Don Short (journalist)

Donald Clive Short (23 October 1932 – 3 May 2023) was a British writer, journalist and literary agent.

Biography

Short began his career as a junior reporter at the Staines and Egham News in 1947 before proceeding to the Richmond and Twickenham Times and Gloucestershire Echo.[1] In 1958 he moved to Fleet Street as a general news reporter with the Daily Sketch and two years later joined the Daily Mirror where he was Chief Showbusiness correspondent.[2] Short was given the showbusiness column after several world scoops, including the story of Elizabeth Taylor's marriage to Richard Burton, the drowning of Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and the breakup of The Beatles.[3] He is credited with coining the term Beatlemania.[4]

Short ghosted several bestselling books including those of Swedish actress Britt Ekland,[5] Peter Sellers, Lady Norah Docker,[6] and an authorised biography of Engelbert Humperdinck.[7] He left the Daily Mirror in 1974.

Short established the Solo Literary Agency Ltd in 1978, which took over syndication for The Sun newspaper before moving on to the global market with stories and photos appearing in the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard.[8]

In November 2015, Short appeared on ITV's 'The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One' documentary.[9]

In 2020, Short published his autobiography, The Beatles and Beyond.

Short died of heart failure on 3 May 2023, at the age of 90.[10][11]

Works
  • The Beatles and Beyond (Wymer, UK) ISBN 9781912782345

References
  1. Short, Don (2020). The Beatles and Beyond. UK: Wymer. ISBN 9781912782345.
  2. Short, Don (22 March 2019). "The Beatles – Unseen pics from 1962". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22.
  3. "The Beatles Behind the Scenes". Daily Mirror. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-03-16.
  4. Greenslade, Roy (26 March 2014). "Down memory lane with the reporter who coined the term Beatlemania". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2014-03-27.
  5. Eckland, Britt (1984). True Britt. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780139310898.
  6. Docker, Short, Norah, Don (1969). 'Norah: the Autobiography of Lady Docker'. WH Allen. ISBN 0491006993.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Short, Don (2020). The Beatles and Beyond. UK: Wymer. ISBN 9781912782345.
  8. Short, Don. The Beatles and Beyond. Wymer Publishing. p. 238.
  9. "The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One". IMDb. 11 November 2015.
  10. "Don Short obituary". The Times. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. "Don Short obituary". The Times. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
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