Alan Coren

Infobox Person
name = Alan Coren


caption =
birth_date = 27 June 1938
birth_place = Paddington, London, England
death_date = death date and age|2007|10|18|1938|7|27|df=y
death_place = London, England
other_names =
known_for =
occupation =Humorist and writer

Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humorist, writer and satirist who was well known as a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz "The News Quiz" and a team captain on BBC television's "Call My Bluff". Coren was also a journalist, and for nine years was the editor of "Punch" magazine.

Early life

Alan Coren was born into a Jewish family in Paddington, London in 1938.cite book|title=Index of Births registered in the July – September quarter 1938|publisher=General Register Office of England and Wales] cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2696826.ece?token=null&offset=0|title=Obituary - Alan Coren|first=|last=|publisher=The Times|date=20 October 2007] cite news|url=|title=Brilliantly funny Alan Coren dies, aged 69|first=Elisa|last=Roche|publisher=Daily Express|date=20 October 2007] The son of a builder and plumber, Coren was educated at East Barnet Grammar School before getting a scholarship at Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a First in English and took a Master's degree.cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/10/20/db2001.xml|title=Obituary - Alan Coren|first=|last=|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 October 2007] cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7052749.stm|title=Obituary: Alan Coren|first=|last=|publisher=BBC|date=19 October 2007] Following that he pursued a doctorate in modern American literature at Yale and the University of California. After considering an academic career, Coren decided instead to become a writer and journalist. He began this career by selling articles to "Punch" and was later offered a full-time job there. At this time he also wrote for "The New Yorker". Succeeding John Cleese, in 1973 Coren became the Rector of the University of St Andrews and remained so until 1976.

Career

In 1966, he became "Punch"'s literary editor, and went on to become deputy editor in 1969 and editor in 1978. He remained as editor until 1987 when the circulation began to decline.cite news|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/comment/0,,2195300,00.html|title=Obituary - Alan Coren|first=Stanley|last=Reynolds|publisher=The Guardian|date=20 October 2007] Unsurprisingly, during the week in which he took over the editorship, the "Jewish Chronicle" published a profile of him. His response was to rush around the office, waving a copy of the relevant edition, saying: "This is ridiculous - I haven't been Jewish for years!".cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article3078970.ece|title=Obituary - Alan Coren|first=Miles|last=Kington|publisher=The Independent|date=20 October 2007]

From 1971 to 1978, Coren wrote a television review column for "The Times" and a humour column for the "Daily Mail" from 1972 to 1976. When he left "Punch" in 1987, he became editor of "The Listener", continuing in that role until 1989. From 1984 Coren worked as a television critic for the "Mail on Sunday" until he moved to the "Sunday Express" as a humorous columnist, which he left in 1996. Known as the "Sage of Cricklewood", where he lived, his columns always contained humour and criticism. From 1975 to 1982 Coren wrote comic essays, such as "Golfing for Cats" and "The Cricklewood Diet" and from 1976 to 1983 wrote the "Arthur" series of children's books. In 1989 he started a column in "The Times", which he continued for the rest of his life.

In 1977, while writing for "The Observer", "Tatler" and "The Times", Alan Coren began his broadcasting career when he became one of the regular panellists on BBC Radio 4's new satirical quiz show, "The News Quiz". In 1978 he wrote "The Losers", an unsuccessful sitcom about a wrestling promoter starring Leonard Rossiter and Alfred Molina. He continued on "The News Quiz" until the year of his death. From 1996 to 2005 he was also one of two team captains on television's "Call My Bluff".

During his life he wrote nearly 20 books, many of which were collections of his newspaper columns. One of Coren's most successful, "The Collected Bulletins of Idi Amin", was a collection of his "Punch" articles about Amin, was rejected for publication in the United States on the grounds of racial sensitivity. These Bulletins were later made into a comedy album, "The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin" with John Bird. His other books include "The Dog It Was That Died" (1965), "The Sanity Inspector" (1974), "All Except The Bastard" (1978), "The Lady from Stalingrad Mansions" (1978), "Rhinestone as Big as the Ritz" (1979), "Tissues for Men" (1981), "Bumf" (1984), "Seems Like Old Times: a Year in the Life of Alan Coren" (1989), "More Like Old Times" (1990), "A Year in Cricklewood" (1991), "Toujours Cricklewood?" (1993), "Alan Coren's Sunday Best" (1993), "A Bit on the Side" (1995), "Alan Coren Omnibus" (1996), "The Cricklewood Dome" (1998), "The Cricklewood Tapestry" (2002) and "Waiting for Jeffrey" (2002). Coren's final book, "69 For One", was published late in 2007.

Later years

In May 2006, Alan Coren was bitten by an insect that gave him septicaemia which led to his developing necrotising fasciitis. [cite web|title=Notebook: Before I was so rudely interrupted|work=The Times|month=December|year=2006|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/alan_coren/article758463.ece]

He died from cancer in 2007 at his home in North London.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7052510.stm|title=Broadcaster Alan Coren dies at 69|first=|last=|publisher=BBC|date=19 October 2007] Survived by his wife Anne ("née" Kasriel), whom he married in 1963,cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article3078970.ece|title=Obituary - Alan Coren|first=Miles|last=Kington|publisher=The Independent|date=20 October 2007] and their two children, Giles and Victoria, who are both journalists, he was buried in Hampstead Cemetery.

External links

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/alan_coren/ Alan Coren] at "The Times"

References