A well written obituary should surprise you with facts about someone you thought you knew well, or entertain you with the story of someone you have never heard of.
Today's read falls into the latter category. Anthony Grey, who died on October 11, was a Reuters reporter in Eastern Europe and then China in the 1960s. Detained by Chinese authorities for more than two years in a single room plastered with Maoist slogans and propaganda, he emerged to write non-fiction and then novels. Grey's story takes other twists and turns and is well worth a read.
We've begun paying more attention to our obituaries recently. They are regularly among our best-read stories online and we want to make sure we tell the stories of the most important and fascinating people who shape our planet, its nations, companies and societies. Olivier Holmey, who joined us earlier this year as our Obituaries Editor, is in charge of that effort and wrote the lovely Grey obit, with help from our archive department.
I asked Olivier for three of his favourite obits of the past few months. Here they are with my editor's take on each:
Alan Bergman, great American lyricist, dies at 99 I had heard of Bergman but had no idea that he and his wife Marilyn wrote the songs "The Way We Were" and "The Windmills of Your Mind," tunes for the film "Yentl," AND the theme songs for 1970s television comedies "Maude," "Alice" and "Good Times." That's some range.
Ruth Weiss, the centenarian who 'waged war with her typewriter', dies at 101 Fascinating tale of the prolific author and journalist who bore witness to some of the 20th century's greatest crimes, from the antisemitism of Nazi Germany to the racism of apartheid South Africa.
Giorgio Armani, the 'king' of Italian fashion who revolutionised menswear How can you not read on when the obit starts "It all began with the jacket"? A thorough telling of the life and empire of Italy's fashion king.
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