Vincent Canby

Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for The New York Times from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. He reviewed more than one thousand films during his tenure there.[1]

Vincent Canby
Canby in 1977
Born(1924-07-27)July 27, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 2000(2000-10-15) (aged 76)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
OccupationCritic
Alma materDartmouth College
Period1948–2000
Subject
  • Film
  • theatre
PartnerPenelope Gilliatt

Early life

Canby was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Katharine Anne (née Vincent) and Lloyd Canby.[2] He attended boarding school in Christchurch, Virginia, with novelist William Styron, and the two became friends. He introduced Styron to the works of E. B. White and Ernest Hemingway; and the pair hitchhiked to Richmond to buy For Whom the Bell Tolls.[3] After war service in the Pacific theater, he attended Dartmouth College, but did not graduate.

Career

He obtained his first job as a journalist in 1948 for the Chicago Journal of Commerce. In 1951, he left Chicago for New York and was employed as a film critic by Variety for six years before beginning to work for The New York Times.[4]

Canby was an enthusiastic supporter of only specific styles of filmmakers; notably Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, Jane Campion, Mike Leigh, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, James Ivory and Woody Allen, who credited Canby's rave review of Take the Money and Run as a crucial point in his career.[5] On the other hand, Canby was also highly critical of some otherwise acclaimed films, such as Rocky, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Night of the Living Dead, After Hours, Blazing Saddles, A Christmas Story, Witness, Mask, The Natural, Rain Man, The Exorcist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,[6] Deliverance, The Godfather Part II, Alien and The Thing. Among the best-known texts written by Canby was an extremely negative review of the movie Heaven's Gate by Michael Cimino.

In the early 1990s, Canby switched his attention from film to theatre; he was named the chief theatre critic in 1994.[4]

Canby, was also an occasional playwright and novelist, penning the novels Living Quarters (1975) and Unnatural Scenery (1979) and the plays End of the War (1978), After All (1981) and The Old Flag (1984), a drama set during the civil war.

The career of Vincent Canby is discussed in the film For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism by contemporary critics such as The Nation's Stuart Klawans, who talks of Canby's influence.

Personal life

Canby never married, but was, for many years, the companion of English author Penelope Gilliatt.[7] He died from cancer in Manhattan on October 15, 2000.[7] Almost three years later, upon the death of Bob Hope, the late Canby's byline appeared on the front page of The New York Times. Canby had written the bulk of Hope's obituary for the newspaper several years before.[8]

gollark: But with the big text and buttons it seems like it was designed for phones first.
gollark: And it *does* mostly have that.
gollark: And a search button so you can find the right info.
gollark: I mean, I'd hope for a brief description of what it is and a link to a getting started guide, plus relevant-to-everyone information, right at the top of the front page.
gollark: I'm not really a fan of the new meme.market design, it seems like they've gone for style over actual information content.

References
  1. Canby, Vincent. "Vincent Canby Reviews – Best Movie Reviews – Movies – New York Times". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  2. "Vincent Canby Biography (1924–2000)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  3. Carvajal, Doreen (November 11, 2000). "Recalling the Civilized Voice of a Critic, Vincent Canby". The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  4. Maslin, Janet (October 16, 2000). "Vincent Canby, Prolific Film and Theater Critic for The Times, Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 6. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  5. Canby, Vincent (August 19, 1969). "Take the Money and Run (1969)". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. Anderson, John (November 22, 1976). "Film: 'Rocky,' Pure 30's Make-Believe". NY Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  7. Malcolm, Derek (October 17, 2000). "Obituary: Vincent Canby". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  8. Canby, Vincent (July 28, 2003). "Bob Hope, Comedic Master and Entertainer of Troops, Dies at 100". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2019.

Further reading
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