ABC's 'one-off broadcaster' Clive Robertson dies aged 78

Legendary broadcaster Clive Robertson, who gained popularity for his original style and going off script, has died aged 78.

Robertson, who had been diagnosed with cancer, was remembered on Thursday by colleagues as a "one-off".

Clive Robertson would "drive you mad if you let him", according to Margaret Throsby. (ABC Archives)

He began his ABC career in 1967 before taking over Sydney's Breakfast program on what was then 2BL in 1972.

In a special program celebrating the 100th anniversary of ABC Radio Sydney last year, presenter Rod Quinn, who researched the history of the station, said Robertson broke the mould of the stiff and serious presenter.

"[He] became both the first of a new breed of announcer, but totally original — a one of a kind who is still remembered fondly today by listeners who tuned in each morning for his philosophical musings and quirky observations on life," Quinn said.

"He won fans from other stations, too, and not just listeners from commercial radio who wanted to know what all the fuss was about, but other breakfast presenters who described Clive as brilliant, bordering on genius.

"Different, refreshing, our youngest eccentric, a communicator, a humourist."

The most fondly remembered part of his program was his daily exchanges with the then-host of the Mornings program, Margaret Throsby.

"He never abided by the rules," Throsby told ABC Radio Sydney.

"He'd never say, 'So what's on your show today?' He'd pick up some fragment of something from somewhere and ask me about it and I was completely unprepared and we'd just have to riff."

Throsby acknowledged that his views on women were problematic, but listeners loved him.

"He’d drive you mad if you took it seriously," she said.

"But that was who he was. 

"He was a one-off.

"[His program] had a cult following — he really was incredibly, incredibly popular."

Clive Robertson hosted 2BL's Breakfast program in the 1970s. (ABC Archives)

Throsby also worked with Robertson after he left the ABC and was hosting Channel 10's Beauty and the Beast in the 1980s.

Robertson later joined Channel 7 as a newsreader, where he continued to ignore the usual conventions.

"Famously, if he didn't like the story he was asked to read … if it was about sport, for instance, because he hated sport, he would just chuck [the script] on the floor and say, 'The next story is about sport' and he'd throw it away and start on the next story," Throsby said.

While this approach angered journalists, Robertson got away with it because he rated so well.

"If you said, 'Look, this is a silly item, I don't know why we're running it' and you run it and it is a silly item, you've got them," he told the ABC's Talking Heads program in 2005.

"And it's not a con."

Robertson had broadcasting stints on a range of stations, including ABC Classic FM and 2UE.