Marcel Stellman, lyricist and record company executive who brought Countdown to Britain – obituary
Besides creating the UK’s best-loved quiz show, he wrote for Charles Aznavour and Tony Bennett and worked with the Rolling Stones
Jean and Marcel Stellman in 2017
Credit: Stephen Pover/Shutterstock
Marcel Stellman, who has died aged 96, was a record company producer and executive, and a lyricist who wrote for artists of the calibre of Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Charles Aznavour and Tony Bennett; but his lasting claim to fame in the UK is his role in importing the quiz show Countdown, which has dominated afternoon television since 1982.