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Judith Crist | |
|---|---|
| Born | Judith Klein (1922-05-22)May 22, 1922 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 2012(2012-08-07) (aged 90) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Hunter College Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism |
| Occupations | Film critic, academic |
| Years active | 1945–2012 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Judith Crist (/krɪst/;néeKlein; May 22, 1922 – August 7, 2012) was an Americanfilm critic and academic.
She appeared regularly on theToday show from 1964 to 1973[1] and was among the first full-time female critics for a major American newspaper, in her case,The New York Herald Tribune.[1] She was the founding film critic atNew York magazine and became known to most Americans as a critic at the weekly magazineTV Guide and at the morning TV showToday.[1] She appeared in one film,Woody Allen'sdramatic-comedy filmStardust Memories (1980), and was the author of various books, includingThe Private Eye, The Cowboy and the Very Naked Girl; Judith Crist's TV Guide to the Movies; andTake 22: Moviemakers on Moviemaking.
Crist was born Judith Klein inThe Bronx, New York City, the daughter of Jewish parents Helen (née Schoenberg), a librarian, and Solomon Klein, a manufacturing jeweler.[2][3][4] She attendedMorris High School in The Bronx, and received aBachelor of Arts degree fromHunter College and aMaster of Science degree from theColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
After graduating from Columbia in 1945, she was employed byThe New York Herald Tribune as areporter,film critic, and arts editor for 22 years, and she won aGeorge Polk Award for her education coverage.[5] After theTribune ceased publication, she was named the first film critic atNew York magazine. Upon her death,New York magazine film criticDavid Edelstein said, "Judith Crist helped set the stage forNew York Magazine as a place for popular and yet essentially serious and wide-ranging film criticism. She was tart, sensible, and irresistibly readable, and she cut a colorful figure on the festival circuit, building bridges between filmmakers and audiences in her famous weekend seminars."[6]
In addition, Crist worked asTV Guide's resident film critic (1966-1988) and as a critic-at-large for theLadies Home Journal (1966-1967).[5] LikeDwight Macdonald,[7] she also worked on television as a critic for theToday show (1964-1973).[5] She conducted the Judith Crist Film Weekends at Tarrytown House, inTarrytown, New York, from 1971 to 2006.[citation needed]
In 1948, Crist took part in Dr.Fredric Wertham’s attack on comic books and published an article inCollier's magazine quoting Wertham and calling for action against violent, sadistic, and provocative comic books which Crist perceived to be affecting the morality of American youth.[8]
In 1965, she wrote the article "Tribute to a Partnership", a tribute toRodgers and Hammerstein, for a booklet that accompaniedRCA Victor's original LP release of thesoundtrack album ofThe Sound of Music.[9] However, the article has not been reprinted for any of the CD releases of the soundtrack.[citation needed] In 1968, she published a collection of reviews entitledThe Private Eye, the Cowboy, and the Very Naked Girl: Movies from Cleo to Clyde.[10]
She was an adjunct professor at Columbia's School of Journalism for over 50 years (1958-2012).[5] There, she taught a course called "Personal and Professional Style." Her students included film criticsKenneth Turan,David Denby ofThe New Yorker andNew York Times criticsAnna Kisselgoff andMargo Jefferson.[11] In 1963, she was awarded an Alumni Award by the Journalism School Alumni Association.[12]
In April 5, 2008, the school presented her with its Founder's Award on her completion of 50 years as a faculty member.[citation needed] She taught until just before her death. She was a longtime member of the Executive Committee of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Alumni Association and served three terms as President of the Alumni Association during the 1960s.
She citedCharlie Chaplin'sThe Gold Rush as her "first and to-this-day-most-vivid film experience."[13]
Judith was married to William B. Crist from 1947 until his death in 1993.[1][14] She was the mother of Steven Crist,[1] a thoroughbred handicapper and publisher of theDaily Racing Form.[15]
Crist died at her home in Manhattan on August 7, 2012, at age 90.[1]
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