8 NEWS People
THEWEEK2November 2019Miranda’stoughestcritic
Lin-ManuelMiranda,the
creatorofthetheatrical
phenomenonHamilton,
oftenmeetspeoplewhotell
himthattheydon’tusuallylike
musicals,butdolikehiswork,
saysSathnamSangherainThe
Times.“Iattributethistoa
verysimplething,”saysthe
writerandcomposer,39:“my
wife,whodoesn’tlikemusicals.
Shedidn’tgrowupgoingtosee
them,ordoingtheatre.She’sa
lawyer;whenwemet,shewas
ascientist.Ihaveahigherbar
toclearthanmostcomposers,
becausemyfirstaudienceis
mywife,anditcan’tjustbe
aprettytune.”Hamiltonhas
wonendlessawardsandissaid
toearnhimover$100,000a
weekinroyalties,buthesees
hisfirstmusical,InTheHeights
–inspiredbytheWashington
HeightsareaofNewYork,
wherehegrewup–ashisreal
breakthrough. “Iwentfrom
beingasubstitute teacherto
aBroadwaycomposer,and
I’llnevermake aleap that
bigagaininmy life...Ifithad
onlyrunthat openingnight,if
it hadonlyrun thosepreview
performances,I’dhave been
veryhappy.”Anunexpectedjourney
KeiraKnightleynever expected
tofind herselfstarringin
Hollywood blockbusters, says
RobbieCollin inThe Daily
Telegraph. Withparentswho
werebothmembersofthe
left-wing theatrecompany
7:84,it wasalways assumed
thatshewouldmakehercareer
on the stage.Butwhenshe
startedauditioningaged 12,shefailedtowinanytheatre
parts,“andthenthefilmthing
justsortofhappened”.Aged
17,shewascastopposite
JohnnyDeppinPiratesofthe
Caribbean:TheCurseofthe
BlackPearl,andshewasa
bitembarrassed.“Iremember
tellingmymatesthatIwas
doingafilmbasedonaDisney
theme-parkride...Andthey
laughedandsaid,‘Well,that’s
yourcareeroverthen!’”Hucknall’smodelfather
Whenhewasjustthree,Mick
Hucknall’smotherwalkedout,
leavinghisfathertobringhim
upaloneinasmallsemiin
Denton,eastManchester,
saysRobMcGibboninThe
SundayTimes.“Wewere
onthebreadline,”remembers
thesinger,59.“Iwasnearthe
bottomofthebarrel.”Waryof
thiscockychildwithadifficult
homelife, some parents would
telltheirchildrentostay away
fromhim.“Theywouldsay,
‘Don’tplaywithhim,he’snot
normal...he’stroubled.’ Iwas
onlysevenoreightwhenI
heardthat.”Hisfather,Reg,
lived longenough tosee the
huge successof Simply Red,
butdiedin 2009. Hisdeath
leftaterrible void. “Iadored
my father.Thecommitment
thatthisguygavetomewas
absolutelyextraordinary.
Ihaveneverforgottenitand
Iadmirehimenormously.His
ashes areinthelakeinfront
of thehouse:mydad loved
fishing, so theideaof him
beingin waterreallyappealed.
Ialsohadadiamond made out
of someof hisashes. Ikissit
everynowandagain.”To Anne Glenconner, Princess Margaret was not the imperious,
selfish socialite ofThe Crown,but awarm and witty friend, says
Elizabeth Grice in The Daily Telegraph. The two played together
as children, and she spent 30 years as the princess’s lady-in-waiting
–along, symbiotic partnership. When Lady Anne’s son Henry was
dying of an Aids-related illness, Princess Margaret went to visit
him at the London Lighthouse hospice. “It was long before Diana,
Princess of Wales, went with her posse of photographers; nobody
knew... She didn’t stroke [patients] or hold their hands, but she
made them laugh, and they loved her. She made them forget.”
It was at the Glenconners’ house that the princess, then married to
Lord Snowdon, began her relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, which
causedascandal but brought her happiness. “Tony [Snowdon] was
behaving appallingly, with all his mistresses, and not being at all
kind to her... We were actually very pleased [about the affair], but
thought the royal household probably weren’t.” Lady Anne, now
87, had an equally unkind husband, Colin, who took her toabroth el
on thesecond night of their honeymoon, and whose final act was
to leave everything to his St. Lucian valet. But, like her friend, she
would never have dreamt of makingascene in public. “That’s how
we were brought up–tofoldthe towels neatly, bite the bullet.”Viewpoint:
The wet wipe menace
“Emblazonedonthe side of a
sewer-clearingtruck onourstreetis
the motto‘Flushing wet wipesclogs
your pipes’.Itmay notscan, but the
message is clear–andfutile:people
will always do this.The solution is
to makethosewho prod uce wet wipes
pay forsewer-cleaning.We’re going
aboutenvironmentalprotection in
too piecemealamanner. We legislate
for plasticbags. We discusslegislating
for straws.Weagonise over wet
wipes. Instead we needashort Act
of Parliamentestablishingageneral
power to createalist of products
liable toalevy,payable by businesses
that cost us.Noisy moralising should
give waytoquiet revenue-raising.”
Matthew Parris in The TimesFarewell
Robert Evans,film
producer and studio
boss who wroteThe Kid
Stays in the Picture,died
26October, aged 89.
Robert Forster,actor
who wasOscar-
nominatedforhis role
in Quentin Tarantino’s
JackieBrown,died
October,aged78.
Raymond Leppard,
conductor whorevived
interest in early baroque
music, died 22 October,
aged 92.
“Split” Waterman,
postwar speedway star
who turnedtocrime,
died8October, aged 96.Book:TheOmni-Americans:BlackExperienceand AmericanCulture
by AlbertMurray
Luxury:agrill *Choice if allowed only one recordCastaway of the week
This week’s edition of Radio 4’sDesert Island Discs
featured the actor Wendell Pierce
1 Bein’ Greenby JoeRaposo, performed by Jim Henson
2 GreenChimneysby Thelonious Monk,performedby
WyntonMarsalis
3 One Nation UnderAGroove (Part 1)by Garry Shider, George
Clinton and WalterMorri son,performedbyFunkadelic
4*Take My Hand,Precious Lordby Rev. ThomasA. Dorsey,
performed by Mahalia Jackson
5 Both Sides Now,written and performedby JoniMitchell
6 Don’tGiveUpOnMeby CarsonWhitsett, DanPenn and
Hoy Lindsey, performed by Solomon Burke
7 Appalachian Spring Doppio movimentoby AaronCopland,
conducted by LeonardBernstein and performed by the
New YorkPhilharmonic
8 ALoveSupreme–Part I: Acknowledgement,written and
performed by John Coltrane