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John O'Quinn: Flamboyant trial lawyer who won numerous billion-dollar cases against American companies

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

In the high-octane city of Houston, indeed in the entire outsized state of Texas, there probably was no more outsized and high-octane character than John Maurice O'Quinn. He was a flamboyant trial lawyer who might have stepped out of a TV soap opera. He was colossally rich and endlessly controversial, a courtroom steam-roller who took on and extracted billion-dollar judgements from some of the country's mightiest companies. But if big business vilified him as symbol of everything wrong with the bloated US tort system, the plaintiffs he represented tended to see O'Quinn as Gary Cooper from High Noon (one of his favourite films, he loved to say) – a lonely sheriff who took on and overcame the dark forces of corporate malfeasance. A strapping 6ft 4in and ruggedly handsome, he was even said to look like the Marlboro Man.

Keith Kettleborough: Midfielder whose artistry and industriousness put him on the fringes of the 1966 England football squad

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

With his balding head, pallid features and scuttling gait, Keith Kettleborough didn't cut a glamorous figure on the football pitch, even during his prime with Sheffield United in the first half of the 1960s. No matter: the slim Yorkshireman was one of the game's true craftsmen, a subtly constructive midfield general who brought to his work an appealing cocktail of artistry and industry which, during mid-decade as plans were being laid to capture the World Cup, prompted the England manager Alf Ramsey to call him into his training squad.

Lives Remembered: Eddie Lever

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Eddie Lever died on 25 August at the end of a long life dedicated to his socialist ideals and his love of humanity. Eddie was the Quaker chaplain at Ford Open Prison, and through this became noted for his work for the homeless.

Arthur Giardelli: Painter steeped in the avant-garde who used found objects to evoke the forces of nature

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The painter Arthur Giardelli was steeped in the work of the European avant-garde and brought to his adopted Wales, where he settled in 1947, a passionate belief that art transcends national boundaries, however firmly rooted it may be in the local and particular. He did more than any other artist to promote the work of his contemporaries, among whom were David Jones, Josef Herman and Ceri Richards, largely in his capacity as chairman of the influential 56 Group, which transformed the public perception of art in Wales with its many exhibitions and tireless lobbying of such bodies as the Arts Council and the National Museum.

Ian Craig: Lobby journalist for the 'Liverpool Echo' and 'Manchester Evening News' for more than two decades

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The sudden death of Ian Craig, who was a stalwart of the Westminster press lobby for more than 25 years, has generated a stream of tributes unusual both in their number and in their warmth.

Obits in Brief: Robert H. Rines

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Robert H. Rines, who died on 1 November aged 87, was a lawyer, composer, inventor and physicist whose discoveries led to sharper resolution in radar, sonar and ultrasound imaging and who claimed to have seen the Loch Ness Monster.

Lou Jacobi

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:33:51 GMT

The actor Lou Jacobi, who died on 23 October aged 95, was known for his comic roles but also won praise in dramatic roles over a long career in the theatre and cinema.

Sir John Crofton: Physician whose research revolutionised the treatment of tuberculosis and lung disease

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

For seven decades John Crofton conducted a professional and public battle against tuberculosis and lung disease.

Francisco Ayala: Author and essayist who found his voice in exile and whose work dealt with power and its abuses

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

This great Spanish novelist, short story writer and essayist was truly a universal man. He considered himself European rather than Spanish right from the start of his career.

Harry Alan Towers: Prolific radio, television and film producer and screenwriter

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

As entertainment moguls go, Harry Alan Towers was never in the same league as David O. Zelnick or Louis B. Mayer, but at least he had a proper middle name; and during a long career in radio, television and films he acquired a legendary reputation as the most prolific – and occasionally elusive – independent producer in the business.

Claude Levi-Strauss: Intellectual considered the father of modern anthropology whose work inspired structuralism

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Claude Lévi-Strauss was the most famous anthropologist of his generation, and one of the leading intellectuals in post-war France. His writings inspired a major intellectual movement, and at least two of his books have already become classics of French literature. He was largely responsible for the development of social anthropology in France.

Reinhard Mohn: Publisher who transformed the fortunes of Bertelsmann after the Second World War

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Reinhard Mohn turned his family's war-ravaged religious publishing company, Bertelsmann AG, into one of the world's largest media conglomerates employing more than 100,000 people in more than 50 countries world-wide and with revenues of approximately €16bn [£14.45bn] in 2008.

Sir Donald Logan: Civil servant who assisted the Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd during the Suez crisis

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Donald Logan's place in post-war political history is assured, as he was the only British representative present at the two secret meetings at Sèvres, near Paris, at the height of the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Lives Remembered: Tania England

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

My wife Tania England (née Reichenbach) was born in Berlin in 1922. Her mother was Jewish, but Tania was not aware of her Jewishness until she learned that her schoolfriends had been told by their parents not to play with her. Her father was co-founder of the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) – not the family background of choice in Germany in the early 1930s. Tania recalled several visits by the Gestapo to her home while she was a young girl.

