Last Word
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 531
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Leonard Cohen, Lt Col Robert Montgomery MC, Janet Reno, Sir Jimmy Young
Matthew Bannister on
The singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen. He was accused of depressing a generation, but many found his songs inspiring.
Lieutenant Colonel Bob Montgomery - the explosives exp…
Tom Hayden, Valerie Hunter Gordon, Carole Blake, Anne Pashley
Matthew Bannister on
American political activist Tom Hayden. He once said that people only knew four words about him: "Sixties, Radical, Jane and Fonda". He led anti Vietnam war protests and was marri…
Raine, Countess Spencer, James "Jimmy" Perry, Stylianos Pattakos, Howard Davies, Bobby Vee
Matthew Bannister on
Raine Countess Spencer. The daughter of Barbara Cartland and step mother of Princess Diana who nicknamed her "Acid Raine".
Jimmy Perry who drew on his own life to co-write classic…
Jean Alexander, Trinh Thi Ngo, Ian Mercer, Joseph Harmatz, Joan Marie Johnson
Matthew Bannister on
Jean Alexander - the actress best known for playing Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street.
Trinh Thi Ngo. Nicknamed Hanoi Hannah, she broadcast propaganda to American GIs during the Vie…
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Dario Fo, Jean Bloxam, Andrew Vicari, Don Buchla
Matthew Bannister on
The world's longest reigning monarch - King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.
The Nobel prize winning playwright and satirist Dario Fo. Griff Rhys Jones pays tribute.
The pioneering r…
Sir Neville Marriner, Father Gabriele Amorth, Beryl Crockford, Professor Louis Herman, Rod Temperton
Matthew Bannister on
Sir Neville Marriner the conductor who founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and led them to become the world's most recorded orchestra.
Father Gabriele Amorth, the Cathol…
Shimon Peres, Nathalie Evans, Arnold Palmer, Bill Mollison, Jean Shepard
Matthew Bannister on
Shimon Peres, the Israeli elder statesman who was twice Prime Minister of his country and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in negotiating the Oslo Accord with the Palestinia…
Edward Albee, James Cronin, Caroline Thomson OBE, Sir Frederick Holliday, Charmian Carr
Matthew Bannister on
American playwright Edward Albee, who won three Pullitzer prizes but not for his best known work "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
Physicist James Cronin who won the Nobel Prize …
Barry Myers, Eileen Younghusband, Robin Spark, Keith McDougall, Prince Buster
Matthew Bannister on
Barry Myers who directed some of the best known commercials of the 1970s and 80s, including ads for Hovis, Olympus Cameras and Cadbury's Flake.
Eileen Younghusband, who worked as …
The Right Rev David Jenkins, Dame Margaret Anstee, Islam Karimov, Richard Neville
Matthew Bannister on
The Bishop of Durham the Right Reverend David Jenkins. A respected theologian, he was noted for his controversial views.
The diplomat Dame Margaret Anstee who overcame sex discrimi…
Joao Havelange, Sonia Rykiel, Gene Wilder, Toots Thielemans
Matthew Bannister on
João Havelange, the President of the international football federation, FIFA, who stepped down amid allegations of corruption.
The French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel who broke t…
Sir Antony Jay, Donald Henderson, Tom Cholmondeley, Patsy Wright-Warren CBE, Lord Rix
Julian Worricker on....
The co-writer of 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister' - Sir Antony Jay....
Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, who led the WHO's campaign to eradicate smallpox....
The …
Bishop Edward Daly, Ahmed Zewail, Suzanne Wright, Duke of Westminster, Ivo Pitanguy
Matthew Bannister on
the Bishop of Derry Edward Daly. He was famously photographed waving a bloodstained white handkerchief as he tended to a young man shot by the army on Bloody Sunday.
The Egyptian …
Luc Hoffmann, Sylvia Peters, Joe Powell, William Smethurst, Sandy Pearlman
Matthew Bannister on
Luc Hoffmann, the Swiss conservationist who co-founded the World Wildlife Fund and fought to save endangered species and wetlands.
Sylvia Peters, one of the best known faces on BB…
Gary S Paxton, Sally Beauman, Thomas Sutherland, Frank Dickens, Marni Nixon
Matthew Bannister on
Thomas Sutherland the Scottish-born American professor who was held hostage for more than six years in Lebanon. We hear from his fellow hostage Terry Anderson.
The singer, songwri…
Sydney Schanberg, Beatrice de Cardi, Lord Evans of Temple Guiting, Alvin Toffler, Jimmy Gilbert
Matthew Bannister on
The American journalist Sydney Schanberg who won the Pulitzer prize for his reporting on Cambodia. His story was turned into the film "The Killing Fields".
The archaeologist Beatri…
Abdul Sattar Edhi, Professor Suzanne Corkin, Bernardo Provenzano, Garry Marshall
Matthew Bannister on
Abdul Sattar Edhi. Known as Pakistan's "Angel of Mercy", he built up a foundation which brought healthcare, orphanages and women's shelters to the poorest people in his country.
…
Caroline Aherne, Elie Wiesel, Sir Geoffrey Hill, Lord Mayhew, Michael Cimino
Matthew Bannister on
The comedian Caroline Aherne who created Mrs Merton and the Royle family and struggled with the pressures of fame.
Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel. Described by President…
Amjad Sabri, Lorna Kelly, Jerome Bruner, Bob Holman, Scotty Moore
Matthew Bannister on
The Pakistani qawwali singer Amjad Sabri. A huge star in his homeland, he was shot dead in his car in Karachi.
The auctioneer Lorna Kelly who turned her back on a glittering New Y…
Dr Sylvia Meek, Sam King MBE, Chips Moman, Ethel Bush GM, Harry Rabinowitz
Matthew Bannister on
The parasitologist Sylvia Meek who led the fight to reduce deaths from malaria.
Harry Rabinowitz who conducted the music for many films and TV series, including the English Patien…