Marius Pope
Marius Pope | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Maurice Pope 31 December 1920 |
| Died | 9 December 2009(aged 88) Tunbridge Wells,Kent,England |
| Spouse |
Anne Patricia Collette Odile
(m.1959) |
| Children | 4; includingIvan Pope |
Marius Pope(31 December 1920 – 9 December 2009) was a journalist and ideas man who worked with Lord Beaverbrook, Charles Wintour and others to help invent the modern post-war newspaper.
Life and career
[edit]Pope was born in Amersfoort, South Africa, where his parents, Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, were running a hotel. They returned to Johannesburg where they ran a piano shop, the Nugget Piano Salon. Pope attended a grammar school. After the outbreak of war he enlisted in theSouth African Defence Forcein as a bandsman. After serving in East Africa, Abyssinia and the Middle East he was discharged as medically unfit in October 1943.
After working for the Labour Bulletin inPretoria,Pope moved to London in 1947 and worked forReutersinFleet Streetuntil 1949 when he moved for the first time to theEvening Standard.
In 1949 he wrote a pamphlet forThe Bureau of Current AffairscalledWhat's In The News?,asking ‘Do we tend to believe everything we read in print?'. In August 1949 he joined theLondon Evening Standardas Assistant Features Editor for eighteen pounds a week at, under the editor,Percy Elland.His classical music reviews earned him a permanent place on the features desk. He became Assistant Features Editor 'changing the look of the features pages and dominating the morning conferences, voice rising, arms waving, ideas bouncing from the walls'.[1][2]
In 1954 Pope wrote toHugh Cudlippat theMirrorand in December that year he moved to work on Cudlipp's new women's newspaper. By the end of 1955 he was back working in the Features department at theEvening Standardwhere he first worked withCharles Wintourwith whom he was to form a lifelong friendship. He was promoted to Features Editor.
In 1958 he married Patricia Pirard, a French national who lived in London.
In January 1958 he moved to become Associate Features Editor at theDaily Mailand by the end of the year he was Features Editor.
In July 1960 Pope was sacked by the new Editor of theDaily Mail,William Hardcastleand following a job offer fromMax Corre,the editor-in-chief ofParis Presse,he went to work in Paris to bring the British sense of tabloid style to a floundering French newspaper. While in Paris he introducedChristian MillautoHenri Gault,a partnership that culminated innouvelle cuisineandLe Nouveau Guide Gault-Millau.[3]
In September 1961 his son,Ivanwas born and in early 1962 Pope returned to London. He turned toLord Beaverbrookwho offered him a post back on theEvening Standardwhere Charles Wintour was now the Editor. Pope remained at theStandardfor the rest of his career, working in various roles as a Features Editor and as the creator of key promotional events. another son,Patrick(the music photographer, Pat Pope) was born in 1966.
Following an aneurysm in 1983 Pope retired to Tunbridge Wells where he lived until his death in 2009.
References
[edit]- ^"Marius Pope: journalist".The Times.11 January 2010.Retrieved13 April2018.
- ^"Marius Pope full obituary".47 Shoe Lane. 2 November 2015.Retrieved17 November2023.
- ^"Henry Gault".47 Shoe Lane. 2 November 2015.Retrieved17 November2023.
External links
[edit]- London Evening Standard people
- 1920 births
- 2009 deaths
- British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
- South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
- South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
- People from Johannesburg
- People from Mpumalanga
- Journalists from London
- 20th-century British journalists
- Daily Mail journalists