Sula Wolff: Child psychiatrist who made pioneering advances in her field

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The eminent child psychiatrist Sula Wolff has died aged 85. She was one of the founders of modern child psychiatry in post-war Britain, helping to bring a rigorous scientific engagement to augment clinical practice.

Ray Lambert: Steadfast Liverpool defender who played alongside Bob Paisley

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Ray Lambert played his football for Liverpool in times both gloriously uplifting and downright wretched for the Anfield Reds during the middle years of the 20th century.

Johnny Carter: Doo-wop and R&B singer who was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The singer Johnny Carter was one of the few two-time inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for his membership of two influential vocal groups, the Flamingos and the Dells. Carter was the last surviving founder member of the Flamingos, the Chicago doo-wop group best known to British audiences for their appearance performing the ballad "Would I Be Crying" in Rock, Rock, Rock, the 1956 movie starring the disc jockey Alan Freed and teenage star Tuesday Weld, and also featuring the Moonglows, Chuck Berry, the Johnny Burnette Trio and La Vern Baker, as well as Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Norman Painting: Actor and writer who broke records in his long-standing role as Phil Archer in 'The Archers'

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

In fictional terms, farmer Phil Archer of Brookfield Farm, Ambridge, Borsetshire, was the perfect paterfamilias (though "patri-archer" might be the juster mot): bluff, honest, capable of being acutely (and comically) embarrassed, yet wise – even calculating – in an old-fashioned way.

Soupy Sales: Anarchic and pioneering children's TV personality

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Although Soupy Sales, who has died aged 83, will inevitably be remembered with a pie in his face, as befits a comedian who took an estimated 20,000 of them during his career, his slapstick brilliance should not overshadow his influence on a whole generation of Americans, including many notable comics who, as adolescents, teenagers, or even young adults in the late 1950s and early 1960s, were enthralled by the anarchic pleasures of Soupy's so-called "children's" shows.

Lives Remembered: Elly Ligertwood

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Elly Ligertwood (née von Hunkar) grew up near Ptuj, in today's Slovenia, latterly part of Yugoslavia. She had a happy childhood in a large, bustling house, with cousins and au pairs frequently visiting from England. In 1941, after the Nazi occupation, she was sent to cousins in Hungary to avoid joining the Bund Deutscher Madchen (the League of German Girls). Her parents managed to remain at home throughout the war. As the Russians approached in 1945, Elly got herself back home alone on trains strafed by allied bombers, nourished for days by a single bag of plums.

Barry Letts: Actor who became a prolific writer and producer of television shows, including 'Doctor Who' and 'Z-Cars'

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Barry Letts, who has died aged 84, had a career in television spanning five decades during which he was an actor, writer, producer and director.

Robert Kirby: Musical arranger who worked with Nick Drake and Elvis Costello

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The musical arranger, conductor, composer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Kirby was best known for the delicate, understated arrangements he created for Nick Drake on Five Leaves Left, the singer-songwriter's 1969 debut, and its 1970 follow-up, Bryter Layter. These albums, together with Pink Moon – the musician's bleak third album recorded without Kirby – only sold a few thousand copies at the time of their release, and following Drake's death after an overdose of antidepressant drugs in November 1974, he was almost forgotten.

Michael Shea: Press secretary to the Queen in the late Seventies and Eighties

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Michael Shea was press officer to the Queen for almost a decade until, fatally for his career, he himself became part of the story and was embroiled in reported differences between the monarch and Margaret Thatcher.

David Shepherd: Hugely respected doyen of English cricket umpires who stood in three successive World Cup finals

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

David Shepherd, who has died at the age of 68, will be remembered as an outstanding cricket umpire, a perpetually cheery figure under a white flat cap – and as the official who hopped and skipped on the spot in an attempt to ward off the bad luck associated with cricket's bogey number of 111. The sight of a large, white-coated man lifting his leg off the ground entertained crowds every bit as much as a cover driven boundary or a hit for six.

Gritta Weil: Editorial secretary who devoted her life to 'The Observer' and its staff

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Gritta Weil, who worked at The Observer from 1945 until 1984, has died aged 84. She was one of those rare people whose lives are far more influential than their apparent roles would suggest. In Weil's case, her job description was "editorial secretary" – today, it would without doubt be something grandiose like "editorial office manager". Weil came fully into her own on retirement, when for many years she ran the organisation that sustained the comradeship forged on The Observer over several generations of journalists.