Richard Findlater

Richard Findlater (1921–1985) was a British theatre critic and biographer.

Early life

He was born Kenneth Bruce Findlater Bain, but worked under the pen-name Richard Findlater.[1][2]

Career

Findlater was arts editor for The Observer, and became assistant editor in 1963.[2][3]

He wrote 18 books, including biographies of Michael Redgrave, Peggy Ashcroft, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Lillian Baylis and Joseph Grimaldi; the definitive history of stage censorship, Banned; and an account of contemporary British theatre, The Unholy Trade.[2]

Publications
  • Grimaldi: King of Clowns, 1955.
  • Michael Redgrave, Mask or Face, 1958
  • Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, MacGibbon & Kee, 1968
  • Comic Cuts: A Bedside Sampler Of Censorship In Action Richard Findlater (ed) (Andre Deutsch, 1970) (illustrated by Willie Rushton)
  • At the Royal Court: 25 Years of the English Stage Company, Amber Lane Press (1981); ISBN 0-906399-22-X

Personal life

From 1948 to 1962, he was married to the journalist and showbusiness interviewer Romany Bain, with whom he had four children. One of their sons became an Anglican priest-clown known as Roly Bain or "Holy Roly".[4] Their eldest son, Simon Bain, is a journalist. Romany Bain subsequently married jazz bandleader Tommy Watt, with whom she had a son, the musician Ben Watt.[1] Richard married Angela Colbert in 1977. At his memorial service in 1985, Michael Foot and Sir John Gielgud led the tributes.

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References
  1. "Romany Bain: Show-business interviewer who charmed Richard Burton and later worked for Larry Lamb at 'The Sun'". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. "Richard Findlater". The Dan Leno Project. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  3. "Obituary: Helen Osborne | Global | The Guardian". theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  4. "The Reverend Roly Bain, priest and clown – obituary". The Telegraph. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
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