Bernard Weinraub | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1937-12-19)December 19, 1937 (age 87) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, playwright |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
Bernard Weinraub (born December 19, 1937) is an American journalist and playwright.
Weinraub was born in 1937 in New York City.[1][2] His parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.[2] He graduated from theCity College of New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1959.[2]
After graduating from college, he was drafted into the Army and served for two years on a newspaper.[3][4] For most of his career he worked as a foreign correspondent withThe New York Times including home bases in Saigon, London, Nairobi and New Delhi.[2] He also covered the White House and the movie business in Los Angeles.
He worked as a reporter forThe New York Times.[5] He started as a copyboy in his twenties, eventually being assigned as a foreign correspondent inSaigon,London,Belfast,Nairobi,New Delhi, thenWashington, D.C., andLos Angeles.[2][5] From 1991 to 2004, he covered the film industry in Los Angeles.[2]
He retired in 2005, publishing an article about Hollywood and its values.[6][7]
As a playwright, he published his first play,The Accomplices, in 2007.[2][7] It dealt with the refusal of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's administration to admit more Jews duringThe Holocaust inWorld War II.[2] The play was performed both in New York and Los Angeles,[2] and was nominated for aDrama Desk Award.[2]Los Angeles Times criticCharles McNulty said that "no one gets off the hook" in the play, including Weinraub's former employerThe New York Times, except forEleanor Roosevelt. He commended Weinraub's journalism skills but faulted "the phony telegraphic manner in which it’s dramatized."[8]
In theTimes, which was negatively mentioned in the play,[8] critic David Ng faultedAccomplices as "a mind-numbing history lesson" and a "soporific lecture of a play."[7][9]
His second play, out in 2014, wasAbove the Fold.[2][7] Based on theDuke lacrosse case, it shows the struggles of an African American journalist who realizes the scandal is phony while covering it.[2][7] It premiered at thePasadena Playhouse inPasadena, California.[2][7] It was directed bySteven Robman and the lead actress wasTaraji P. Henson.[1]
He has been married twice.[5] He has two children, a son and a daughter, from his first marriage to Judith Weinraub.[5] He metAmy Pascal, a film industry executive, atThe Peninsula Beverly Hills in 1996; they got married in 1997.[1][5][7] They reside inBrentwood, a Western suburb ofLos Angeles, California, with their son.[5][6]