CAUSE: She died at 54 Eaton Square, London SW 1, of tuberculosis. She was 53. Despite her Catholic upbringing she was cremated and her ashes scattered at her country home Tickerage Mill, Uckfield, Sussex, a five-bedroomed Queen Anne mill house that had once belonged to Lord Snowdon’s father. She left £252,681.
FURTHER READING: Light Of A Star – Gwen Robyns (London: Leslie Frewin, 1968); Vivien Leigh: A Biography – Anne Edwards (London: Coronet, 1982); Vivien: The Life Of Vivien Leigh – Alexander Walker (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987); Vivien Leigh – Hugo Vickers (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1988).
Margaret Leighton, CBE
Born February 26, 1922
Died January 13, 1976
‘First Lady of the British Stage’. She began life in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, and throughout her career was best at playing “fragile, sensitive and highly vulnerable women”. She made her stage début at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on September 4, 1938, playing Dorothy in Laugh With Me. It would be the start of a glittering stage career that saw her win a Tony for her performance in Night Of The Iguana (1962). Her first film was Terence Rattigan’s The Winslow Boy (1948) playing Catherine Winslow. Her subsequent film work included: Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) as Flora MacDonald, Under Capricorn (1949) as Milly, The Elusive Pimpernel (1951) as Marguerite Blakeney, Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951) as Sergeant Helen Smith, Carrington, V.C. (1955) as Valerie Carrington, The Sound And The Fury (1959) as Caddy Compson, Waltz Of The Toreadors (1962) as Emily Fitzjohn, 7 Women (1966) as Agatha Andrews, The Madwoman Of Chaillot (1969) as Constance, The Madwoman Of Passy, The Go-Between (1971) as Mrs Maudsley, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) as Lady Melbourne, A Bequest To The Nation (1973) as Lady Frances Nelson and Dirty Knight’s Work (1976) as Ma Gore. She was married three times: her first husband (1947) was publisher Max Reinhardt, but that ended (on January 28, 1955) when he discovered her affair with Laurence Harvey who became her second husband in August 1957. They divorced on November 11, 1960, when he left her for Harry Cohn’s widow, Joan. Her final husband (in Los Angeles on July 15, 1964) was the 2nd Mr Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Wilding.
CAUSE: She died aged 53 from multiple sclerosis in Chichester, Sussex.
Christabel Leighton-Porter
Born April 11, 1913
Died December 6, 2000
Wartime heroine. Born in Eastleigh, Hampshire, Christabel Leighton-Porter’s fame rests on her portrayal of the Daily Mirror cartoon strip heroine Jane in The Adventures Of Jane (1949). Artist Norman Petts hired Christabel four times a week to pose for him. “I was starkers so often that Norman said that he would like me there all the time to decorate the place,” she laughed. On September 29, 1944, Jane appeared nude for the first time and legend has it the British 36th Division advanced six miles that day. Jane first appeared in the Daily Mirror on December 5, 1932 and the strip ran until October 10, 1959.
CAUSE: She died aged 87 of cancer in London.
