David L. Itzkoff (born March 2, 1976) is an American journalist and writer who is a culture reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. He is the author of ''Cocaine's Son'', a memoir about growing up with his drug-abusing father. Before joining the ''Times'', he was an associate editor at '' Spin'' magazine and at ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

''.

Early life and family

Itzkoff was born in New York City to Madelin and Gerald Itzkoff, and grew up in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. His father had a cocaine addiction, which affected Dave's home life considerably. He has a sister, Amanda, a psychiatrist. He is Jewish; his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather were Russian Jews who worked in the fur trade. Itzkoff obtained his B.A. in English Literature from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1998. He married actress and singer Amy Justman in 2008, and lives in New York.

Career

In 1999, Itzkoff worked as an editorial assistant for ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'' magazine. He worked for ''

'' magazine from 1999 to 2002 and '' Spin'' magazine from 2002 to 2006. From June 2007 to July 2008, Itzkoff worked as a freelance editor for the Sunday Styles section in ''

''. He is a culture reporter for ''The New York Times'' and writes frequently about film, television and comedy. His latest work is a biography of

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Books

*''Lads: A Memoir of Manhood'', published in 2004 *''Cocaine's Son: A Memoir'', published in 2011 *''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies'', published February 2014. *''Robin'', a biography of Robin Williams, published in May 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itzkoff, Dave 1976 births 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American biographers 21st-century memoirists American memoirists American newspaper reporters and correspondents American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American journalists Journalists from New York City Living people Princeton University alumni The New York Times writers Writers from the Bronx 21st-century American Jews