John L. Wasserman

John L. Wasserman

John L. Wasserman (Born August 13 1938) was an entertainment critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1964 until the time of his death in 1979. Known more for humor and originality than in-depth analysis, he's best known for his creative reviews of bad films, clever skewering of glitzy performers, and passionate advovacy for those in whose talents he believed.

Never having graduated from college, Wasserman worked at many jobs before landing a position at the Chronicle at age 24. His first attempts to get a journalism job were rebuffed. Finally, an opening for an assistant critic came up in the paper's entertainment department. His audition review, A GATHERING OF EAGLES with Rock Hudson, landed him the job. The paper's executive editor, Bill German, recalled that John's review "was the only one that didn't bore me."

Wasserman's best writing years were 1970 to 1979, when he had his own column. His columns covered anything vaguely related to entertainment: film, theater, music, comedy, bodybuilding, and even live sex shows at the famous Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater.

He counted Woody Allen, Joan Baez, poet Michael McClure, Clint Eastwood, Lily Tomlin, Bill Graham and numerous other celebrities among his friends. He could count Jerry Lewis, Russ Meyer, countless music promoters and crowds of Osmond fans among his enemies.

He was a highly visible presence in San Francisco. He was the first person Marty Balin asked to manage Jefferson Airplane. He taught an annual "Media and the Arts" extension course for San Francisco State. He served as a stand-in for George C. Scott on the set of PETULIA and Clint Eastwood on the set of THE ENFORCER. He also did a brief walk-on in the motorcycle film C.C. AND COMPANY.

He died in a car accident on February 25 1979 south of San Francisco in which two others in another car were also killed. His blood alcohol level was found to be .26, nearly three times the legal limit at the time. Decades later, his writing and perspectives on entertainment are still missed.

A collection of more than 90 of his reviews and columns, and a narrative about his life based on interviews conducted after his death, by his sister, Abby Wasserman, was published by Chronicle Books in 1993. The book is "Praise, Vilification & Sexual Innuendo, or How to Be a Critic: The Selected Writings of John L. Wasserman, 1964-1979".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Nance Garner — 32nd Vice President of the United States In office March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt …   Wikipedia

  • John Ensign — United States Senator from Nevada In office January 3, 2001 – May 3, 2011 …   Wikipedia

  • John Keats — John Keats, gemalt von William Hilton John Keats (* 31. Oktober 1795 in London; † 23. Februar 1821 in Rom) war neben Lord Byron und Percy Bysshe Shelley einer der wichtigsten Dichter der englischen Romantik …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Whiteside Parsons — Jack Parsons Born Marvel Whiteside Parsons October 2, 1914(1914 10 02) Died June 17, 1952(1952 06 17) (age …   Wikipedia

  • John H. Smithwick — John Harris Smithwick (* 17. Juli 1872 bei Orange, Cherokee County, Georgia; † 2. Dezember 1948 in Moultrie, Georgia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1919 und 1927 vertrat er den Bundesstaat Florida im …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Factor — John “Jake the Barber” Factor was a Prohibition era gangster. He was the brother of prominent businessman Max Factor, Sr., the founder of Max Factor, a makeup company.Early yearsBorn Iakov Factorowitz or Faktorowicz, the son of a rabbi, he and… …   Wikipedia

  • John Mica — John L. Mica (* 27. Januar 1943 in Binghamton, New York) ist ein US amerikanischer Unternehmer, Politiker der Republikanischen Partei und seit 1993 Mitglied des US Repräsentantenhauses für Florida. Biografie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Edwards — This article is about the American attorney and politician. For other people, see John Edwards (disambiguation). John Edwards …   Wikipedia

  • John Green (composer) — Infobox Musical artist Name = Johnny Green Img capt = Img size = 200 px Landscape = No Background = Birth name = John Green Alias = Born = birth date|1908|10|10 New York City, New York, USA Died = death date and age|1989|17|5|1908|10|10 Origin =… …   Wikipedia

  • Debbie Wasserman Schultz — 52nd Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Incumbent …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”