Ruby Dee obituary
Actor and activist in the American civil rights movementThe actor and civil rights activist Ruby Dee, who has died aged 91, played an important part in the struggle for equality for African Americans,...
View ArticleJimmy Scott obituary
Jazz singer with a distinctive high voice who first went on the road in the 1940s and was later taken up by Lou Reed and David LynchWhen Jimmy Scott delivered a ballad such as The Masquerade is Over,...
View ArticleDavid MacLennan
Actor, writer and producer at the heart of Scottish theatre who co-founded the 7:84 touring companyDavid MacLennan, who has died aged 65 after suffering from motor neurone disease, was at the heart of...
View ArticleBen Whitaker
Former Labour MP for Hampstead who made important contributions to civil liberties in the UK and abroadThe former Labour MP for Hampstead, north London, Ben Whitaker, who has died aged 79, was the...
View ArticleSam Kelly obituary
Versatile stage and screen character actor loved for his roles in popular TV comediesEqually at home in panto and Pinter, sitcom and Shakespeare, Sam Kelly, who has died of cancer aged 70, was a...
View ArticleFrancis Matthews obituary
Glamorous star of the BBC's Paul Temple and voice of Captain ScarletTall, slender and with a quietly amused expression, Francis Matthews, who has died aged 86, was ideally suited to play Francis...
View ArticleTony Gibson obituary
Tony Gibson, a community activist, who has died aged 94, was an influential figure who did much to ensure that the voices of ordinary people are able to influence the shape of the cities, towns and...
View ArticleLetter: Rik Mayall's courage in Cell Mates
I acted with Rik Mayall just once, in 1995, in the ill-fated production of Simon Gray's Cell Mates, directed by Simon himself. After Stephen Fry went Awol, we were all shattered, but no one more than...
View ArticleDan Jacobson obituary
South African-born writer, novelist and critic who became a professor at University College LondonDan Jacobson, who has died aged 85, should rank as one the leading novelists of his time. That he was...
View ArticlePhil Mottram obituary
Cinematographer dedicated to the London Film School, where he worked as a lecturer, course director and administratorPhil Mottram, who has died aged 82, was for 40 years a guiding spirit of the London...
View ArticleThe Rev Robert Buckley obituary
My friend and former colleague Robert Buckley, who has died aged 64, was a physicist and headteacher who won the Institute of Physics teacher award in 1991. He found his further calling in the Anglican...
View ArticleFrank Schirrmacher obituary
Former publisher of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, whose writing on culture and technology spanned the ideological divideFrank Schirrmacher, who has died aged 54 after a heart attack, was not just...
View ArticleMalcolm MacDonald obituary
My friend Malcolm MacDonald, who has died aged 66, was a highly respected writer on music, who also used the professional name Calum MacDonald. He had a formidable intellect, an encyclopedic knowledge...
View ArticleGyula Grosics obituary
Adventurous goalkeeper who played in three World Cups for Hungary's 'Mighty Magyars' football teamGyula Grosics, who has died aged 88, was the goalkeeper of the magnificent Hungarian team that won 6-3...
View ArticlePeter Marsh obituary
Social psychologist who penetrated the worlds of football hooligans and urban gangs to research the causes of violenceThe social psychologist Peter Marsh, who has died aged 67, was fearless in the...
View ArticleAlan Douglas obituary
Record producer best known for his controversial posthumous releases of Jimi Hendrix recordingsThe term "hipster" is loosely applied in today's culture, but the American record producer Alan Douglas,...
View ArticleDaniel Keyes obituary
Author of the science-fiction story Flowers for Algernon, which became the 1968 film CharlyDaniel Keyes, who has died aged 86, wrote the admired science-fiction story Flowers for Algernon, the tale of...
View ArticleLetter: Charles Farthing helped bring Aids out of the shadows
My friend Alastair MacInnes was one of the people treated by Charles Farthing in the early 1980s, in what was rightly described as a climate of fear about this mysterious disease that was killing...
View ArticleLetter: Vladimir Derer and the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy
I spent many happy hours working on newsletters (and dinners) with Vladimir Derer and his wife, Vera, at their home in the 1970s. I remember a Labour conference at that time, when several of us from...
View ArticleLetter: Sam Kelly's apprenticeship at Liverpool Everyman theatre
In 1968Sam Kelly was part of a brilliant company at the Liverpool Everyman theatre that included Alison Steadman and Jonathan Pryce. When students, my wife and I saw him many times and our programme...
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