It’s Kismet

I see that Robert Wright, composer and lyricist, has died aged 90. There are obituaries in both The Guardian and the BBC web site. They both mention his partnership with George "Chet" Forrest, but what I find supremely irritating in both cases is the mealy-mouthed way that that partnership is described.

 

The Guardian writes of Wright’s "collaboration" with Forrest in writing stage musicals. The BBC writes that Wright was the "musical partner" of Forrest, and of the pair "working together". One is left with the impression that this pair rolled into an office every day to work together on musicals and then went their separate ways back to their homes at the end of the day.

 

I would have thought that in this day and age obituaries could be more honest. Wright and Forrest not only worked together, they lived and loved together – and they did so for over seventy years. To imply a more one-dimensional relationship than that is simply shabby. A more realistic appraisal of this couple can be found here. The opening sentence establishes the straightforward and honest tone: "For over seventy years Robert Wright and George Forrest were partners in life and art".