All Topics  
Howard Thompson (film critic)

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Howard Thompson (film critic)
 
 
  Topics Howard Thompson (film critic) Topic Home

Howard Thompson (1919 - March 10, 2002) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 journalist
Journalism

Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and editorial via a widening spectrum of Media . These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and, more recently, the cellphone....
 and film critic whose career of forty-one years was spent at the New York Times.

Thompson was born in Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated city within Adams County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,464....
. He began his college studies at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a state university, coeducational, Level l Research University located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System....
 but left to serve as a paratrooper
Paratrooper

Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an Airborne forces.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land....
 in the United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. He was captured and spent six months in a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 prisoner of war
Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
 camp. After the war he continued his studies at Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
. In 1947, he joined the New York Times as an office boy in the personnel department, and soon moved to the movie section as a clerk.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Howard Thompson (film critic)'
Start a new discussion about 'Howard Thompson (film critic)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Howard Thompson (1919 - March 10, 2002) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 journalist
Journalism

Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and editorial via a widening spectrum of Media . These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and, more recently, the cellphone....
 and film critic whose career of forty-one years was spent at the New York Times.

Thompson was born in Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated city within Adams County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,464....
. He began his college studies at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a state university, coeducational, Level l Research University located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System....
 but left to serve as a paratrooper
Paratrooper

Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an Airborne forces.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land....
 in the United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. He was captured and spent six months in a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 prisoner of war
Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
 camp. After the war he continued his studies at Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
. In 1947, he joined the New York Times as an office boy in the personnel department, and soon moved to the movie section as a clerk. He later advanced to a reporter who frequently interviewed film personalities and finally became a critic in the late 1950s. He also served as chairman of the New York Film Critics .

Thompson gained a reputation for his pithy comments about films for the television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 listings. The Village Voice
The Village Voice

The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City....
 called him "the Virgil
Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
 of TV guides," and his capsule reviews were labeled "Tiny Thompsons." He retired from full-time work in 1988 but continued to write the Critic's Choice column and his famous one-liners for the movie listings.

Thompson had a stroke in 1996. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an Inflammation illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolus inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
 in Cape Canaveral, Florida
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, Florida, United States. The population was 8,829 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 10,523....
.

Bibliography

The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV by Howard Thompson, published by Darien House (1970)