Richard Eder (journalist)

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Richard Gray Eder (born August 16, 1932 in Washington, DC , † November 21, 2014 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American journalist , theater , literary and film critic .

Life

Richard Eder was born in Washington, DC to Marceline Gray and George Jackson Eder. His father was a lawyer and economist for the government of Franklin D. Roosevelt and worked as an executive at ITT, Inc. in Argentina, which is why Eder grew up in Buenos Aires until he was 14 years old . During a holiday camp in his youth, Eder fell ill with polio , which is why he limped all his life . He attended Phillips Academy and received his bachelor's degrees in history and English from Harvard University in 1954 .

That same year he began working as an errand boy for the New York Times . After a few years he became a foreign correspondent and was transferred to the Colombian capital Bogotá . In this position he had the opportunity to interview Fidel Castro in 1964 . When he returned to New York City, he switched to film criticism. In addition, he also criticized theater performances on Broadway . From 1977 to 1979 he was senior theater critic for the New York Times. The style of his reviews was praised by some during this time, but viewed as hostile by even more, especially renowned theater producers, which is why he was removed from his position and returned to work as a foreign correspondent.

He left the Times in 1982 and began working as a literary critic for the Los Angeles Times . This time, however, he was not attacked for his criticism and was able to establish himself as a renowned literary critic. In 1987 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism as well as a National Book Critics Circle's citation for excellence in reviewing for a portfolio of different reviews . He stayed with the Times until 1999, when he retired.

Eder was married to the Argentine Esther Garcia. The couple met in fifth grade at school in Buenos Aires and married in New York City in 1955. Together they had seven children, three daughters and four sons.

On November 21, 2014, Eder died at Tufts Medical Center in Boston at the age of 82 of pneumonia due to post-polio syndrome .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Bruce Weber: Richard Eder, Arts Critic and Foreign Correspondent, Dies at 82 , nytimes.com , accessed April 27, 2020
  2. ↑ a b c d David Colker: Richard Eder dies at 82; won a Pulitzer as LA Times book reviewer , latimes.com , accessed April 27, 2020
  3. ↑ 'He didn't like it, but it sounds interesting' , pulitzer.org , accessed April 27, 2020
  4. ^ Mark Feeney: Eder, at 82; esteemed critic whose reviews were performances , bostonglobe.com , accessed April 27, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Richard, Eder
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eder, Richard Gray (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American journalist, theater critic, literary critic, and film critic
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 2014
Place of death Boston , Massachusetts