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Post by Crunchy Col on Nov 27, 2019 17:03:05 GMT
Two big names...
CJ gets the Guardian headline.
RIP.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 17:11:23 GMT
People who know about these things always used to go on about how wonderful, witty and erudite CJ's columns for The Observer were, but I could never see it myself.
Were they intellectual heavyweights who made notable cutlural contributions or just vaguely arty guys who dabbled in things who went to the right university and got the right breaks? Sometimes it's hard to tell.
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Post by Crunchy Col on Nov 27, 2019 17:15:08 GMT
Yeah, I have to say I was never very fond of CJ. I remember his TV shows in the 80s, he'd sneer at some invited guest when he wasn't literally translating a German sentence for cheap laughs. A decent columnist but no more. Nonetheless it's sad, especially as recently he'd been very open about his condition and the trials it had brought him.
Miller is a different story - co-founder of Beyond The Fringe which was nothing short of revolutionary. The sort of intellectual you'd see on The Late Show or Newsnight, holding his own with Paxman. And no ego - that was the thing. A good sort.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 17:22:13 GMT
Yeah Miller seems to have done substantial things. He was always the least interesting one ( and certainly the least funny) in BTF, but you have to give him credit for doing it. His adaptation of 'Alice in Wonderland' in the 60s is worth seeing and certainly captured the psychedelic zeitgeist of the time. To be honest I'm not qualified to judge a lot of the things he did as he spent much of his time directing opera productions.
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Post by Crunchy Col on Nov 27, 2019 17:27:45 GMT
You think 'a life well lived', don't you?
I'm a bit surprised he was 85. But then BTF started around 1961, didn't it? so I suppose it makes sense.
I'd be happy to see Alan Bennett give a tribute - hopefully they'll drag him into a TV studio later.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Nov 27, 2019 18:11:43 GMT
Gary Rhodes, too: three sizeable presences in my TV life.
Odd bit of trivia; my old boss/editor on many pastwork exploits, Jenny Mulherin, was CJ's squeeze for a time in Oz and over here, although I can't remember which one followed which.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Dec 4, 2019 7:33:13 GMT
I used to love Clive James's tv shows. Margarita Prakatan!
I never found 'em sneery but I was quite young so it's hard to remember. I always liked him. You don't get people like him doing that kind of telly anymore. Shame.
Jonathan Miller I know fuck all about but he was meant to be a great opera director.
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