Rex Reed, a legendary film critic known for sometimes blistering reviews of both actors and the movies they starred in, died on Tuesday in Manhattan at the age of 87.
Reed’s death was confirmed by his longtime friend, William Kapfer, through a statement to the media.
“Legendary journalist, film and cultural critic Rex Reed died early this morning, Tuesday, May 12, at his home in Manhattan after a short illness, surrounded by his closest loved ones,” the statement read.
Since the early 1960s, Reed has been known for his outspoken movie criticism and stylishly written profiles of Hollywood and Broadway icons, featured in publications ranging from The New York Times to GQ, Esquire and Vogue.
Born in Fort Worth, TX, Reed moved to NYC after graduating from Louisiana State University in 1960. He held numerous positions as a film critic and writer in local media, but he was likely most famous for his popular column in the New York Observer over a span of four decades.
His reviews were at times marked by headline-making controversy. He once referred to actress Melissa McCarthy as “tractor-sized” and started a rumor that Marisa Tomei’s 1992 Oscar for her role in “My Cousin Vinny” was mistakenly given out after presenter Jack Palance announced the wrong name.
An article in Variety stated that “Reed’s criticism could be merciless, but he recoiled at the suggestion he was a crank.”
The article included part of a 2018 interview of Reed with the New York Times in which he said, “I like just as many films as I dislike. But I think we’re drowning in mediocrity. I just try as hard as I can to raise the level of consciousness. It’s so hard to get people to see good films.”
The hard-edged writer was not without a few hiccups in his personal life that made the news. In 2000, he was arrested for shoplifting from an Upper West Side Tower Records, where he allegedly stole three CDs. According to published reports, he said it was a mistake, and the charges were dropped.
Little resemblance to ‘the curmudgeon’ of his image
Merin Curotto, Reed’s editor at the Observer for more than a decade, penned a tribute to the writer on May 12. She described Reed as one of her closest friends, adding that he “bore little resemblance to the curmudgeon” of his public image. He had qualities many people did not see.
“What I loved most about Rex was how he told stories,” Curotto wrote. “The kind of anecdote that most people deliver flatly, without drama or color, Rex transformed into something unforgettable. He seized every opportunity to tell a story.”
One of his closest friends in life was actress Angela Lansbury, Curotto’s tribute to Reed stated. The pair spent time together playing cards, watching old movies and frequenting restaurants. Her death in 2022 was devastating to Reed, Curotto wrote, adding that he said, “I don’t feel like I have friends anymore. They’re all gone.”
But Reed’s writings live on; they were collected in numerous books, including his first, “Do You Sleep in the Nude?,” which features celebrity profiles.
