Rumpole of the Bailey creator John Mortimer dies

[muriel_volestrangler]

Rumpole of the Bailey creator John Mortimer, 85, died this morning following a prolonged illness. His family said in a statement that they were by his side when he passed away.
...
The novelist, playwright and former barrister, who was born in London in 1923, was known and loved for the comic lawyer Rumpole, whose dedication to cheap wine and motto "never plead guilty", has been his most enduring creation. "He would announce to me on the phone that he thought he ought to 'do a Rumpole' on asbos or weapons of mass destruction, or some similar topic about which he felt particularly strongly. Rumpole and John became increasingly fused," said Lacey. Mortimer originally wrote the series for television, later spinning it off into a series of books and radio programmes.
...
His time as a barrister saw him representing many divorce clients and murderers, with his famous court appearances including the radical magazine Oz's censorship trial, the Linda Lovelace so-called Deep Throat case and numerous others involving alleged pornography. "I found criminal clients easy and matrimonial clients hard," he said. "Matrimonial clients hate each other so much and use their children to hurt each other in beastly ways. Murderers have usually killed the one person in the world that was bugging them and they're usually quite peaceful and agreeable."

His friend, the novelist Margaret Drabble, said today: "He was a great fighter, a great figure, and his record in defending literature and attacking censorship was absolutely brilliant. And he did it with such good humour - it was very hard to get cross with John. He was so unpompous about his defence of literature."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/16/rumpole-john-mortimer-dies

In GD, because he wasn't just about the Rumpole stories, or his screenplays like Brideshead Revisited - he was also a significant figure in the freedom of expression in Britain, hrence his links with 3 of the cases in this list: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/trials-and-tribulations-of-sex-in-print-470509.html

He was also the inventor of "She Who Must Be Obeyed" - as Rumpole's lovely wife, that is.

[LeftishBrit]

1. Sorry to hear this! RIP John Mortimer.

[dynasaw]

2. There will be a Wake

There will be a wake at Pomeroy's. RIP John. :toast:

[BlueMTexpat]

3. I LOVE Rumpole!

RIP John Mortimer. And thanks so much for leaving us the Rumpole legacy.

:cry:

[DemBones DemBones]

4. Sad news I've always enjoyed the Rumpole books. Thanks

for the links to articles.

[Flaxbee]

5. kicking - Mortimer was a wonderful writer and Rumpole

one of the best fictional characters of the 20th century (if not ever). Seems as if Rumpole was a bit of an autobiographical character for Mortimer, which makes me miss Mortimer even more.