Obituaries

Maurice Druon: Writer and pugnacious defender of the French language

Few people can have packed so much into 90 years as the French novelist Maurice Druon. As a young man, he was a follower of Charles de Gaulle; in his old age, he was a friend of Vladimir Putin. He was an acquaintance of Antoine de Saint Exupery; he was a novelist, a playwright, a war correspondent, the minister of culture and the perpetual secretary of the Acad�mie française, who fought unsuccessfully to keep women out of France's exclusive literary club.

Inside Obituaries

John Mayhew: Drummer who played with the fledgling Genesis on 'Trespass'

Monday, 20 April 2009

As one of the biggest British groups ever, Genesis have sold in the region of 130 million albums worldwide. Both the original vocalist Peter Gabriel and the drummer-turned-lead-singer, Phil Collins, have enjoyed hugely successful solo careers, while the keyboard player Tony Banks and the guitarist Mike Rutherford, the two mainstays of the group, have also reaped the benefits of the work the band did in the late Sixties and throughout the Seventies. The drummer John Mayhew was only with them between August 1969 and July 1970, but he contributed to the recording of Trespass, the group's pastorally tinged second album, and their first for the Charisma label.

John Rodda: Sports journalist who covered key moments in Olympic history

Monday, 20 April 2009

John Clinton Rodda, who has died after a long battle with cancer, was an athletics, boxing and sports-politics correspondent for the Guardian for more than 36 years. He won many awards for his ability to get a story, and spent two decades on the International Olympic Committee's press commission as well as serving on various sports bodies in Britain.

Sir John Maddox: Scientist who edited 'Nature' magazine for 22 years

Saturday, 18 April 2009

The good opinion of Sir John Maddox was sought by serious scientists of all disciplines, not only in Britain but throughout the world.

Helen Levitt: Photographer renowned for her portraits of street life in New York

Saturday, 18 April 2009

Helen Levitt was one of the great documentary photographers of the 20th century. In a career that spanned 60 years, she captured in still photographs and on film the daily lives of ordinary Americans. She has been compared to that other eminent photographic documentarian of the 20th century, Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom she met and whose influence she acknowledged.

Colonel Ken Barnes: Trinidadian-born military leader and father of the footballer John Barnes

Saturday, 18 April 2009

When you have been among your country's leading performers and administrators in several sports for more than four decades, inspired a hugely popular film and led the forces of several nations in a successful military operation, it must be quite tough to be remembered primarily for being the father of your even better-known son. That is the lot which befell Ken Barnes. He was the father of John Barnes, the former England footballer currently in charge of Jamaica's celebrated national side, the "Reggae Boyz", and was so much more besides.

Sir Clement Freud: Sharp-witted and lugubrious broadcaster, politician and writer

Friday, 17 April 2009

Although born in Germany, Sir Clement Freud came to be regarded as an essentially English character with an idiosyncratic gift for dry wit and a talent in many other spheres of life.

Anne Brown: Soprano who starred in the original production of 'Porgy and Bess'

Friday, 17 April 2009

In 1935, the soprano Anne Brown created the role of Bess in George Gershwin's masterly folk opera Porgy and Bess and was a prime influence on Gershwin's decision to make the character as important as that of Porgy. When she joined the cast of the show, it bore the same title – Porgy – as DuBose Heyward's 1925 source novel and 1927 play. But as Gershwin wrote more and more music for Brown, the part became equally important and the show became Porgy and Bess.

Peter Rogers: Film producer who co-created the 'Carry On' comedies

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Though in his long career Peter Rogers produced some 100 films, it was as co-creator of the Carry On series, along with the director Gerald Thomas, that he will be forever known.

Jimmy Neighbour: Bustling winger who played for Spurs, Norwich City and West Ham

Thursday, 16 April 2009

You did not survive for very long in one of Bill Nicholson's Tottenham teams without two qualities: honesty and talent.

Ruth Seifert: Leading consultant psychiatrist at Barts Hospital

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Dr Ruth Seifert, who has died from cancer at the age of 65, was one of London's leading psychiatrists. A consultant at St Bartholomew's Hospital, Seifert was an extraordinary woman, whose wisdom, wit and perception left a lasting impression on all who knew her.

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