Martin Gottfried

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Martin Gottfried
Born(1933-10-09)October 9, 1933
Drama critic
EmployerNew York Law Journal
SpouseJane Lahr (div.)
Children1
RelativesBert Lahr (former-father-in-law)

Martin Gottfried (October 9, 1933 – March 6, 2014) was an American

Brooklyn, New York
.

Biography

Early career

Gottfried was a 1959 graduate of

Columbia College in New York City,[1] and attended Columbia Law School for three semesters, next spending one year with U.S. Army Military Intelligence. Gottfried began his writing career as the classical music critic for The Village Voice, doubling as an off-Broadway reviewer for Women's Wear Daily, a position that made him the youngest member of the New York Drama Critics Circle in the organization's history.[2]

In 1968,

theater. The book won the highest honor in dramatic criticism, the George Jean Nathan Award.[2] In 1970 Putnam published Opening Nights, a collection of his essays.[3] By then, he had become a regular contributor to the Arts and Leisure section of The New York Times
' Sunday edition.

Drama critic and educator

In 1974, he became the drama critic for the New York Post. Four years later, he "Americanized" the West End musical Bar Mitzvah Boy for an off-Broadway production.[4]

In 1979, Gottfried began writing for the

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. published his Broadway Musicals.[5]
In 1991, it was joined by a sequel, More Broadway Musicals. and "In Person," a tribute to performing artists.

Until recently the drama critic for the

. He also writes regular articles on the performing arts for Stagebill, the program distributed in theaters and concert halls across America.

He has been a guest professor of theater at the

Carnegie-Mellon University, Rutgers University and the Colorado College, as well as a Visiting Artist/Professor at the College of Santa Fe
.

He died of complications of pneumonia at the age of 80 on March 6, 2014, in Manhattan.[6] He was married to Jane Lahr,[7] daughter of Bert Lahr and sister of John Lahr.

Author

Gottfried's writings include biographies of Sondheim,[8] Arthur Miller,[9] Jed Harris,[10] Bob Fosse,[11] Danny Kaye,[12] George Burns,[13] and Angela Lansbury.[14] His latest book, co-written with Bill Condon and Cheo Coker, is Dreamgirls The Movie Musical, published in April 2007.[15]

A review of Arthur Miller: His Life and Work called the book a "thorough and revealing biography".[16]

References

  1. ^ "Bookshelf", Archived 2016-07-13 at the Wayback Machine Columbia College Today archive, college.columbia.edu, retrieved January 26, 2010
  2. ^ a b Nathan Award winners, arts.cornell.edu, retrieved January 26, 2010
  3. ^ Opening Nights listing, amazon.ca, retrieved January 26, 2010
  4. ^ Gussow, Mel. "Stage: 'Bar Mitzvah Boy,' With Music By Jule Styne", The New York Times, June 11, 1987
  5. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (8 March 2014). "Martin Gottfried, 80, Theater Critic and Scholar". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Gottfried, Martin 1933- ." Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. . Retrieved November 15, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/gottfried-martin-1933
  7. ^ Gottfried, Martin. Sondheim, amazon.com, retrieved January 26, 2010
  8. ^ Dreamgirls, newmarketpress.com, retrieved January 26, 2010
  9. ^ Evans, Everett."The life of a playwright", chron.com, January 2, 2004

External links