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John Heilpern, brilliant theatre critic and author of a ‘mind-boggling’ biography of John Osborne – obituary

John Heilpern with his wife Sydney Weinberg in 2019 - Michael Ostuni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
John Heilpern with his wife Sydney Weinberg in 2019 - Michael Ostuni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

John Heilpern, who has died of lung cancer aged 78, was a talented feature writer, critic and interviewer for newspapers and magazines in Britain and the US; he also wrote bold and entertaining books about Peter Brook and John Osborne.

He interviewed many theatrical giants, first for The Observer, where he worked for 10 years, and then, after he moved to New York in 1980, for Vanity Fair and the New York Observer. He won a British Press Award for a memorable double interview over lunch with the great theatrical knights, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, when they were appearing together in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land in 1977.

Richardson arrived on a motorcycle and Heilpern looked on in semi-detached amusement as both men acted out (perhaps overacted) their parts in what he presented as a short comic play, complete with stage directions.

Heilpern's biography of John Osborne was authorised by the playwright's widow
Heilpern's biography of John Osborne was authorised by the playwright's widow

For The Observer, where he was much admired by the editor, David Astor, his interview subjects included Rudolf Nureyev, Graham Greene, Henry Moore and Vanessa Redgrave. He would report progress on the interview as it went along, making readers feel they were part of it all.

He left The Observer in 1976 to become assistant director to Peter Hall at the newly opened National Theatre in his revival of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, starring Albert Finney. He was to continue theatrical work on Broadway, working as a librettist for Michael Bennett, the musical theatre director and choreographer of A Chorus Line.

For his column, “Out to Lunch,” in Vanity Fair he interviewed the likes of Tom Stoppard, Glenn Close, Jackie Collins, Stephen Daldry and the thriller writer Michael Connelly. For many years he wrote a weekly column in the New York Observer that was much admired and closely followed. Michael Coveney, the doyen of British theatre critics, wrote on Heilpern’s death: “As a writer of zest, erudition and verbal felicity, he compares only to Kenneth Tynan and John Lahr.”

Heilpern's account of his journey with Peter Brook to uncover the roots of theatre
Heilpern's account of his journey with Peter Brook to uncover the roots of theatre

John David Heilpern was born in Manchester on April 3 1942, the younger son of Maurice Heilpern, a bookmaker, and his wife Rachel (née Berkovitch). He was educated at Stand Grammar School in the city before reading Law at Hertford College, Oxford. Even after living abroad for more than half his life, he remained a devoted supporter of Manchester City.

For his classic book, Conference of the Birds, he travelled with the director Peter Brook on a marathon tour of Africa in search of the roots of theatre and new dramatic forms, accompanied by a troupe of actors that included Helen Mirren.

Starting in Algiers, they crossed the Sahara desert and worked with tribal villagers in six West African countries. Published in 1977, it was described by The Sunday Telegraph as “one of the best books about theatre ever written.”

In 2000 Heilpern published a collection of his best pieces, How Good is David Mamet, Anyway? His other major book, a biography of the misanthropic playwright John Osborne, A Patriot for Us, was published in 2006.

Heilpern's collection of essays was described as 'riotous' by one critic
Heilpern's collection of essays was described as 'riotous' by one critic

It was authorised by Osborne’s widow, Helen Dawson, whom Heilpern had known on The Observer. She provided him with the playwright’s diaries and notebooks as well as hilarious – and troubling – anecdotes about his turbulent relationships. It was named theatre book of the year in Britain and hailed by Duncan Fallowell in The Daily Telegraph as “mind-boggling” and “sensationally enjoyable”, and by other critics as “riveting” and “what a literary biography ought to be”.

Heilpern was married three times: first (1968-77), to Ruth Myers, a costume designer for theatre and films, then to Joan Juliet Buck (1977-88), a writer on Vanity Fair and later editor-in-chief of French Vogue. He met Sydney Weinberg, an architectural historian, in 1995 and they were married in 2016.

A former Observer colleague said of Heilpern: “He was a big man, quiet with a gentle manner that was sometimes pierced by shafts of dry humour that took his listener by surprise.”

His wife Sydney Weinberg said: “John’s incisive writing and sharp wit were laced with a healthy dose of cynicism and profound warmth.” She survives him, with a daughter from his first marriage.

John Heilpern, born April 3 1942, died January 7 2021