Obituaries
Leon Febres Cordero: Confrontational President of Ecuador
León Febres Cordero, who was President of Ecuador from 1984 to 1988, was the arch-representative of his country's political and economic ancien régime, which was swept aside by the electoral victory of the left-wing nationalist Rafael Correa in 2006.
Inside Obituaries
Davy Graham: Virtuoso guitarist at the heart of the British folk revival whose playing influenced a generation
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
The guitarist Davy Graham was one of those seminal talents who change the way music is made. His invented guitar tunings were copied by players all over the world and one of his own pieces, "Anji", provided a soundtrack for the Sixties. Folkies listened to him in amazement and blues players with envy. His records were found on the floors of rock groups' Transit vans, in the festering cubby hole that was the band room of Ronnie Scott's "Old Place", and in the more commodious environs of orchestral players' dressing rooms.
Douglas Keen: Businessman whose Ladybird Books revolutionised children's publishing
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Douglas Keen, the driving spirit behind Ladybird Books, was a publishing v0isionary and an inspired businessman. In the years following the Second World War, under his editorial direction, the series of children's books became a household name. The Ladybird Key Words Reading Scheme alone sold 85 million copies, making Keen an important figure in promoting children's literacy.
Van Johnson: Leading man in 1940s Hollywood who was known as the 'voiceless Sinatra'
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
During the Second World War, with many of its leading male actors serving in the forces, Hollywood found the need to develop new stars. Most studios promoted young, clean-cut, All-American youths such as Lon McCallister at Fox, Robert Hutton at Warners and Tom Drake at MGM. By far the most successful, though, was another MGM star, Van Johnson, who by 1945 had become second only to Bing Crosby in film popularity.
Kathy Staff: Nora Batty in 'Last of the Summer Wine' and veteran of ITV soaps
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
The actress Kathy Staff turned Nora Batty into a television icon. Over 35 years, in 29 series, she played the broom-wielding, humourless battleaxe in the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. Nora had two targets: her henpecked husband, Wally (played by Joe Gladwin), and the shabby, woolly hat-and-wellies-wearing pensioner Compo (Bill Owen), who lusted after her and did eventually get a kiss. Nora's pursuit by Compo was a staple of most episodes. It provided wacky storylines such as the scruffy old man attempting to have his photograph taken in her bedroom and devising a complicated plan to establish her shoe size.
The Earl of Wemyss and March: Landowner and conservationist who served the Scottish National Trust for half a century
Monday, 15 December 2008
Two brothers and a half-brother, very different in character, sons of Lady Violet Manners, daughter of the eighth Duke of Rutland, each made a huge, and very different, contribution to the heritage.
Tony Hoare: Getaway driver who became a scriptwriter for 'Minder'
Monday, 15 December 2008
Tony Hoare was an unconvincing bank robber who, following spells in prison, and with a helping hand from a literary figure, went on to become a highly convincing television scriptwriter. Or, as he might perhaps have put it in his scripts for series such as Minder and The Sweeney: he packed in blagging while banged up in the clink and made some dosh by going legit and tapping a typewriter.
Bettie Page: Queen of the Fifties pin-ups who became a cult figure
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Though her modelling career only spanned seven years in the Fifties, the American pin-up Bettie Page fuelled many a fantasy and helped usher in the sexual revolution of the Sixties.
Pauline, Lady Rumbold: Actress and poet born into bohemian high society
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Pauline Rumbold was a true bohemian aristocrat – a tension of qualities that were literally in her genes. She was the daughter of the Hon David Tennant, founder of Soho's legendary Gargoyle Club and scion of a colourful titled family; and of Hermione Baddeley, British actress of youthful beauty who later appeared in Passport to Pimlico, Brighton Rock and Mary Poppins.
Sir Basil Kelly: Judge who presided over one of the biggest IRA 'supergrass' trials
Friday, 12 December 2008
One of the most dramatic episodes in the life of Basil Kelly, a High Court and then appeal judge in NorthernIreland, and indeed in the eventful history of the province's legal system during the recent Troubles, came in August 1983.
Christel Goltz: Operatic soprano celebrated for her Strauss roles
Friday, 12 December 2008
Although she only sang at Covent Garden for four seasons during the 1950s, the German soprano Christel Goltz made a deep and lasting impression on those who heard her, particularly as Strauss's Salome and as Marie in the first British performance of Berg's Wozzeck.
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