Judith Crist
Judith Crist (; May 22, 1922 – August 7, 2012) was an American film critic and academic. She appeared regularly on the "Today" show from 1964 to 1973 and was among the first full-time female critics for a major American newspaper, in her case, "The New York Herald Tribune". She was the founding film critic at "New York" magazine and became known to most Americans as a critic at the weekly magazine "TV Guide" and at the morning TV show "Today". She appeared in one film, Woody Allen's dramatic-comedy film "Stardust Memories" (1980), and was the author  of various books, including "The Private Eye, The Cowboy and the Very Naked Girl; Judith Crist's TV Guide to the Movies"; and "Take 22: Moviemakers on Moviemaking". Early life and education. Crist was born Judith Klein in The Bronx, the daughter of Helen (née Schoenberg), a librarian, and Solomon Klein, a manufacturing jeweler. She attended Morris High School in The Bronx, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College and a Master of Science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Career. After graduating from Columbia in 1945, she was employed by "The New York  Herald Tribune" as a reporter, film critic, and arts editor for 22 years, and she also worked as "TV Guide"'s resident film critic. After the "Tribune" ceased publication, she was named the first film critic at "New York" magazine. Upon her death, "New York" magazine film critic David Edelstein said, "Judith Crist helped set the stage for "New York" Magazine as a place for popular and yet essentially serious and wide-ranging film criticism. She was tart, sensible, and irresistibly readable, and she cut a colorful figure on the festival circuit, building bridges between filmmakers and audiences in her  famous weekend seminars." She was an adjunct professor at Columbia's School of Journalism (1958-2008). There, she taught a course called "Personal and Professional Style." Her students included film critics Kenneth Turan, David Denby of "The New Yorker" and "New York Times" critics Anna Kisselgoff and Margo Jefferson. In 1963, she was awarded an Alumni Award by the Journalism School Alumni Association. In April 5, 2008, the school presented her with its Founder's Award on her completion of 50 years as a faculty member. She taught until just before her death. She was a longtime member of the  Executive Committee of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Alumni Association and served three terms as President of the Alumni Association during the 1960s. In 1948, Crist took part in Dr. Fredric Wertham’s attack on comic books and published an article in "Collier's" magazine quoting Wertham and calling for action against violent, sadistic, and provocative comic books which Crist perceived to be affecting the morality of American youth. Like Dwight Macdonald, Crist reviewed films for the "Today" show in the 1960s. She conducted the Judith Crist Film Weekends at Tarrytown House, in Tarrytown, New York, from 1971  to 2006. She wrote the article "Tribute to a Partnership", a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein, in 1965, for a booklet that accompanied RCA Victor's original LP release of the soundtrack album of "The Sound of Music". However, the article has not been reprinted for any of the CD releases of the soundtrack. She cited Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" as her "first and to-this-day-most-vivid film experience." Personal life. Judith was married to William B. Crist from 1947 until his death in 1993. She was the mother of Steven Crist, a thoroughbred handicapper and  publisher of the "Daily Racing Form". Crist died at her home in Manhattan on August 7, 2012, at age 90.