Heathcote Williams

John Henley HeathcoteWilliams 15 November 1941 1 July 2017 known as Heathcote Williams was an English poet actor political activist and dramatist He wrote a number of booklength polemical poems including Autogeddon Falling for a Dolphin and Whale Nation which in 1988 was described by Philip Hoare as the most powerful argument for the newly instigated worldwide ban on whaling Williams invented his idiosyncratic documentaryinvestigative poetry style which he put to good purpose bringing a diverse range of environmental and political matters to public attention His last published work American Porn was a critique of the American political establishment and the election of President Donald Trump its publication date was the day of Trumps inauguration 20 January 2017 In June 2015 he published a booklength investigative poem about the Muslim Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Badshah Khan As well as being a playwright and screenwriter Williams appeared in a number of independent and Hollywood films and was among the celebrity guests in the last episode of season 4 of Friends The One With Rosss Wedding He played Prospero in Derek Jarmans The Tempest 1979 and appeared in several arthouse films including Orlando 1992 as well as the Hollywood film Basic Instinct 2 2006 Al Pacino played the part of a Williams fan in a spoof arts documentary Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get into Trouble Williams also wrote lyrics collaborating with Marianne Faithfull among others From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia