Vincent Canby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vincent Canby
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Canby in 1977
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| Born | July 27, 1924 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 15, 2000 (aged 76) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Critic |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Period | 1948–2000 |
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| Partner | Penelope Gilliatt |
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic. This means he wrote reviews and opinions about movies and plays. He was the main film critic for The New York Times newspaper from 1969 until the early 1990s. Later, he became their chief theatre critic until he passed away in 2000. He reviewed over a thousand movies during his time at the newspaper.
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Early Life of Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Katharine Anne and Lloyd Canby. He went to a boarding school in Christchurch, Virginia. There, he became good friends with a future novelist named William Styron.
Canby introduced Styron to books by famous writers like E.B. White and Ernest Hemingway. Once, they even hitchhiked to Richmond just to buy a book called For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Canby joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1942. He served on a ship called LST 679 during World War II. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) while sailing near Japan. After the war, he attended Dartmouth College, but he did not finish his degree.
Canby's Career as a Critic
Vincent Canby started his career in journalism in 1948. His first job was at the Chicago Journal of Commerce. In 1951, he moved to New York City. He worked as a film critic for Variety for six years.
After that, he began working for The New York Times. In February 1969, he became the main film critic for the newspaper. He took over from Renata Adler.
Canby was a big fan of certain filmmakers. He especially liked the work of Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, Jane Campion, Mike Leigh, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, James Ivory, and Woody Allen. Woody Allen even said that Canby's great review of his movie Take the Money and Run was very important for his career.
However, Canby was also very critical of some movies that many other people liked. Some of these films include Rocky, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Night of the Living Dead, Blazing Saddles, and Rain Man. One of his most famous reviews was a very negative one for the movie Heaven's Gate by Michael Cimino.
In December 1994, Janet Maslin took over as the chief film critic. Canby then changed his focus from movies to theatre. He became the Sunday theatre critic for The New York Times.
Besides being a critic, Canby also wrote plays and novels. He wrote novels like Living Quarters (1975) and Unnatural Scenery (1979). His plays included End of the War (1978) and The Old Flag (1984), which was a drama set during the American Civil War.
Vincent Canby's career is discussed in a film called For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. Other critics, like Stuart Klawans, talk about how much influence Canby had.
Vincent Canby's Personal Life
Vincent Canby never got married. For many years, he was the partner of an English author named Penelope Gilliatt. She passed away in 1993, and Canby survived her.
Canby died from cancer in New York City on October 15, 2000. Almost three years later, when Bob Hope passed away, Canby's name appeared on the front page of The New York Times. This was because Canby had written most of Hope's obituary several years before.
See also
In Spanish: Vincent Canby para niños
