Kevin Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kevin Thomas (1936-06-12)June 12, 1936 (age 89) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Gettysburg College Pennsylvania State University |
| Occupation(s) | Film critic, writer |
Kevin Thomas (born June 12, 1936)[1] is an American film critic who has written reviews for theLos Angeles Times since 1962. His long tenure makes him the longest-running film critic among major United States newspapers.[2]
Thomas is known for giving fairly positive reviews compared to other critics, and certainly less critical thanKenneth Turan, who joined theLos Angeles Times in 1991.[3][4][5] However, Thomas also gained fame after being punched in the nose byTommy Sands, whose acting he criticized in a review ofNone but the Brave (1965).[6][7]
Thomas was born in Los Angeles in 1936. He earned a bachelor's degree fromGettysburg College in 1958 and master's degree fromPennsylvania State University in 1960.[2][8]
In 2003, theNational Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association gave Thomas a Lifetime Achievement Award.[9] Thomas holds an honorary position on the advisory board of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and itsDorian Awards.[10]
In his 2022 bookCinema Speculation – which includes an entire chapter about Thomas –Quentin Tarantino said that Kevin Thomas was the only critic at theLos Angeles Times who seemed to enjoy his job.[11]
A documentary on Thomas premiered in 2025 at theWisconsin Film Festival.[7]
I did chuckle, however, at the juxtaposition of Rosenberg's smug "expose" and Kevin Thomas' rave review of "Pearl Harbor".
Even 30 years ago, he was known as "the Will Rogers of film criticism"—he never saw a movie he didn't like.