Sunday, February 1, 2009

John Mortimer, RIP

John Mortimer died on the 16th. of January 2009 at the age of 85 years. Best known to the TV viewing public for his Rumpole character, an Old Bailey defense barrister played so well by Leo McKern. He was much more though, as a barrister himself he fought against censorship. He supported left and liberal causes amongst which was the fight against the generals in Burma. And in many ways he was a link back to earlier British writers like Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh.


I will review the Rumpole series in the future but if you are interested I found it much darker in the pilot and early episodes. Later he could still make his point, a little moral in each story, but it seemed a lighter touch.