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Joe Morgenstern
Morgenstern in 2008
Morgenstern in 2008
Born (1932-10-03) October 3, 1932 (age 92)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Film critic
  • journalist
  • screenwriter
Education Lehigh University (BA)
Subject Film
Notable awards Pulitzer Prize for Criticism (2005)
Spouse
(m. 1962; div. 1982)
Children 1

Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and movie critic. He wrote about films for Newsweek magazine from 1965 to 1983. Later, he joined The Wall Street Journal in 1995 and continued writing reviews until 2022. In 2005, he won the famous Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his excellent movie reviews. Joe Morgenstern has also worked as a writer for television shows.

Joe Morgenstern's Career in Film Criticism

Starting as a Movie Critic

Joe Morgenstern began his career as a film critic for Newsweek magazine in 1965. He stayed there until 1983. During this time, he wrote a review that was not positive about the movie Bonnie and Clyde. However, he thought about the film more and changed his mind. He then wrote another review, saying he liked the movie. This change of heart was unusual and helped the movie get a lot of attention. From 1983 to 1988, he wrote a regular column for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner newspaper.

Writing for Major Publications

Joe Morgenstern's writings have been featured in many well-known magazines. These include The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Rolling Stone. He was also one of the people who helped start the National Society of Film Critics. This group brings together many important movie critics.

Working in Television

Besides writing about movies, Morgenstern also worked as a screenwriter. He helped write the script for a 1976 television movie called The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. He also worked on several episodes of the popular TV show Law & Order.

His Time at The Wall Street Journal

In May 1995, Joe Morgenstern started writing movie reviews for The Wall Street Journal. His reviews appeared every Friday in the newspaper's "Weekend & Leisure" section. He also wrote a column about the movie industry every other Saturday.

In 2005, Morgenstern won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. This is a very important award for writers. He was only the third film critic to ever win this prize. The other two were Roger Ebert and Stephen Hunter. Joe Morgenstern retired from The Wall Street Journal in 2022. His last column was published on April 29, just before his 27th anniversary with the newspaper. During his time there, he also wrote reviews for the radio station KCRW in Los Angeles.

Joe Morgenstern's Personal Life

Joe Morgenstern was born in New York City. He went to Lehigh University and graduated in 1953. He was married to actress Piper Laurie from 1962 until they divorced in 1982. They adopted one daughter together. As of 2015, Joe Morgenstern lives in Santa Monica, California.

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