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Walter Kerr
Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, generally on the subject of theater and cinema.
Kerr was born in Evanston, Illinois, and earned both a B.A. and M.A. from Northwestern University, after graduation from St. George High School, also in Evanston.
He was a regular film critic for the St. George High School newspaper while a student there, and was also a critic for the Evanston News Index. He was the editor of the high school newspaper and yearbook. He taught speech and drama at The Catholic University of America.
After writing criticism for Commonweal he became a theater critic for the New York Herald Tribune in 1951. When that paper folded, he then began writing theater reviews for The New York Times in 1966, writing for the next seventeen years. During this time, Kerr lived in New Rochelle, New York in the same house Norman Rockwell had lived in.
He married fellow writer Jean Kerr (née Collins) on August 9, 1943. Together, they wrote the musical Goldilocks (1958), which won two Tony Awards. They also collaborated on Touch and Go (1949) and King of Hearts (1954). They had six children, one of whom was psychologist and author John Kerr.
Kerr died from congestive heart failure on October 9, 1996.
He was portrayed pseudonymously by David Niven in the 1960 film Please Don't Eat the Daisies, based on Jean Kerr's best-selling collection of humorous essays.
Kerr was one of the harshest New York theatre critics of his era, giving the fewest favorable reviews. He was well known for panning musicals that were musically ambitious.
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Walter Kerr
Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, generally on the subject of theater and cinema.
Kerr was born in Evanston, Illinois, and earned both a B.A. and M.A. from Northwestern University, after graduation from St. George High School, also in Evanston.
He was a regular film critic for the St. George High School newspaper while a student there, and was also a critic for the Evanston News Index. He was the editor of the high school newspaper and yearbook. He taught speech and drama at The Catholic University of America.
After writing criticism for Commonweal he became a theater critic for the New York Herald Tribune in 1951. When that paper folded, he then began writing theater reviews for The New York Times in 1966, writing for the next seventeen years. During this time, Kerr lived in New Rochelle, New York in the same house Norman Rockwell had lived in.
He married fellow writer Jean Kerr (née Collins) on August 9, 1943. Together, they wrote the musical Goldilocks (1958), which won two Tony Awards. They also collaborated on Touch and Go (1949) and King of Hearts (1954). They had six children, one of whom was psychologist and author John Kerr.
Kerr died from congestive heart failure on October 9, 1996.
He was portrayed pseudonymously by David Niven in the 1960 film Please Don't Eat the Daisies, based on Jean Kerr's best-selling collection of humorous essays.
Kerr was one of the harshest New York theatre critics of his era, giving the fewest favorable reviews. He was well known for panning musicals that were musically ambitious.