Ray Galton - d. October 5th 2018

I knocked on doors
on streets 
that never were
- Railway Cuttings, 
Oil Drum Lane -
gone away they said
but you’ll laugh like a drain
at what he left behind.

read about Ray Galton here

Montserrat Caballé - d. October 6th 2018

Some days pass through
leave us senza coloratura, 
and yet: 
the rustle of a dress, 
a voice like rioja, 
a fading cadenza
to the finest aria.

read about Montserrat Caballé here

Charles Aznavour - d. October 1st 2018

Ce qui fait un homme

n’est pas ce qu’il fait

pas ce qu’il dit

mais comment 
il chante les chansons

il a appris hier,

quand il était jeune.

Read about Charles Aznavour here

Geoffrey Hayes - d. October 1st 2018

We leave behind
our televisions, lift 
our eyes skyward
pointing as you rise
on soft updrafts,
up above the streets 
and houses, 
climbing high.

Read about Geoffrey Hayes here

Ernest Maxin - d. September 27th 2018

In heaven we rise early,
soft-shoe steps to finesse, 
showstoppers to perfect, 
but first: cue the music!
we have breakfast to prepare.

Read about Ernest Maxin here

Chas Hodges - d. September 22nd 2018

This is the last round, fellas;

one more on the joanna 

then home. Still, I’ve got

some beer in the sideboard,

and a bit of brown bread.

read about Chas Hodges here

Denis Norden - d. September 19th 2018

The news today

wasn't all glum;

script rewritten

forever, ideas

taken from there

to here, and no

director to say
Cut! Can we do
that life again?

Read about Denis Norden here

Fenella Fielding - d. September 11th 2018

I think we flirted in a dream
though what remained when I awoke
was velvet soused in bitter smoke,
a voice that whispered life's a scream
and death the corniest of jokes.

Read about Fenella Fielding here

Liz Fraser - d. September 6th 2018

Beyond froth and fizz,

feigned innocence 

and foxy innuendo, 

was the flash of eye,

the fresh smirk that said

I know

exactly

what I'm doing. 

Read about Liz Fraser here

Burt Reynolds - d. September 6th 2018

Today, your last wisecrack

doesn’t feel like a joke,

the blondes have all left you,

the Trans-Am is broke,

and in a flash of white lightning

you went up in smoke.

Read about Burt Reynolds here

Jacqueline Pearce - d. September 3rd 2018

At the end of the galaxy

is evil, designer-draped, 

stilted in unwise heels, 

eyes dark with power,

Shiva in a ballgown,

Death-Next-Door.

Read about Jacqueline Pearce here

Neil Simon - d. August 26th 2018

Your characters: simple

yet cock-eyed.

Your humour: truth,

but magnified,

the sweet and bitter

side by side.

read about Neil Simon here

Lindsay Kemp - d. August 24th 2018

Beyond dance,
beyond mime
beyond prose
is the essence
of performance;
how you moved, 
how you moved us.

Read about Lindsay Kemp here

Aretha Franklin - d. August 16th 2018

This is the gospel:
that a choir will gather
to wring the last drops
of song from their souls,
to give you your propers
when you get home.

Read about Aretha Franklin here

Bernard Hepton - d. July 27th 2018

The secret is out;
The Stalag is deserted,
the cafe is shuttered,
the last act 
has left the Circus.

Read about Bernard Hepton here

Barry Chuckle - d. August 5th 2018

To you, pratfalls are sense unspooled.
To me, slapstick is the purest art.
To you, fol-de-rol is for child or fool.
To me, I am the idiot at its heart.

Read about Barry Chuckle here

Tab Hunter - d. July 8th 2018

To the girls 
you left behind 
you were everything;
swoon-bait, boy soldier,
young love whose smile
broke hearts
ninety-nine ways.

read about Tab Hunter here

Peter Firmin - d. July 1st 2018

Listen to the Otwituary here

Read about Peter Firmin here

Harlan Ellison - d. June 27th 2018

On the edge of forever
is a city of gold and glass,
though it is founded 
on pulped fictions 
and the girders 
of your imagination.

Read about Harlan Ellison here

Leslie Grantham - d. June 15th 2018

Sometimes the script
leaves the door ajar
for unlikely resurrections.
A weighted soul 
sinks into a canal,
and everything 
is murk and ripples.

Read more about Leslie Grantham