John Simon (critic)

John Simon (critic)
Name	John Simon
Birth date	March 12, 1925
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Death date	November 24, 2019
Death place	Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Critic, essayist, novelist, poet
Years active	1950s–2019
Notable works	Theatre: A Treasury of Criticism; A Treasury of Film Criticism
Awards	National Arts Club Medal of Honor; George Jean Nathan Award

John Simon (critic) was an American critic, essayist, novelist, poet, and cultural commentator known for acerbic reviews across theatre, film, television, music, and literature. Over a career spanning more than six decades he wrote for publications including The New York Observer, New York, Harper's Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review, developing a reputation for trenchant judgments and erudite references to classical music, European literature, and theatre history. Simon's work provoked both admiration and controversy among writers, directors, actors, and fellow critics.

Early life and education

Simon was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents and raised in Upper West Side neighborhoods of New York City. He attended Stuyvesant High School before serving in the United States Army during the late stages of World War II. After military service he matriculated at Harvard College, where he read comparative literature and studied alongside figures associated with New Criticism and postwar American letters. He later pursued graduate work at Notre Dame and engaged with scholarly circles linked to T. S. Eliot scholarship, Virginia Woolf studies, and continental critics influential in mid‑20th century American academia.

Career and critical work

Simon began publishing poetry and criticism in the 1950s, contributing to journals connected to the Beat Generation milieu and to mainstream outlets associated with Columbia University alumni. He held editorial roles and freelanced for magazines tied to Condé Nast and the New York publishing industry, eventually becoming a prominent voice at New York and later at New York Observer. Simon wrote extensively on productions at Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional stages such as La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and the Public Theatre. In film he reviewed releases from studios like MGM, Paramount Pictures, and auteurs associated with French New Wave and Neorealism, placing contemporary directors in conversation with figures like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and Ingmar Bergman. His essays engaged with playwrights including Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, and Tom Stoppard, and with novelists such as Philip Roth, John Updike, and Vladimir Nabokov. Simon also compiled anthologies of critical writing and serialized criticism that intersected with debates sparked by institutions such as the Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Major controversies and public disputes

Simon courted controversy for blunt assessments that targeted prominent artists and movements. His critiques of productions featuring stars like Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, and Denzel Washington drew rebuttals from performers and defenses from editorial colleagues at publications tied to Rupert Murdoch and independent presses. He engaged in public disputes with fellow critics associated with The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Village Voice, and his commentary on issues of representation prompted responses from advocates connected to NAACP and LGBTQ organizations active in arts criticism during the late 20th century. Simon's forthright remarks about aesthetic trends such as postmodernism, method acting, and identity‑based casting elicited letters and op‑eds in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Los Angeles Times and generated panels at conferences hosted by institutions like Lincoln Center and Yale School of Drama.

Writing style and critical approach

Simon favored a densely allusive style that referenced Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Gustav Mahler, Friedrich Nietzsche, and critics from the Enlightenment through the 20th century. His prose combined classical allusion with trenchant aphorism, often deploying comparisons to works by Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, and Bertolt Brecht to situate contemporary pieces within a broader canon. He championed formal rigor, frequently invoking standards associated with Aristotle and neoclassical aesthetics while criticizing departures aligned with avant-garde experimentation. Simon's reviews interwove references to institutions such as Molière's Comédie-Française, Soviet cinema, and the Royal Shakespeare Company to argue for transhistorical criteria in appraisal.

Awards and recognition

During his career Simon received honors from cultural institutions and critic associations, including the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and medals from organizations closely associated with the National Arts Club and theatrical foundations in New York City. He was invited to serve on panels and juries connected to festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival delegations of critics, and his essays were anthologized alongside pieces by Paul Taylor and Stanley Kauffmann in collections used by university programs at Columbia University School of the Arts and NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Personal life and death

Simon maintained residences in Manhattan and traveled for research and performances to cities including London, Paris, and Rome. He married and later divorced; his private life intersected with social circles linked to literary salons in Greenwich Village and clubrooms at the Algonquin Hotel. Simon died in Manhattan in late 2019 at age 94; his passing was noted by cultural institutions, newspapers such as The New York Times and The Guardian, and by peers associated with American Theatre and international criticism.

Category:1925 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American theatre critics Category:American film critics Category:Writers from Manhattan