When Tosha Hays first walked into Steve Clements office, the wall art made her wonder if she was in the right place. She was there for public speaking coaching, but all around her were pictures of people she’d seen on TV.
“I looked around and wondered what I’d gotten myself into,” she said with a laugh. “There was even a picture of his with one of the (U.S.) presidents. I said, ‘Who is this guy?’”
Clements was more than just half of the husband-wife team that ran Executive Speak/Write, a communications training firm. He was also a former Hollywood writer and producer who’d worked with all manner of celebrities. In 1999, he left California and headed across the country to Georgia, where he became the Cree Walker Distinguished Professor of Communications at Augusta State University. He was named professor emeritus when he retired in 2011.
By the time Clements and his wife, Claudia Coplon Clements, started their business in 2002, he’d worked with everyone from movie stars to undergrads.
“It was a very interesting segue,” his wife said. “But he was wonderful at putting people at ease and helping them talk to audiences.”
Stevan Clements, called Steve by all, died Oct. 2, from complications of multiple health issues. He was 68. His body was cremated by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care. There are no immediate memorial service plans.
A native of New York, Clements far-flung career was no accident. He earned bachelor and master’s degrees from Brooklyn (N.Y.) College before heading to Hollywood. He spent more than two decades on the West Coast, his wife said, writing for situation comedies including “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Three’s Company.” He also wrote and produced episodes for “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” television series, which aired in the ‘90s.
“He pretty much aged out of Hollywood,” she said. “He’d go to meetings and people were calling him a ‘pioneer,’ but he was only in his 50s. So he knew it was time for a change.”
From the hundreds of resumes Clements sent out, Augusta State was the only offer that appealed to him. So he moved, initially to Augusta, but soon relocated to Atlanta to join his wife.
“We met online,” Claudia Clements said. “That was 12 years ago. What can I say? We were pioneers in online dating,” she said with a hearty laugh, adding, “There is that word again.”
Clements not only took on clients like Hays, but he also taught continuing education classes at Emory University and conducted workshops.
“He was so good at bringing out the best in a person,” Hays said. “And he didn’t talk about who he was or what he’d done. The light was always shining on you.”
In addition to his wife, Clements is survived by a daughter from his first marriage, Julia Merle Clements of Los Angeles; and a sister, Ellen Diamond of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
About the Author
