

Last Word
BBC Radio 4
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 20, 2015 • 28min
Roy Dommett, Warren Mitchell, Allen Toussaint, Cynthia Payne and Jonah Lomu
Matthew Bannister on Roy Dommett, one of the UK's leading rocket scientists who was also a well known morris dancer. Warren Mitchell, the actor best known for playing Alf Garnett in the TV sit com "Till Death Us Do Part" Allen Toussaint, the New Orleans producer and musician who worked with many of the great names in rock. Cynthia Payne, who ran a brothel at her home in Streatham where men exchanged luncheon vouchers for sex. And Jonah Lomu, the rugby player who won 63 caps for the All Blacks and scored 37 international tries.

Nov 13, 2015 • 28min
Helmut Schmidt, Pat Eddery, Julia Jones, Lord Noon and Nat Peck
Matthew Bannister onHelmut Schmidt, the German Chancellor who helped to design the European Monetary System and agreed that US nuclear weapons could be sited in his country. His friend the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger pays tribute.Also the jockey Pat Eddery - Willie Carson remembers their rivalry on the course and their friendship off it. The actress and TV scriptwriter Julia Jones, who wrote the sitcom Take Three Girls and the period drama The Duchess of Duke Street.The businessman Lord Noon who made millions by selling authentic take away Indian curries to the British.And the trombonist Nat Peck, last survivor of the Glenn Miller Band.

Nov 6, 2015 • 28min
Norman Moore, Diane Charlemagne, Professor David Cesarani, Colin Welland and Peter Donaldson
Matthew Bannister on Norman Moore, the conservationist who discovered that organochorine pesticides were decimating the UK's bird of prey population. He fought a twenty year campaign to have them banned. The singer Diane Charlemagne - known as the diva of drum and bass. We have a tribute from Moby. The academic David Cesarani - a leading authority on modern Jewish history. The actor and screenwriter Colin Welland who, on winning an Oscar for Chariots of Fire, announced "The British Are Coming". And a powerful poem read by the Radio 4 newsreader and Chief Announcer Peter Donaldson.

Oct 30, 2015 • 28min
Professor Lisa Jardine, Philip French, Ronnie Massarella, Maureen O'Hara
Matthew Bannister on Professor Lisa Jardine, the historian whose intellectual curiosity stretched across the arts and sciences. She was chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and a regular broadcaster on Radio 4. Philip French, for thirty-five years the Chief Film Critic of the Observer. Ronnie Massarella who built up a successful family ice cream business and managed the British showjumping team for 32 years. And Maureen O'Hara, the red haired Irish film star known as the Queen of Technicolor. She appeared opposite John Wayne in five of his films including the Quiet Man.

Oct 23, 2015 • 28min
General John Galvin, Joan Leslie, Michael Meacher, Howard Kendall, Jerry Parr and Coleridge Goode
Matthew Bannister onGeneral Jack Galvin who was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe as the Cold War ended. Generals Colin Powell and David Petraeus pay tribute.Joan Leslie - the Hollywood star who made forty films in ten years.Michael Meacher - the former Environment minister once described by Neil Kinnock as "Tony Benn's vicar on earth." The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins us.Howard Kendall - Everton football club's most successful manager. Gary Lineker remembers playing under him.Jerry Parr - the secret service agent who saved President Ronald Reagan's life when he was shot.

Oct 20, 2015 • 28min
Geoffrey Howe, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Joe Henson, Hugh Scully and Alexander Faris
Julian Worricker on:
The former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, whose resignation speech in the Commons was generally regarded as the beginning of the end for Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister.
The journalist, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, whose reporting frequently took her to some of the most dangerous parts of the world.
The farmer and conservationist, Joe Henson, who founded the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
Hugh Scully, who rose to fame as a television presenter through his work on 'Nationwide' and 'Antiques Roadshow'.
And the composer, Alexander Faris, best known for writing the theme tune to the 1970s ITV drama, Upstairs Downstairs.

Oct 9, 2015 • 28min
Lord Denis Healey, Carmen Balcells, Henning Mankell, Revd Kenneth Leech and Captain Bob Arnott
Lucy Ash on the former Labour politician Denis Healey who was Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Winter of Discontent in 70s; Catalan literary agent Carmen Ballcells known as Big Mamma to her Nobel Prize winning authors;Captain Bob Arnott, beloved by his passengers on the QE2; Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell and radical priest Reverend Kenneth Leech, who founded the homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Oct 2, 2015 • 28min
Brian Friel, General Mario Menendez, Tessa Ransford, John Guillermin, Ben Cauley
Matthew Bannister onThe award winning Irish playwright Brian Friel, best known for Dancing At Lughnasa and Translations.Argentine General Mario Menéndez who was appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands during the invasion.Tessa Ransford who founded the Scottish Poetry Library.John Guillermin who directed movie blockbusters like The Towering Inferno, Death on the Nile, and the 1976 re-make of King Kong.And Ben Cauley, the trumpeter who was the only survivor of the plane crash which killed Otis Redding.Producer: Neil George.

Sep 25, 2015 • 28min
Brian Sewell, Jackie Collins, Ted Smith CBE, PJ Kavanagh, Yogi Berra
Matthew Bannister onBrian Sewell, the art critic with the distinctive voice, outspoken opinions and love of dogs.Jackie Collins who sold millions of copies of her sex and showbusiness novels,Ted Smith, the conservationist who built up the UK's network of Wildlife Trusts.PJ Kavanagh, the poet who also played a Nazi loving priest in the TV comedy Father Ted.And Yogi Berra the top baseball player also known for his mangling of the English language.

Sep 18, 2015 • 28min
Sir David Willcocks, Merv Adelson, Mariem Hassan, Brian Close, Beryl Renwick
Matthew Bannister onSir David Willcocks - one of the most influential choir masters of his generation. Known for his descants to Christmas carols, he was director of music at King's College Cambridge for 17 years - and led the Bach choir for 38. Merv Adelson the property developer who founded the TV company Lorimar which made hits like the Waltons, Dallas and Knots Landing.Mariem Hassan, the singer from the marginalised Sahrawi people who used her music to promote their cause.Brian Close the Yorkshire and England cricket captain noted for his courage at the crease. And Beryl Renwick who became a presenter on BBC Radio Humberside in her eighties and won the industry's top award.


