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Iain Banks remembered by Michelle Hodgson
Michelle Hodgson, once Iain Banks's press officer, recalls the warm friendship she shared with the author for nearly 25 years• See the Observer's obituaries of 2013 in full hereIain Banks didn't laugh...
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Lord Roberts of Conwy obituary
Conservative MP and Welsh Office minister who fought for Wales and its languageWyn Roberts, who has died aged 83, was quintessentially Welsh, and a rare and valuable asset for the Conservative party....
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Audrey Totter obituary
Stylish film noir star known for her role in Lady in the LakeI was kissed by Audrey Totter. At least, I share that experience with anybody who has seen Lady in the Lake (1947), when Totter plants her...
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Mary Cowan obituary
My friend Mary Cowan, who has died aged 99, rebelled against her privileged background and in the 1930s became a communist.She was born in Edinburgh, where her father, John Jameson, was the...
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Joan Fontaine obituary
Oscar-winning actor who played threatened heroines for Alfred Hitchcock in Rebecca and SuspicionIt was hard to cast the lead in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939. The...
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Letter: Joan Fontaine, my Hollywood godmother
Joan Fontaine was my godmother. For my father, Richard Hough, the publisher and naval historian, she was part of a magical period in his life. He joined the RAF in 1941 and was sent to learn to fly in...
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David Phillimore obituary
My friend David Phillimore, who has died aged 91, was a pilot with Transport Command during the second world war, based largely in Cairo. As well as carrying supplies and men to north Africa, he flew...
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Mike Kalemkerian obituary
Mike Kalemkerian, my father, who has died suddenly of a heart attack aged 64, contributed greatly to drama in the Midlands. From 1980 he lectured in drama and ran the theatre programme at Aston...
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Steve Prescott obituary
In 2006 Steve Prescott, the rugby league player, who has died aged 39, was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer and given six months to live. He defied the odds spectacularly and raised more...
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Letter: Daniel Weissbort's Poetry of Survival
Sasha Dugdale rightly pinpoints Daniel Weissbort's talents as an anthologist. Among the best must be The Poetry of Survival (Anvil Press, 1991). Sub-titled Post-War Poets of Central and Eastern Europe,...
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Letter: Peter O'Toole at night school
I met Peter O'Toole in a night-school class at the Leeds College of Commerce in the early 1950s, where we were both doing an English literature O-level as part of the young journalists' training...
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Ronnie Biggs obituary
Great Train Robber spent more than 35 years on run after escaping from prison following conviction for part in 1963 heistPerhaps the most flattering epitaph for Ronnie Biggs, who has died aged 84, was...
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Thomas Lloyd obituary
My father, Thomas Lloyd, who has died aged 86, was proud to be president of the south Wales branch of the British Dental Association. He believed that dentistry, as far as possible, should not be a...
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Howard Clark obituary
Our friend Howard Clark, who has died suddenly aged 63, was a radical pacifist and full-time peace activist, organiser and researcher. As a student at the University of East Anglia from 1968 to 1971,...
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Ray Price obituary
Country music singer who won a Grammy for his No 1 hit version of Kris Kristofferson's For the Good Times in 1970Country music entered a golden period after the second world war, as scattered regional...
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Syed Mohammad Amir Imam obituary
My father, Syed Mohammad Amir Imam, who has died aged 85, was a writer with the nom de plume Hurr (meaning "free"). He wrote poetry and prose in Urdu, his native tongue, as well as English, Persian and...
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Ruth Campbell obituary
My mother, Ruth Campbell, who has died aged 87, lived life at full pelt, her hard work, energy and unconditional love putting her at the heart of our family.She grew up in North Kyme on the...
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Letter: Manfred Rommel in Westminster Abbey
Manfred Rommel was in Westminster Abbey on 14 October 1992 for a special service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein, and read from Romans 12: 9-18 "Let love be genuine;...
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Peter Gilbert obituary
Social worker and academic who focused on the part played by spirituality in healthcarePeter Gilbert, who has died aged 63 of motor neurone disease, came comparatively late in a long social work career...
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Edward Williams obituary
My friend Edward Williams, who has died aged 92, was a composer of music for film and television and a pioneer of electronic music. One of the films he wrote the music for, the documentary Dylan Thomas...
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