Simon Blumenfeld (25 November 1907 – 13 April 2005) was a British columnist, author, playwright, theatre critic, editor and communist.
Although he described himself as Jewish, he was born to a family of Sicilian refugees, who eventually settled in Whitechapel, in the East End of London. During World War II he served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as an expert in German munitions, before becoming a scriptwriter for Stars in Battledress, an army talent show.[1]
At the end of the war he founded the entertainment magazine Band Wagon,[2] with Norman Kark. He adopted a number of pseudonyms for his writing, including Sidney Vauncez (the Yiddish word for moustache), CV Curtis, and Peter Simon. He founded the Weekly Sporting Review, which collapsed when sued for libel by the managers of Tommy Steele; and then Record Mirror with Benny Green.
Simon Blumenfeld died at Barnet Hospital in North London on 13 April 2005, at the age of 97. He had maintained his writing output until a few weeks before his passing, and his name was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the 'World's Oldest Columnist'. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, where a memorial plaque remains in the 'communist corner'.
Jew Boy - published in the US as The Iron Garden (1932) [reprinted: Lawrence and Wishart, 1986; London Books, 2011]
Phineas Kahn: Portrait of an Immigrant (1937) [reprinted by Lawrence and Wishart, 1987, with an introduction by Steven Berkoff, and by London Books, 2019, with an introduction by Peter Mason]
Doctor of the Lost (1938) [reprinted by London Books, 2013, with an introduction by Paolo Hewitt]
They Won't Let You Live (1939)
The Catalones Bandit (1947) [as Huck Messer (Yiddish: carving knife)]
Rachel Lichtenstein write about Blumenfeld's novel 'Jew Boy'
January 01, 1970
simon, blumenfeld, calligrapher, november, 1907, april, 2005, british, columnist, author, playwright, theatre, critic, editor, communist, although, described, himself, jewish, born, family, sicilian, refugees, eventually, settled, whitechapel, east, london, du. For the calligrapher see Simon Blumenfeldt Simon Blumenfeld 25 November 1907 13 April 2005 was a British columnist author playwright theatre critic editor and communist Although he described himself as Jewish he was born to a family of Sicilian refugees who eventually settled in Whitechapel in the East End of London During World War II he served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as an expert in German munitions before becoming a scriptwriter for Stars in Battledress an army talent show 1 At the end of the war he founded the entertainment magazine Band Wagon 2 with Norman Kark He adopted a number of pseudonyms for his writing including Sidney Vauncez the Yiddish word for moustache CV Curtis and Peter Simon He founded the Weekly Sporting Review which collapsed when sued for libel by the managers of Tommy Steele and then Record Mirror with Benny Green Simon Blumenfeld died at Barnet Hospital in North London on 13 April 2005 at the age of 97 He had maintained his writing output until a few weeks before his passing and his name was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the World s Oldest Columnist He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium where a memorial plaque remains in the communist corner Contents 1 Works 1 1 Novels 1 2 Plays 1 3 Editor and columnist 2 Personal 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksWorks editNovels edit Jew Boy published in the US as The Iron Garden 1932 reprinted Lawrence and Wishart 1986 London Books 2011 Phineas Kahn Portrait of an Immigrant 1937 reprinted by Lawrence and Wishart 1987 with an introduction by Steven Berkoff and by London Books 2019 with an introduction by Peter Mason Doctor of the Lost 1938 reprinted by London Books 2013 with an introduction by Paolo Hewitt They Won t Let You Live 1939 The Catalones Bandit 1947 as Huck Messer Yiddish carving knife Plays edit The Battle of Cable Street 1987 Editor and columnist edit Band Wagon Weekly Sporting Review Record Mirror The StagePersonal editSimon was married to Deborah Blumenfeld who died in 1960 They had two children son Eric and daughter Sheba 1 Notes edit a b Simon Blumenfeld Obituary The Guardian 18 April 2005 Named for the radio show Band Waggon References editSimon Blumenfeld Obituary Peter Hepple The Guardian 18 April 2005 Simon Blumenfeld Columnist author playwright theatre critic editor and former light entertainment editor of The Stage Press Gazette 6 May 2008External links editRachel Lichtenstein write about Blumenfeld s novel Jew Boy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Simon Blumenfeld amp oldid 1191160020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