Jack Lemmon
Born February 8, 1925
Died June 27, 2001
Mr Nice Guy. Born, monorchid, in a hospital lift in Boston, Massachusetts, because his father (some sources say that it was his mother Mildred) did not want to leave a game of bridge and so was late getting to the hospital, John Ulhler Lemmon III also was born suffering from jaundice. The nurse remarked that he was a yellow Lemmon. The new arrival was the son of the vice-president of the American Doughnut Corporation. Lemmon became the cinematic “everyman” of the twentieth century. Although he is best remembered for his comedic roles, he disliked being thought of as just a comedy actor. He was a total professional and conscientious to the point of obsession. Lemmon had little time for the material trappings of fame, and was always generous to fellow actors. He deflected praise whenever possible, “That thing of Jack Lemmon, Nice Guy, has been passed down over the years,” he said. “It makes me wonder. Is everybody else a jerk?” Lemmon had long-running relationships with Walter Matthau, both on and off screen, and Billy Wilder, which lasted for seven films. A man who did not suffer actors’ vanities gladly, Wilder once said: “Happiness is working with Jack Lemmon.” Lemmon’s first experience of acting came when he was nine and the lead in a school play fell ill. Lemmon took over the role and the costume which was far too big for him. He also didn’t know the lines so he would walk to the side of the stage for a teacher to whisper the lines to him. Each time he did this the audience laughed. “After that I never wanted to do anything else,” he said. At Harvard he just about earned a degree in war material management. During the Second World War Lemmon served in the navy and after demob became an actor in preference to joining his father’s company. A self-taught pianist, he played in a New York beer hall before landing jobs in radio and television. After appearing in his first Broadway play, Room Service, in 1953 he was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout and signed to Columbia Pictures. Harry Cohn later described Lemmon as “the nicest actor we’ve ever had on the lot” but was at first unsure of him. He insisted that Lemmon change his name lest he provide ammunition for critics. Lemmon refused, pointing to Walter Pidgeon and Cohn relented. Lemmon made his film début opposite the comedienne Judy Holliday in It Should Happen To You (1954). He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the naval comedy Mister Roberts (1955), which also starred Henry Fonda and James Cagney. His first venture with Billy Wilder saw Lemmon “running around in drag for about 80 per cent of the film”. Lemmon immediately signed to make Some Like It Hot when offered the role and the film was a smash. The following year, in The Apartment, 5́ 9˝ Lemmon starred opposite Shirley MacLaine and consolidated his position as one of America’s leading actors. His choices were not always spot on, however. Lemmon turned down the roles that went to Paul Newman in both The Hustler (1961) and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969). The year before he teamed up with his friend Walter Matthau to make The Odd Couple, Neil Simon’s comedy about two divorced men trying to live together. Matthau was the messy Oscar Madison, Lemmon the fussy Felix Unger, though Matthau always felt that the roles should have been reversed. “I’d be remiss,” Lemmon said, “if I didn’t mention my favourite leading lady. Without a doubt, it’s Walter Matthau. He leads the pack by a country mile.” In 1971 Lemmon directed his only film Kotch, a warm and sentimental study of a grandfather, played by Matthau. Two years later, Lemmon’s performance in Save The Tiger won him a second Oscar – this time for Best Actor. He regarded it as the most fulfilling performance of his career although he commented, “People come up to me and say, ‘You’re so natural; thank God you don’t act.’ I feel like hitting them, because I knock myself out trying to be natural.” Lemmon called himself the luckiest man on earth. “The average actor can’t make a living at acting: he has to take some other job. So I’m a lucky guy.” He renewed his relationship with Matthau in Grumpy Old Men (1993), the flop Grumpier Old Men (1995) and The Odd Couple II (1998). He also was in Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991), Robert Altman’s The Player (1992) and Short Cuts (1993). Lemmon married the actress Cynthia Boyd Stone in Peoria, Illinois, on May 7, 1950 and they had one son, the actor Chris Lemmon (b. Los Angeles, California, January 22, 1954), before their divorce in 1956. On August 17, 1962, he married Felicia Farr (b. Westchester County, New York, October 4, 1932). They had a daughter, Courtney (b. January 7, 1966).
CAUSE: He died in Los Angeles, California, aged 76, from cancer. He is buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park, 1218 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles 90024.
