kids encyclopedia robot

Joe Morgenstern facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
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 on October 3, 1932, is an American writer. He used to be a film critic, which means he wrote reviews about movies. He wrote for famous magazines and newspapers like Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal for many years. He even won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005 for his amazing writing. Besides movies, he also wrote for TV shows.

Joe Morgenstern's Career

Becoming a Film Critic

From 1965 to 1983, Joe Morgenstern was the main movie critic for Newsweek magazine. During this time, he wrote a review about the movie Bonnie and Clyde. At first, he didn't like it much.

However, he thought about it more and changed his mind! In the very next issue of the magazine, he wrote that he had been wrong. This was a big deal and helped the movie get a lot of attention.

Writing for Newspapers and Magazines

After Newsweek, Joe Morgenstern wrote a column for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner from 1983 to 1988. His articles also appeared in many other well-known publications. These included The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Rolling Stone.

He also helped start a group called the National Society of Film Critics. This group brings together many important movie critics.

Writing for Television

Besides writing about movies, Joe Morgenstern also worked on TV shows. He helped write a TV movie in 1976 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 a special section of the newspaper. He also wrote a column about the movie industry every other Saturday.

In 2005, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. This is one of the highest awards a writer can receive in the United States. He was only the third film critic ever to win this award. Other famous critics who won it include Roger Ebert and Stephen Hunter.

Joe Morgenstern retired from The Wall Street Journal in April 2022. His last column was published on April 29, 2022. This was just before his 27th anniversary with the newspaper. He also wrote reviews for a radio station in Los Angeles called KCRW.

Joe Morgenstern's Personal Life

Joe Morgenstern was born in New York City. He went to Lehigh University and finished his studies there in 1953.

He was married to the 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.

kids search engine
Joe Morgenstern Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.