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Paul Stanley Lester Callan (13 March 1939 – 22 November 2020) was a British journalist and editor. He was known for his flamboyant manner and distinctive attire.[1]
Callan was born on 13 March 1939 in Redbridge in Essex to an Irish musician father and a Jewish mother. He attended the independent Cranbrook School in Ilford, then enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music, seeing prospects of a career as a cellist.[1]
Early career
Callan reached prominence as editor of the Londoner's Diary in the Evening Standard in the 1960s, and then with a Daily Mail diary column. He achieved a succession of scoops, and was responsible for training up a generation of young journalists, including the gossip columnist, Nigel Dempster.
Callan later moved to the Daily Mirror where he wrote the "Inside World of Paul Callan" column which broke a number of major stories embarrassing to their subjects.
Celebrity interviews
Tiring of the gossip columns, Callan moved over to the celebrity interview. Callan's amiability and nose for a story made him a favourite of actors and publishers alike, and he has interviewed virtually every major Hollywood star in the last forty years, and members of the British royal family.
He is credited with the shortest interview ever published.[citation needed] Meeting the reclusive Greta Garbo at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc near Cannes, Callan got as far as, "I wonder..." before Garbo cut in with, "Why wonder?", and stormed off. The story ran across a full page in the Daily Mail.
Radio
Callan and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter are credited with inventing a new form of radio, albeit unintentionally. At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company, or LBC, the pair were pitched as co-presenters of the breakfast show.[2] The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the less couth Street-Porter, whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat".
In the event friction between the two colleagues led to an entertaining stream of one-upmanship that became required listening for many Londoners. The programme was the first in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show, blurring the line between classic British comedy and analysis of international affairs.
Innovation
In parallel with David Frost's approach to television, Callan developed a technique known as "news colour" in which a hard news story is reported in a feature style. It has the effect of placing the reader as if he is actually witnessing the story, and is now taught in journalism school.
As one of the last representatives of old Fleet Street he cut an unmistakable figure, clad in pinstriped suit and trademark spotted bow tie regardless of geography or climate. In 1991, he moved to the Daily Express where he combined feature writing with news colour as well as contributing regularly to the comment pages. Callan was a contributor to the What the Papers Say television programme.
Callan was known for his acerbic book reviews despite being described by the critic Clive James as "having the literary sensibilities of a vampire bat".[3]
Personal life and death
Callan married New York journalist Steffi Fields in 1973, who moved over from being London correspondent of the fashion bible Women's Wear Daily to the position of news editor of the London bureau of the NBC television network. His daughter, Jessica, worked on the Daily Mirror's 3 am column.
Callan died on 22 November 2020, due to a fall, at the age of 81. In an obituary in The Telegraph, he was recounted as a "fount of juicy stories".[1]Piers Morgan, the former editor of the Daily Mirror, paid tribute to him as "one of the greatest characters in Fleet Street history".
Notes
^ abc"Paul Callan, flamboyant Fleet Street figure who rode the wave of the new celebrity culture – obituary". The Telegraph. 23 November 2020. (subscription required)
^. Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
^James, Clive. "The Queen in California". Observer. 6 March 1983. Accessed 23 October 2006.
Further reading
Street-Porter, Janet. Fall Out: A Memoir of Friends Made and Friends Unmade. London: Headline Review, 2006. ISBN0-7553-1495-6.
March 09, 2023
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This article is about the British journalist For the television character see Miracles TV series This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article November 2020 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Paul Callan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Paul Stanley Lester Callan 13 March 1939 22 November 2020 was a British journalist and editor He was known for his flamboyant manner and distinctive attire 1 Paul CallanBornPaul Stanley Lester Callan 1939 03 13 13 March 1939Redbridge Essex EnglandDied22 November 2020 2020 11 22 aged 81 EducationCranbrook SchoolRoyal Academy of MusicOccupationJournalistSpouseSteffi Fields m 1973 wbr Contents 1 Early life 2 Early career 3 Celebrity interviews 4 Radio 5 Innovation 6 Personal life and death 7 Notes 8 Further readingEarly life EditCallan was born on 13 March 1939 in Redbridge in Essex to an Irish musician father and a Jewish mother He attended the independent Cranbrook School in Ilford then enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music seeing prospects of a career as a cellist 1 Early career EditCallan reached prominence as editor of the Londoner s Diary in the Evening Standard in the 1960s and then with a Daily Mail diary column He achieved a succession of scoops and was responsible for training up a generation of young journalists including the gossip columnist Nigel Dempster Callan later moved to the Daily Mirror where he wrote the Inside World of Paul Callan column which broke a number of major stories embarrassing to their subjects Celebrity interviews EditTiring of the gossip columns Callan moved over to the celebrity interview Callan s amiability and nose for a story made him a favourite of actors and publishers alike and he has interviewed virtually every major Hollywood star in the last forty years and members of the British royal family He is credited with the shortest interview ever published citation needed Meeting the reclusive Greta Garbo at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc near Cannes Callan got as far as I wonder before Garbo cut in with Why wonder and stormed off The story ran across a full page in the Daily Mail Radio EditCallan and broadcaster Janet Street Porter are credited with inventing a new form of radio albeit unintentionally At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company or LBC the pair were pitched as co presenters of the breakfast show 2 The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the less couth Street Porter whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as cut glass and cut froat In the event friction between the two colleagues led to an entertaining stream of one upmanship that became required listening for many Londoners The programme was the first in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show blurring the line between classic British comedy and analysis of international affairs Innovation EditIn parallel with David Frost s approach to television Callan developed a technique known as news colour in which a hard news story is reported in a feature style It has the effect of placing the reader as if he is actually witnessing the story and is now taught in journalism school As one of the last representatives of old Fleet Street he cut an unmistakable figure clad in pinstriped suit and trademark spotted bow tie regardless of geography or climate In 1991 he moved to the Daily Express where he combined feature writing with news colour as well as contributing regularly to the comment pages Callan was a contributor to the What the Papers Say television programme Callan was known for his acerbic book reviews despite being described by the critic Clive James as having the literary sensibilities of a vampire bat 3 Personal life and death EditCallan married New York journalist Steffi Fields in 1973 who moved over from being London correspondent of the fashion bible Women s Wear Daily to the position of news editor of the London bureau of the NBC television network His daughter Jessica worked on the Daily Mirror s 3 am column Callan died on 22 November 2020 due to a fall at the age of 81 In an obituary in The Telegraph he was recounted as a fount of juicy stories 1 Piers Morgan the former editor of the Daily Mirror paid tribute to him as one of the greatest characters in Fleet Street history Notes Edit a b c Paul Callan flamboyant Fleet Street figure who rode the wave of the new celebrity culture obituary The Telegraph 23 November 2020 subscription required Media UK s LBC page Archived from the original on 16 October 2006 Retrieved 23 October 2006 James Clive The Queen in California Observer 6 March 1983 Accessed 23 October 2006 Further reading EditStreet Porter Janet Fall Out A Memoir of Friends Made and Friends Unmade London Headline Review 2006 ISBN 0 7553 1495 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paul Callan amp oldid 1129025040, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
