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John Kroll (''ca.'' 1926 – June 8, 2000) was a ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' drama and film critic. His career spanned 37 years – more than half the publication's existence.


Biography

Kroll was born in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. His mother was an
Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...
showgirl and his father, Lester Kroll, was a radio personality with the radio name "John J. Anthony" ("Mr. Anthony") on the long-running radio program '' The Goodwill Hour''. Lester took this pseudonym from his two sons' given names: John (Jack) and Anthony. Kroll spent two years in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
during the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
. He later attended
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, graduating in 1954. He also earned a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in English and comparative literature. A skilled writer adept at several forms of journalism, he joined ''Newsweek'' as an associate arts editor in 1963. He ultimately became senior editor in charge of all cultural sections (1964), drama critic (1967), and critic-at-large (1975). Over his career with the magazine (1963–2000), he was responsible for 19 cover stories and over 1,200 articles. His last cover story was the December 14, 1998, piece on
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
's
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut in '' The Blue Room''. He died of
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...
at New York University Medical Center at age 74.“Jack Kroll; Longtime Newsweek Drama Critic”
bit ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', June 09, 2000.


Awards

*
National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
(1974; for a piece on the arts in America) * Page One Awards (1974; for a piece on the arts in America; and 1982, for a profile of
Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
) * George Jean Nathan Award (1980; for dramatic criticism ) * ASCAP / Deems Taylor Award (1981; for coverage of
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
’s death)


Books

*Atwan, Robert and Bruce Forer (editors), ''Bedside Hollywood: Great Scenes from Movie Memoirs'', New York: Moyer Bell (1985); foreword by Jack Kroll.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroll, Jack Newsweek people American film critics 2000 deaths Year of birth uncertain Deaths from colorectal cancer American male journalists Journalists from New York City People from Manhattan Deaths from cancer in New York (state) City College of New York alumni 20th-century American journalists American magazine journalists