
He has since represented other celebrities including Jimi Hendrix, Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, David Copperfield, O.J. Simpson and Mohamed Al-Fayed. Lesser-known clients include brain-damaged boxer Michael Watson, former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson, and Tony Martin (a Norfolk farmer imprisoned for fatally shooting a burglar).
Clifford was instrumental in exposing David Mellor's affair with Antonia de Sancha, that derailed John Major's Back to Basics agenda. He helped expose Jeffrey Archer. In 2005, he paid damages to settle defamation proceedings brought by Neil and Christine Hamilton after he represented Nadine Milroy-Sloane, who was later found to have falsely accused the Hamiltons of sexual assault.
In July 2005 he told reporters that he would not represent Michael Jackson after he was found innocent of child abuse charges. He said, "It would be the hardest job in PR after Saddam Hussein" [1].
He was accused by David Blunkett at the beginning of November 2005 of having a role in his second resignation. This derived from claims made on behalf of a much younger woman, who had become involved with Blunkett, over Blunkett's business interests, which were published in The Times. Later that week Clifford was accused of arranging a distraction from the assault made by his friend Rebekah Wade on her husband, Eastenders actor Ross Kemp, via the "coincidence" of the other "Mitchell brother", Steve McFadden being in a similar incident with an ex-partner. Clifford denied all responsibility.
On 26 April 2006, Clifford represented John Prescott's diary secretary Tracey Temple, in selling her story for "an awful lot more" than £100,000 to the Mail on Sunday about their two year affair between 2002 and 2004. This relationship is said to have commenced after an office party.[2]
Reporter Louis Theroux followed Max Clifford in the BBC2 2002 programme When Louis Met… Max Clifford
On 4 May 2006, Clifford announced his intention to expose politicians who fail to abide by the standards expected to them in public office. He named his team of undercover reporters as "a dedicated and loyal bunch".
References
External link
 | This British biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |