Fiery theatre critic John Simon has died at 94
Posted November 25, 2019 9:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW YORK — John Simon, a theatre and film critic known for his lacerating reviews and often withering assessment of performers’ physical appearance, has died. He was 94.
Patricia Hoag Simon, Simon’s wife, said her husband died Sunday night at Westchester Medical Center. She said the couple was having lunch at a local dinner theatre when he fell ill.
Simon served as the chief theatre critic at New York magazine for nearly 40 years before being dismissed in 2005. He then worked at Bloomberg for five years before being fired in 2010.
Simon defended his sharp elbows, arguing that the theatre was becoming dumbed down and that critics needed to have a sense of humour.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
