Donald Zec
Donald Zec OBE | |
---|---|
Born | Donald David Zec 12 March 1919[1] London, England |
Died | 6 September 2021 | (aged 102)
Occupation | Journalist |
Known for | Daily Mirror |
Donald David Zec
Biography
Zec's grandfather was a Jewish refugee from Odesa, in Ukraine. His father Simon Zecanovsky settled in London, shortened the family name to Zec, and raised nine daughters and two sons. He was educated at Upton House Secondary School, Homerton in East London [3]
Zec was married for 66 years. After his wife Frances died in 2006 he took up painting, mainly with acrylic paint. In October 2012 he won The Oldie magazine's inaugural British Artists Award (OBA) for artists over the age of 60.[4][5][6] A year later his portrait of his late paternal grandfather (entitled "My Grandfather, the Pious Patriarch") was presented at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, jointly winning the Hugh Casson Prize for Drawing.[7][8]
Career
Zec's career in journalism began in 1938 with a three-day trial at the
Later, he became a journalist writing about film. In the course of his work he interviewed and wrote about many celebrities from the entertainment industry,[10] including Humphrey Bogart, Brigitte Bardot, David Niven, Ingrid Bergman, The Beatles, and Marilyn Monroe.[11]
In October 1967, he won a National Press Award as Descriptive Writer of the year, the citation spoke of his "bland outrageousness and a deadly certainty of aim". Extending his range, he interviewed major political figures such as a former Chancellor of the Exchequer
The many books Zec wrote include biographies of
Zec died in September 2021, at the age of 102.[12][16]
Bibliography
- Barbra: A Biography of Barbra Streisand (with Anthony Fowles). London: Hodder, 1982; ISBN 0-312-06638-4
- The Colonel – a novel. London: ISBN 0-491-02376-6(hardcover)
- The Deal. London: Hodder, 1980; ISBN 0-450-04030-5(hardcover)
- Don't Lose It Again! The Life and Wartime Cartoons of Philip Zec. London: Political Cartoon Society, 2005; ISBN 0-9549008-1-2
- The Face. London: Political Cartoon Society, 1981; ISBN 0-450-05226-5(softcover)
- Liz: The Men, the Myths, and the Miracle – An Intimate Portrait of Elizabeth Taylor. Bookman Projects, 1982; ISBN 0-85939-316-X
- Marvin: The Story of Lee Marvin. London: Hodder, 1980; ISBN 0-312-51780-7
- Put the Knife in Gently: Memoirs of a Life with Legends. London: Anova Books, 2003; ISBN 1-86105-697-4
- The Queen Mother: With Unique Recollections by the Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Thorndike Press, 1990: ISBN 0-86220-417-8
- Sophia: An Intimate Biography. London: W. H. Allen, 1975; ISBN 0-8161-6379-0
- Some Enchanted Egos: Decent Exposures of Some of the Most Celebrated Characters of Our Time. London: ISBN 0-85031-078-4
- This Show Business, Donald Zec on. London: Daily Mirror, 1959.
- When the Snow Melts: The Autobiography of Cubby Broccoli (with ISBN 0-7522-1704-6(softcover)
References
- ^ Noble, Peter (1970). British film and television year book. Cinema TV Today. p. 394.
- ^ Bill Hagerty, "Fame that won't live forever" Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Press Gazette, 14 March 2003
- ^ The Times, obituary, 8 September 2021
- ^ "The Oldie's oldie: 93-year-old wins magazine's artist award", London Evening Standard, 17 October 2012.
- ^ "2012 OBA – Former Daily Mirror journalist wins first OBA award" Archived 7 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Oldie.
- ^ "93 year-old Donald Zec Wins Oldie British Artists Award (OBA): Oldest Entrant to The Oldie British Artists Award Declared 2012 Winner", ArtsLife, 17 October 2012.
- ^ Sharon Wheaton, "improvement at Royal Academy" Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, RA Summer Show, 17 June 2013, p. 20.
- ^ 245th Summer Exhibition Prizewinners: The Hugh Casson Drawing Prize – "Cat. 626 Donald Zec, My Grandfather, the Pious Patriarch". Royal Academy of Arts, Annual Report 2013, Appendix 4, p. 43.
- ^ a b Michael Freedland "Donald Zec: He scooped them all...", The Jewish Chronicle, 26 March 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ "Donald Zec's celebrity scrapbook". The Jewish Chronicle Online. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014.
- ^ "Donald Zec and Marilyn", EverlastingStar.net, 1 February 2012.
- ^ a b Goodman, Geoffrey; Matthew Engel (9 September 2021). "Donald Zec obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "Beautiful Snob" Archived 18 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 1973.
- ^ "Don't Lose it Again!" (extract), History Today, 18 May 2005.
- ^ Review by Dr Bex Lewis (2005–6) Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Donald Zec, legendary showbiz correspondent and chum to stars including Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor and the Beatles – obituary". The Telegraph. 6 September 2021. (subscription required)