was born in South Africa to immigrant parents from Lithuania. He was a London journalist writing the commentary for a weekly cinema newsreel when Cameron Mackintosh invited him to write the lyrics for the epochal West End production of Les Misérables in 1985. Combining twin careers as a journalist/lyricist, he contributed regular lyrics for the BBC’s famous satire series “That Was the Week That Was” and had also written lyrics for the French singer Charles Aznavour (“Yesterday When I Was Young,” “She,” etc.). It was Kretzmer’s work with Aznovour, as well as having seen and admired his work on the musical, Our Man Crichton, that inspired Cameron to invite him to join the team to write the English lyrics for Les Misérables. Kretzmer was the recipient of two honorary doctorates and was appointed OBE in 2010.