  eric bentley (born september 14, 1916) is a british-born american critic, playwright, singer, editor and translator. in 1998, he was inducted into the american theatre hall of fame and is a member of the new york theater hall of fame in recognition of his many years of cabaret performances. ==life== born in bolton, lancashire, england, bentley attended oxford university, receiving his degree in 1938, and subsequently attended yale university (b.litt, 1939 and phd., 1941), where he received the john addison porter prize.historical register of yale university, 1937â1951 (new haven: yale university press, 1952), p. 80. beginning in 1953, bentley taught at columbia university and simultaneously was a theatre critic for the new republic. known for his blunt style of theatre criticism, bentley incurred the wrath of playwrights tennessee williams and arthur miller, both of whom threatened to sue him for his unfavorable reviews of their work. from 1960â1961, bentley was the norton professor at harvard university. bentley is considered one of the preeminent experts on bertolt brecht, whom he met at ucla as a young man and whose works he has translated extensively. he edited the grove press issue of brecht's work, and recorded two albums of brecht's songs for folkways records, most of which had never before been recorded in english. in 1968, he signed the "writers and editors war tax protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the vietnam war."writers and editors war tax protest" january 30, 1968 new york post bentley was elected a fellow of the american academy of arts and sciences in 1969. that same year, he declared his homosexuality. in an interview in the new york times on november 12, 2006, he claimed he was married twice before coming out at age 53, at which time he left his post as the brander matthews professor of dramatic literature at columbia to concentrate on writing. he has cited his homosexuality as an influence on his theater work, especially his play lord alfred's lover, based on the life of oscar wilde. he won a robert chesley award in 2007. bentley became an american citizen in 1948, and currently lives in new york city. ==works== he has written many critical books, including a century of hero-worship, the playwright as thinker, bernard shaw, what is theatre?, the life of the drama, theatre of war, brecht commentaries, and 
1916_births American_Theater_Hall_of_Fame_inductees American_dramatists_and_playwrights American_tax_resisters American_theater_critics Black_Mountain_College_faculty Columbia_University_faculty English_emigrants_to_the_United_States Fellows_of_the_American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences Gay_writers Guggenheim_Fellows Harvard_University_people LGBT_dramatists_and_playwrights LGBT_writers_from_England LGBT_writers_from_the_United_States Living_people Members_of_the_American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Letters People_from_Bolton Writers_from_New_York_City