John Lennon
Born October 9, 1940
Died December 8, 1980
The Head Beatle. Probably more myths have grown up around John Lennon than almost any other musician with the exception of Elvis Presley. John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool, at 6.30pm on October 9, 1940. He was raised by his Aunt Mimi when his mother, Julia (b. March 12, 1914, k. Menlove Avenue, Liverpool, July 15, 1958), found herself not up to the task and his father, Fred (b. 57 Copperfield S
treet, Toxteth Park, December 14, 1912, d. Brighton General Hospital, April 1, 1976), did a bunk when John was 16 months old. John attended Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool and failed all his O Levels. He met Paul McCartney at Woolton Parish Church Fete on July 6, 1957, and they formed a skiffle group called The Quarry Men. George Harrison was to join the ensemble later and following the death of Stu Sutcliffe, the sacking of Pete Best and his replacement by Ringo Starr, the luckiest man in pop music, the group settled as The Beatles (named for Lennon’s admiration of Buddy Holly). The Beatles became the most successful pop group of all time with 17 number one hits in the UK and 20 in the USA. Yet many were initially uncertain about their possible longevity and talent. In 1960 The Beatles were due to fly out to Hamburg but the booking agent received a telegram, from the leader of the group Howie Casey & The Seniors asking for another band: “Don’t send them. They’re so bad, they’ll spoil it for others.” In 1961 the group’s unofficial agent (never their manager), Allan Williams, told John Lennon after they had a disagreement, “You’ll never work again.” After seeing the future Fab Four perform at the Cavern, Brian Epstein commented, “I want to manage those four boys. It wouldn’t take me more than two half-days a week.” Having found out that it would take considerably more of his time, Epstein travelled to London to try and obtain a major record deal for his group. On December 18, 1961, EMI Records said, “Whilst we appreciate the talents of this group we feel that we have sufficient groups of this type at the present time under contract and that it would not be advisable for us to sign any further contracts of this nature at present.” Decca Records was equally blunt. After lunch on February 6, 1962, Brian Epstein was told by Dick Rowe, “Not to mince words, Mr Epstein, we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished.” Even Epstein’s mother, Queenie, said to Geoffrey Ellis, one of Brian’s friends, “You know, Geoffrey, Brian said to me that the Beatles were going to be bigger than Elvis Presley. Isn’t it ridiculous? But we’ve got to let him get it out of his system.” On September 15, 1962, the band was interviewed by Peter Jones of the Daily Mirror who concluded, “They’re a nothing group.” On the eve of the group’s first tour of the States, Alan Livingstone, head of Capitol Records, said, “We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in this market” and went on to reject the group twice more before bowing to the inevitable and releasing ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. A story has it that Liverpudlian comedian Arthur Askey met the group before they became famous in a recording studio in Liverpool when they were recording a demo and said, “You’re not bad, you know. What’s your name?” One of them replied, “The Beatles.” “My God,” said Askey. “You’ll never get anywhere with a name like that.” Another source reports the incident as happening after a concert which seems more likely as the only time they recorded a demo tape in Liverpool they were calling themselves The Quarry Men. Composer Henry Mancini stated, “The Beatles will never last” and even Prince Philip got in on the act in 1965 when he declared, “The Beatles are on the wane.” In February 1964 Brian Epstein was inundated with offers of endorsements and among them were ideas for Beatles wigs, T-shirts, toys, chewing gum, posters and pillowcases. Epstein met with Nicky Byrne of Seltaeb (Beatles spelled backwards), an American firm, and arranged a bizarre contract in which he surrendered nine-tenths of the rights. When the first royalty cheque came in, Byrne gave Epstein a cheque for $9,700. “I suppose I owe you 90% of this,” said Epstein before Byrne explained he had already taken his cut – $87,300. It is believed that Epstein’s blunder cost the group over £50 million. In an interview with Maureen Cleave published on March 4, 1966, in the Evening Standard Lennon declared, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first – rock’n’roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.” Britain took the remark from the most outspoken of the Fab Four in its stride but when it was reprinted in America in the teenage magazine Datebook in July 1966 there was outrage. Radio stations in the Deep South were inundated with complaints from religious zealots and 35 stations banned the group’s records. Grand Wizards of the Ku Klux Klan even