Alan Coren
| Alan Coren | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 June 1938 Southgate, North London, England |
| Died | 18 October 2007 (aged 69) London, England |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Occupation | Humourist, writer, journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Kasriel (m. 1963–2007, his death) |
| Children | Giles, Victoria |
Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was well known as a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz The News Quiz and a team captain on BBC television's Call My Bluff. Coren was also a journalist, and for nine years was the editor of Punch magazine.
Alan Coren was born in Southgate, North London, in 1938, the son of a plumber and a hairdresser. This is a source of some confusion, as some appear to think he was born in Paddington.
Coren was educated at East Barnet Grammar School, followed by Wadham College at the University of Oxford to which he gained a scholarship, and where he got a First in English in 1960. After taking a master's degree he studied for a doctorate in modern American literature at Yale and the University of California, Berkeley.
Coren considered an academic career but decided instead to become a writer and journalist.
He began this career by selling articles to Punch and was later offered a full-time job there. At this time he also wrote for The New Yorker.
In 1966, he became Punch's literary editor, and went on to become deputy editor in 1969 and editor in 1978. He remained as editor until 1987 when the circulation began to decline.
Unsurprisingly, during the week in which he took over the editorship, the Jewish Chronicle published a profile of him. His response was to rush around the office, waving a copy of the relevant edition, saying: "This is ridiculous – I haven't been Jewish for years!"
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