News

Roger Corman, one of the most influential figures in the history of American cinema, passed away at the age of 98. A filmmaker with many nicknames, such as the "King of B-movies," the "King of Cult Movies," and the "Pope of Pop Cinema," Corman ranks among the most prolific film industry professionals of all time. Throughout his 70-plus-year career, Corman produced roughly 500 films, directed nearly 60 movies, and acted in approximately 50 television shows and movies. As a producer, Corman played an invaluable role in providing American distribution for countless classic foreign-language films. Corman also helped launch the careers of dozens of Hollywood luminaries, such as directors Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Peter Bogdanovich, as well as actors like Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern, Peter Fonda, and William Shatner, to name a few.

Working as a director in the 1950s and 1960s, Corman became a pioneer of low-budget cinema,...

Kit Hesketh-Harvey, the musician, composer and screenwriter, died of natural causes, a coroner has ruled.

The artist died suddenly at the age of 65 from heart disease, the family told The Independent.

He was in the bath, listening to Radio 3 and preparing for one of his Kit & McConnel comedy cabaret shows at the time of his death on 1 February.

Hesketh-Harvey, who performed for King Charles, enjoyed a prolific career that included writing the screenplay for director James Ivory’s 1987 film Maurice. The film starred a young Hugh Grant in one of his first onscreen roles.

He was the brother of Sarah Sands, journalist and former editor of the Evening Standard. Sands – who is also coping with the loss of her actor ex-husband Julian Sands who went missing last month during a mountain hike in California – spoke of her shock at her brother’s death at the time, telling The Independent: “Kit was dazzling – clever,...

Kit Hesketh-Harvey was one of those surprisingly rare performers whose personality was the same on stage as off. When I saw him in the many revues he would write and perform, the audience basked in his humour and genuine warmth.

You could say that Hesketh-Harvey was the last of the old-style Vaudevillians, keeping alive the spirit of Noël Coward, while unafraid to surprise his audience by stepping into the caustic territory of Barry Humphries. He always revelled in that quintessentially English humour, self-deprecating but biting, drawing on a world of shared references from British culture, while at the same time carving out its own originality.

His version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not a Happy One” turned the jolly jape of a song into a critique of modern-day policing. “They want evidence that can’t be circumvented. So, invent it.” Delivered with such a smile,...

Kit Hesketh-Harvey, the musician, composer and screenwriter, has died suddenly aged 65.

The multi-talented entertainer, who performed for King Charles, enjoyed a prolific career that included writing the screenplay for director James Ivory’s 1987 film Maurice, starring a young Hugh Grant in one of his first onscreen roles.

His agent told The Independent he died unexpectedly but peacefully, while listening to Radio 3 and preparing for a Kit & McConnel show.

He was the brother of Sarah Sands, journalist and former editor of the Evening Standard. His death comes as a double blow to the family during an ongoing search for Ms Sands’s former husband, British actor Julian Sands, who went missing two weeks ago while hiking in southern California.

Ms Sands spoke of the shock over her brother’s death. She told The Independent: “Kit was dazzling – clever, original, funny, kind. The last time I saw him he was busy mapping...

Kit Hesketh-Harvey, the musician, composer and screenwriter, has died suddenly aged 65.

The multi-talented entertainer, who performed for King Charles, enjoyed a prolific career that included writing the screenplay for director James Ivory’s 1987 film Maurice, starring a young Hugh Grant in one of his first onscreen roles.

His agent told The Independent he died unexpectedly but peacefully, while listening to Radio 3 and preparing for a Kit & McConnel show.

He was the brother of Sarah Sands, journalist and former editor of the Evening Standard. His death comes as a double blow to the family during an ongoing search for Ms Sands’s former husband, British actor Julian Sands, who went missing two weeks ago while hiking in southern California.

Ms Sands spoke of the shock over her brother’s death. She told The Independent: “Kit was dazzling – clever, original, funny, kind. The last time I saw him he was busy mapping...