Longtime Theatre Critic Howard Kissel Dies at 69

Theater Talk is reporting on Twitter that longtime theater critic Howard Kissel has passed away on Friday, February 24, 2012. 

Kissel was born in 1942 and has recently been blogging as the Cultural Tourist on the Huffington Post. BroadwayWorld extends its condolences to Kissel's friends, family and readers. 

Prior to that, Kissel has written about the arts in New York for four decades. He was the chief theater critic of the New York Daily News for 20 years. Before that he was the arts editor of Women's Wear Daily and W. He is the only person to have been the chairman of both the New York Film Critics Circle and the New York Drama Critics Circle. He is the author of several books, including "The Abominable Showman," a biography of producer David Merrick, and "The Art of Acting," based on the technique lectures of Stella Adler.

He has also written for The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Playbill and Interview. As an actor he can be heard on "Noel Coward: His Voice in Verse" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Allegro." He played Woody Allen's manager in "Stardust Memories."

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi