William Connor

William Connor

Sir William Neil Connor (26 April, 1909 - 6 April, 1967), was a left-wing journalist for "The Daily Mirror" who wrote under the pseudonym of "Cassandra".

He wrote a regular column for over 30 years between 27 July, 1935 - 1 February, 1967 with a short intermission for World War II, his column restarting after the war with the words "As I was saying before I was interrupted, it is a powerful hard thing to please all of the people all of the time." ["Chambers Dictionary of Quotations" 1999] He took his pen-name from Cassandra in Greek mythology, a tragic character that is given the gift of prophecy by Apollo but is then cursed so that no one will ever believe her.

His writings, described as "polished-up barrack room style", were either bitter attacks on people and events or a personal diary of his every-day life and thoughts. He worked alongside cartoonist Philip Zec at the Daily Mirror and the pair courted controversy in 1942 with an illustration, captioned by Connor, which Winston Churchill and others percived as an attack on government."Cassandra: Reflections in a Mirror" by Robert Connor, Cassell (1969)] His most famous columns include the claims that P. G. Wodehouse was a Nazi collaborator, a charge from which George Orwell defended Wodehouse [Orwell, George [http://www.drones.com/orwell.html In Defence Of P. G. Wodehouse] 1945] and the outing of Liberace for which the paper was sued and lost. During the Second World War he enraged Winston Churchill, who called him "malevolent". Shortly after this Connor joined the army for the remainder of the war.

In one of his most famous columns, Connor attacked the death sentence passed on Ruth Ellis, writing: "The one thing that brings stature and dignity to mankind and raises us above the beasts will have been denied her - pity and the hope of ultimate redemption." His comments contributed to an increased antipathy to the death penalty which eventually resulted in its abolition in the UK.

In the years leading up to his death Connor wrote more humorous columns and was regarded with affection by Mirror readers. Subjects ranged from the time he received wrong number calls intended for the local railway parcels service, to the mysterious person who sent him a fresh goose egg once a year.

His final column ended with the words "Normal service in this column is temporarily interrupted while I learn to do what any babe can do with ease and what comes naturally to most men of good conscience - to sleep easily o' nights."

Since his death the column Cassandra in "The Daily Mirror" has continued to be sporadically published. A new columnist, writer Keith Waterhouse, took over Connor's place in the newspaper, but not his byline.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://lorry.org/cassandra/ Cassandra at his finest and funniest.]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Connor (disambiguation) — William Connor may refer to:*William Connor *William D. Connor *William Connor Mageeee also*William Conner, American politician …   Wikipedia

  • William Connor Magee — (1821 May 5, 1891) was an Irish clergyman of the Anglican church, Archbishop of York for a short period in 1891.He was born in Cork, Ireland. His father was curate of the parish attached to the Protestant cathedral in Cork; his grandfather was… …   Wikipedia

  • William Connor Magee — Caricature de William Magee, évêque de Peterborough, parue dans Vanity Fair en 1869. La légende indique : « Si l éloquence pouvait justifier l injustice, il aurait sauvé l Église d Irlande. » William Connor Magee (1821 – 5 mai… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Henry William Connor — (1793 1866) was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina; born near Amelia Court House, Prince George County, Virginia, August 5, 1793; was graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1812; served as aide de camp to Brig. Gen.… …   Wikipedia

  • Connor — (irisch/anglisiert für „Hundefreund“) ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alice Connor (* 1990), britische Schauspielerin Ashleigh Connor (1989–2011), australische Fußballspielerin Bull Connor (1897–1973), US amerikanischer Politiker Chris… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Magee — may refer to:*William Magee (bishop) (1766 ndash;1831), Anglican Archbishop of Dublin *William Magee (Medal of Honor recipient), U.S. Army drummer and a Medal of Honor recipient for his role in the American Civil War *William Magee (politician),… …   Wikipedia

  • William Magee (bishop) — William Magee (18 March 1766 – 18 August 1831), Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, was born at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was elected fellow in 1788. He was ordained in 1790. Two sermons, preached …   Wikipedia

  • William Jay — The Rev. William Jay (6 May 1769 27 December 1853) was an English nonconformist divine who preached for sixty years at Argyle Chapel in Bath. He is considered to be one of the most eminent English Congregationalist preachers of Regency England;… …   Wikipedia

  • William Dalrymple Maclagan — (* 18. Juni 1826 in Edinburgh; † 19. September 1910 in London) war Erzbischof von York von 1891 bis 1908. Als Erzbischof von York krönte er 1902 Königin Alexandra. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Rehnquist — 16th Chief Justice of the United States In office September 26, 1986 – September 3, 2005 Nominated by …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”