Frank Finlay - d. January 30th 2016

In the little theatre
of my hometown
cues are missed,
lines go unsaid,
bouquets wither
in a cold dressing room.

Read about Frank Finlay here

Terry Wogan - d. January 31st 2016

A

And up next, the Irish entry.
Would you look at the eejit,
all whimsy and innuendo,
carrot and schtick. 
Could go far.





Read about Terry Wogan here

Paul Kantner - d. January 28th 2016

Respect, man;

you were always 

chasing rabbits,

feeding your head.

Your life was what you 

were tripping on,

your death 

one more comedown.

Read about Paul Kantner here

Abe Vigoda - d. 26th January 2016

Sooner or later

even the wisest guy

gonna get clipped,

and no good word

will get you off the hook

this time.

Read about Abe Vigoda here

Colin Vearncombe - d. January 26th 2016

The heart is stilled now;

not the black one, racked

by loss, not the one 

made of clay, but the heart

full of comedy, and roses.

Read about Colin Vearncombe here

Cecil Parkinson - d. January 25th 2016

One of us she said

as if you belonged

to some higher order,

but a man is judged

by what he does

after he does 

what he shouldn't 

have done.

Read about Cecil Parkinson here

Henry Worsley - d. January 25th 2016

Out of respect,

the gale holds off,

holds the snow

suspended,

delaying its own fall,

leaving a pair of tracks

uncovered

till the end of the day.

Read about Henry Worsley here

Glenn Frey - d. January 18th 2016

On the cheating side of town

there's an empty room,

walls hung with Les Pauls,

whose owner checked out

but can never leave.

Read about Glenn Frey here

Alan Rickman - d. January 14th 2016

The coming occasion

demands an oration,

suffused with magnetism,

languor, the straightest face.

If you were here

you would be perfect for it.

Read about Alan Rickman here

David Bowie - d. January 10th 2016

News guy wept and told us

No return 

for the Thin White Duke;

the freakiest show is over.

Surely not dead, 

merely rehearsing

the new persona.

Read about David Bowie here

Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart - d. January 9th 2016

You practised 
a peculiar alchemy
in the spinning 
of runaway trains,
elephants, little fishes;
a transubstantiation of vinyl 
into eternal childhood.

Read about Ed Stewart here

Lemmy - d. December 28th 2015

Some dance with the devil;

you preferred to drink him 

under the table, scuffle,

screw his handmaidens,

cheat him then beat him 

with your dead man's hand.

Read about Lemmy here

Jimmy Hill - d. December 19th 2015

See the game; 

the uncommon vision.
Read the game;

the indirect route 
to the unlikely goal.
Play the game,

and then rewrite it.

Read about Jimmy Hill here

Robert Loggia - d. December 4th 2015

In the celestial firm
I see you standing behind
the Archangel, alert, one hand 
on the inevitable gun, concealed
in the folds of your raiment.

Read about Robert Loggia here

William McIlvanney - d. December 5th 2015

Respect the word; it is just

as potent in the dark mouths 

of miners, barmaids, labourers

as those who ghost the plots of the future.

Read about William McIlvanney here

Anthony Valentine - d. December 2nd 2015

Do you see him?

Watchful in the shadows,

below the searchlight,
uniformed and ghostly white,

or picking heaven's lock

then melting into the dark.

Read about Anthony Valentine here

Saeed Jaffrey - d. November 15th 2015

You dignified a continent
we only knew through archetypes
lit your scenes a different way, 
spoke in your own accent,
found a better passage.



Read about Saeed Jaffrey here

Cynthia Payne - d. November 15th 2015

In my Father's disorderly house
are many rooms; behind each door 
I hear the rustle of satin, the swish
of the crop, the cork leaving the bottle.

Read about Cynthia Payne here

Warren Mitchell - d. November 14th 2015

See, the trouble wiv actors
is they ain't real people.
They're all Jews or queers,
never done a day's work,
never changed nuffin'.

read about Warren Mitchell here

Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor - d. November 11th 2015

Ahead of the beat,

behind the beat,

missing the beat,

subbed, overdubbed,

drunk, sunk, out of time.

Read about Phil Taylor here