Those wishing to pay tribute to New Yorker Magazine theatre critic and contributor Brendan Gill will get their chance Tuesday, Apr. 14, at NY's Town Hall.
The 4 PM (EST) memorial honors Gill's work at the New Yorker, which ranged from short stories to pieces on architecture, to a lengthy stint penning theatre critiques. Gill's memorial comes one day after a memorial for Village Voice theatre editor and writer Ross Wetzsteon, and only weeks after the New Yorker lost another longtime theatre critic, Edith Oliver.
Gill's New Yorker years began in 1936 with the short story "Sinclair Lewis and Dr. McGrady." He later served as the magazine's film critic (1960-68) and drama critic (1968-87). He served as president of the NY Drama Critics Circle (1981-83) and helped found the American Theatre Critics Association, which continues to convene twice annually and serve drama critics across the U.S.
When Gill died in late December 1997, New Yorker editor Tina Brown wrote, "He was in so many ways our beau ideal -- the ultimate New Yorker... the ultimate citizen of the great metropolis he did so much to preserve and celebrate..." She also praised Gill's talent for tone, "That tone invited you in, plied you with cordials, engaged you in the highest form of conversation -- scintillating, worldly, mischievous... Brendan had a talent for happiness, and that makes our grief all the sharper."
-- By David Lefkowitz
