Chris Collins obituary
The film production executive Chris Collins, who has died of cancer aged 52, believed passionately in cinema as an art form as well as an entertainment category. And he viewed public service – in which...
View ArticleJon Stallworthy obituary
Poet, biographer and literary scholar who became closely linked with the war poet Wilfred OwenWhen Jon Stallworthy, who has died aged 79, delivered the British Academy’s Chatterton lecture in 1970,...
View ArticleBobby Keys obituary
Saxophone player for many of the greats of rock’n’roll, including the Rolling StonesThe saxophonist Bobby Keys, who has died aged 70, played with a remarkable list of rock’n’roll greats including Buddy...
View ArticleLetter: David Mackay obituary
I first met David Mackay at the time that he and his firm MBM designed the Homage to Barcelona exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London, in 1985. Barcelona’s mayor, Pasqual Maragall, took up an idea...
View ArticleLetter: Willie Donaldson, newspaper columnist, helped launch Frankie Fraser’s...
Roger Ridey writes: The transformation of Frankie Fraser from East End gangster to media character can be attributed in large part to Willie Donaldson, writer of The Henry Root Letters, who often...
View ArticleRoy Bhaskar obituary
One of the most influential voices in the philosophy of science and a political revolutionaryRoy Bhaskar, who has died aged 70 of heart failure, turned to philosophy only after becoming an economics...
View ArticleJeremy Thorpe obituary
Charismatic leader of the Liberal party whose career was brought to an end by a murder conspiracy chargeJeremy Thorpe, who has died at the age of 85, became the principal forgotten figure of modern...
View ArticleLewis Baltz obituary
Landscape photographer who specialised in austere images revealing the impact of development on the American wildernessLewis Baltz, whose austere, monochrome images of suburban development helped to...
View ArticleIan McLagan
Keyboard player whose evocative playing became part of the fabric of rock’n’roll historyMusic history has a special niche reserved for Ian McLagan, who has died aged 69 after suffering a stroke. His...
View ArticleMary Burkett obituary
Champion of the arts, she explored Cumbria’s cultural heritageArt was “the foundation of life” for Mary Burkett, who has died aged 90. “Everyone’s mind needs art whether they know it or not” was her...
View Articlejeremy thorpe obituary letter
Chris Mullin writes: In 1970 I stood against Jeremy Thorpe as the Labour candidate in North Devon. He impressed me for several reasons. North Devon was a classic rural constituency with all the...
View Articleletter mary glen haig hospital
Ann Hawker writes: The fine obituary of the Olympic fencer and sports administrator Dame Mary Glen Haig referred to her full-time work as a hospital administrator. I first encountered her in that...
View ArticleArthur Butterworth obituary
Composer, conductor and trumpeter with a passion for all things northernThe composer Arthur Butterworth, who has died aged 91, started his musical career as a trumpeter in the Scottish (now Royal...
View ArticleSabah obituary
Lebanese singer and actor who symbolised a more forward-looking, carefree eraThe Lebanese singer Sabah, who has died at the age of 87, was one of the great divas of the Arab world. She appeared in more...
View ArticleRaleigh Trevelyan obituary
My friend and distant relative Raleigh Trevelyan, who has died aged 91, was a writer and historian whose work drew on an encyclopedic knowledge of Trevelyan family history – a rich seam. His books...
View ArticleIan Fraser obituary
Our brother, Ian Fraser, who has died aged 81, conducted the 1961 West End hit Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, and was Julie Andrews’s musical director for 40 years.Ian went to the US with Stop the...
View ArticleMuthusamy Varadarajan
My friend Muthusamy Varadarajan (widely known as Varad), who has died aged 81, was a respected Indian civil servant. He was a minister at the Indian High Commission in London (1979-83), and was...
View ArticleJohn Morton obituary
My friend and mentor John Morton, who has died aged 83, devoted his life to music, the theatre and friends. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, John worked as a freelance director for Opera North, and took...
View ArticleTribute or history? The fine art of writing an obituary | Katharine Whitehorn
Who has the last word on the dearly departed?“Said a bridge player splattered with gore looking down at the corpse on the floor: ‘De mortuis nil nisi bonum– but still, he’s been caught out revoking...
View ArticleRalph Baer, the 'father of video games', dies at age 92
An inventive and visionary engineer, Baer helped create the world’s first consumer video game console It is rare that any creative industry can look at a single person and say with any confidence that...
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