organised burnings of Beatles records. One angry town put signs reading “Place Beatle Trash Here” on their litter bins. A damage limitation operation was put into action. Despite being ill, Brian Epstein flew from Portmeirion in North Wales, where he was convalescing, to New York on August 6, in the hope of salvaging the forthcoming major tour. Before holding a press conference Epstein rang Lennon at his home in Weybridge, Surrey, to say that the only way to save the tour was for him (Lennon) to apologise. The Beatle’s reply was typical. “Tell them to get stuffed. I’ve got nothing to apologise for. Cancel the tour. I’d rather that than to have to get up and lie. What I said stands.” Epstein’s press conference went ahead but it did not satisfy either the American media or people. It was left to John to try and salvage the tour. Arriving in the USA on August 11, a deeply unhappy Lennon, realising the enormity of his remarks, met with the press the following day in a Chicago hotel room. He declared, “If I had said television is more popular than Jesus I might have got away with it. But I just happened to be talking to a friend and I used the word ‘Beatles’ as a remote thing, not as what I think – as Beatles, as those other Beatles like other people see us … I’m not anti-God, anti-Christ or anti-religion. I was not saying we’re greater or better. I believe in God but not as an old man in the sky. I believe what people call God is something in all of us. I wasn’t saying the Beatles are better than God or Jesus. I used ‘Beatles’ because it was easier for me to talk about The Beatles. I wasn’t saying whatever they’re saying I was saying. I’m sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologise if that will make you happy. I still don’t quite know what I’ve done. I’ve tried to tell you what I did do but if you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I’m sorry.” The tour went off as planned. In Memphis a church held a meeting during the concert at the Mid-South Coliseum to pray for the souls of the audience. The only worrying incident was when a loud firecracker went off during the gig and frightened everyone. The band played on. It was only a matter of time before the Fab Four forged a film career. John was to appear in a number of films including: A Hard Day’s Night (1964) as John, Help! (1965) as John, How I Won The War (1967) as Private Gripweed and Let It Be (1970) as himself, among others. On October 26, 1965, The Beatles were awarded the MBE, much to the indignation of various military types who returned their gongs in protest, something Lennon himself was to do on November 26, 1969, in protest at British involvement in Biafra. In 1971 The Beatles were officially wound up and Lennon continued a successful solo career with songs such as ‘Give Peace A Chance’, ‘Instant Karma’, ‘Power To The People’, ‘Happy Christmas (War Is Over)’, ‘Imagine’ and ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night’. Then it all went silent for five years as he stayed at home to look after his newborn son, Sean, who had been born on his 35th birthday. He had split from second wife Yoko Ono and had an affair with his secretary May Pang. The reconciliation was blessed with Sean.
CAUSE: In 1980 5́11˝ John Lennon decided to restart his musical career and began recording songs once again for public consumption. He released an album Double Fantasy. On November 8, 1980 his song ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’ entered the UK charts. Exactly one month later, as he was returning home to his seventh floor, 34-room complex in Section A of the Dakota Building, 1 West 72nd Street, New York, from a late night recording session with Yoko Ono, Lennon was shot five times in his arm and back with a .38 revolver by deranged 200lb loner Mark David Chapman (b. Fort Worth, Texas, May 10, 1955) who was obsessed with J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye and believed that the ex-Beatle had “sold out”. Lennon stumbled up the six steps to the building and collapsed in the v
estibule. He was taken by police car to Roosevelt Hospital on 9th Avenue and 58th Street. He died at 10.50pm, from major blood loss. He was cremated at Hartsdale Crematorium in New York State. In his British will Lennon left £2,522,317.
FURTHER READING: John Lennon: Death Of A Dream – George Carpozi, Jr. (New York: Manor Books, 1980); Loving John: The Untold Story – May Pang and Henry Edwards (London: Corgi, 1983); John Winston Lennon: Volume 1 1940–1966 – Ray Coleman (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1984); John Ono Lennon: Volume 2 1967–1980 – Ray Coleman (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1984); The Lives Of John Lennon – Albert Goldman (London: Bantam Press, 1988); The Murder Of John Lennon – Fenton Bresler (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989); The Art & Music of John Lennon – John Robertson (London: Omnibus Press, 1990).
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