- Simon Blumenfeld
Simon Blumenfeld (
25 November 1907 –13 April 2005 ) was a Jewish columnist, author, playwright, theatre critic, editor andcommunist .Although he described himself as Jewish, he was born to a family of
Sicilian refugees, who eventually settled inWhitechapel , in theEast End of London . DuringWorld War II he served in theRoyal Army Ordnance Corps , before becoming a scriptwriter for "Stars in Battledess".At the end of the war he founded the entertainment magazine "Band Wagon", [Named for the radio show "
Band Waggon ".] with Norman Kark. He adopted a number of pseudonyms, including Sidney Vauncez (theYiddish word for moustache), CV Curtis, and Peter Simon for his writing. He founded the "Weekly Sporting Review", which collapsed when sued for libel by the managers ofTommy Steele ; and then "Record Mirror " withBenny Green .Simon Blumenfeld died at
Barnet General Hospital at the age of 97, on13 April 2005 . Blumenfeld continued writing up until his death, and appeared in theGuinness Book of Records , as the "World's Oldest Columnist". He was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium , where a memorial plaque remains in the 'communist corner'.Works
;Novels
*"Jew Boy" ("The Iron Garden", 1932)
*'Western' novels, under the pseudonym Huck Messer (Yiddish: carving knife)
*"Phineas Kahn: Portrait of an Immigrant" (1937), reprinted 1987 with an introduction bySteven Berkhoff
*"Doctor of the Lost" (1938);Plays
*"The Battle of Cable Street";Editor and columist
*"Band Wagon"
*"Weekly Sporting Review"
*"Record Mirror "
*"The Stage "References
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/apr/18/pressandpublishing.booksobituaries "Simon Blumenfeld: Obituary"] Peter Hepple "
The Guardian "April 18 2005
* [http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=30358§ioncode=1 "Simon Blumenfeld - Columnist, author, playwright, theatre critic, editor and former light entertainment editor of The Stage"] "Press Gazette "6 May 2008
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