Post by marantha on Dec 10, 2016 23:31:29 GMT
The Sunday Times writer AA Gill, one of the most gifted journalists of his generation, has died. He was 62.
Gill died three weeks after revealing he had cancer which had spread from his lungs to other parts of his body. He died this morning in a London hospital.
Martin Ivens, editor of The Sunday Times, informing colleagues of the death, said: “It is with profound sadness that I must tell you that our much-loved colleague Adrian Gill died this morning.
“Adrian was stoical about his illness, but the suddenness of his death has shocked us all. Characteristically he has had the last word, writing an outstanding article about coming to terms with his cancer in tomorrow’s Sunday Times Magazine.
“He was the heart and soul of the paper. His wit was incomparable, his writing was dazzling and fearless, his intelligence was matched by compassion. Adrian was a giant among journalists. He was also our friend. We will miss him.”
Gill recovered from alcoholism to forge a successful career as a critic and journalist, joining The Sunday Times in 1993. He won British Press Awards for feature writer of the year and critic of the year.
The author JK Rowling described his work as “brilliant” and said he was widely admired among his peers and his readers for his superb writing and the breadth of his work, from his foreign dispatches to his restaurant reviews.
India Knight, a fellow Sunday Times columnist, wrote in tribute today: “He was the best writer. Nobody even came close.”
Gill was born in Edinburgh in 1954 to the television director Michael Gill and Yvonne Gilan, the actress. He was privately educated in Hertfordshire before studying at the Central Saint Martins College of Art of Design and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He worked variously as a gardener, artist, shop assistant and cookery teacher before becoming one of the country’s most successful journalists.
In an interview with The Sunday Times last month, Gill said he had no regrets. He said: “I realise I don’t have a bucket list; I don’t feel I’ve been cheated of anything.
“I gave up [alcohol] when I was still quite young, so it was like being offered the next life. It was the real Willy Wonka golden ticket — I got a really good deal.”
He leaves his partner Nicola Formby, their two children and two grown-up children from his previous marriage to Amber Rudd, the home secretary.
Gill died three weeks after revealing he had cancer which had spread from his lungs to other parts of his body. He died this morning in a London hospital.
Martin Ivens, editor of The Sunday Times, informing colleagues of the death, said: “It is with profound sadness that I must tell you that our much-loved colleague Adrian Gill died this morning.
“Adrian was stoical about his illness, but the suddenness of his death has shocked us all. Characteristically he has had the last word, writing an outstanding article about coming to terms with his cancer in tomorrow’s Sunday Times Magazine.
“He was the heart and soul of the paper. His wit was incomparable, his writing was dazzling and fearless, his intelligence was matched by compassion. Adrian was a giant among journalists. He was also our friend. We will miss him.”
Gill recovered from alcoholism to forge a successful career as a critic and journalist, joining The Sunday Times in 1993. He won British Press Awards for feature writer of the year and critic of the year.
The author JK Rowling described his work as “brilliant” and said he was widely admired among his peers and his readers for his superb writing and the breadth of his work, from his foreign dispatches to his restaurant reviews.
India Knight, a fellow Sunday Times columnist, wrote in tribute today: “He was the best writer. Nobody even came close.”
Gill was born in Edinburgh in 1954 to the television director Michael Gill and Yvonne Gilan, the actress. He was privately educated in Hertfordshire before studying at the Central Saint Martins College of Art of Design and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He worked variously as a gardener, artist, shop assistant and cookery teacher before becoming one of the country’s most successful journalists.
In an interview with The Sunday Times last month, Gill said he had no regrets. He said: “I realise I don’t have a bucket list; I don’t feel I’ve been cheated of anything.
“I gave up [alcohol] when I was still quite young, so it was like being offered the next life. It was the real Willy Wonka golden ticket — I got a really good deal.”
He leaves his partner Nicola Formby, their two children and two grown-up children from his previous marriage to Amber Rudd, the home secretary.