David James Mossman (10 September 1926 – 5 April 1971) was a British journalist, broadcaster, TV reporter, film-maker, interviewer and former

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

agent.

Career

With producer David Webster, he made two notable programmes about the

1964 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964, less than a year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who won the previous presidential election. The Democratic ticket of incumbent President Lyndon B. John ...

: ''A Choice or an Echo'', about the differences between

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

and

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

; and ''Thunder on the Left'', about the Right-wingers surrounding Goldwater. He was a member of the ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' team in the 1960s specialising in foreign affairs, with a famously acerbic interviewing style. He once verbally attacked then-Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

live on air, over his support of US President

over the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. On another occasion, he took the Singapore prime minister to task for his habit of throwing his political opponents in jail. Eventually, he was reassigned to presenting regular arts slot by the BBC because of the controversy around his interviewing style.

Personal life

As a high-profile news reporter but

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

gay man in an era where homosexuality was outlawed, by the mid-1960s Mossman fell in love with Canadian Louis Hanssen. Hanssen was married to a woman and eight years younger than Mossman, however this didn't stop a relationship forming between the two. Hanssen died in 1968 of an accidental overdose. Their relationship gave rise to speculation with colleagues of Mossman, who described Hanssen as domineering in their relationship.

Death

In 1971, Mossman committed suicide in his cottage in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

by taking a fatal overdose of

barbiturates Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as ...

, leaving behind a note that read: "I can't bear it any more, though I don't know what 'it' is."

In popular culture

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

, the author of the play '' Equus'', claimed that during a stay at the Norfolk cottage, Mossman, of whom he was a friend, told him the story on which he based the play.William Inge Theatre Festival – Peter Shaffer
On 14 February 2007, ''The Reporter'', a play by Nicholas Wright based on his book and directed by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Eyre has received numerous accolades including three Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for six BAFTA Awards and two ...

, premiered at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in London. The play explores the social climate in the years before Mossman's death as well as the reasons for the death itself.

Bibliography

* ''Rebels in paradise : Indonesia's civil war'',

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

publishers, 1961, ISBN B0007KG0SE * ''Beggars on horseback''. Little Brown, 1966, ISBN B0007DRYJ0 – winner of the

Author's Club First Novel Award The Authors' Club Best First Novel Award is awarded by the Authors' Club to the most promising first novel of the year, written by a British author and published in the UK during the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is presented. ...

* ''Love, Love, Love'', BBC, 1967, ISBN B0007K7YY8 * ''Lifelines'', Bodley Head, 1971,

References

External links

The Real Jim
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 3 February 2007
Interview with Nicholas Wright
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', 16 February 2007 * Slot on Mossman and the play ''The Reporter'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's programme, ''The World Tonight'' – 22 February 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mossman, David James 1926 births 1971 suicides 1971 deaths BBC newsreaders and journalists British broadcast news analysts British reporters and correspondents Drug-related suicides in England Barbiturates-related deaths English television presenters English LGBTQ broadcasters English LGBTQ journalists 20th-century British LGBTQ people English male journalists