Massingberd

I was sad to hear of the death of Hugh Massingberd who was, above all, the former obituary writer of The Daily Telegraph. Massingberd raised the status of the written obituary by making it more honest and, particularly, fun. His use of understatement and innuendo, very much in the style of one of his heroes, PG Wodehouse, not only made a good read, but also influenced how other newspapers approached the genre.
The irreverential style he introduced now differentiates the British obit from most of those written in America and Europe. It was Massingberd who wrote the famous Phrase "Liberace was unmarried", after the performer had sued over suggestions he was gay.
As a writer of broadcast obits, I share Hugh Massingberd's gallows humour, and envy the space he had to indulge the English language so ably.