John Russell Taylor
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John Russell Taylor (born 19 June 1935) is an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
critic and
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
. He is the author of critical studies of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
; of critical biographies of such figures in film as Alfred Hitchcock, Alec Guinness,
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
, Vivien Leigh, and Ingrid Bergman; of ''Strangers in Paradise: The Hollywood Emigres 1933–1950'' (1983); and several books on
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
.


Personal

Taylor was born in Dover, the son of Arthur Russell and Kathleen Mary (Picker) Taylor and now lives in London and West Wales. He attended Dover Grammar School, took a double first in English at
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, and studied Art Nouveau book illustration at the
Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
. In 2006, he entered a Civil Partnership with his longtime companion, the artist and photographer Ying Yeung Li.


Career

In the 1960s Taylor wrote on
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...
for '' Sight and Sound'' and the ''
Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...
'', on the
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in ''
Plays and Players Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1950 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover other arts, so forming the Seven Arts Group. The other titles were '' Ar ...
'', on
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
for '' The Listener'' and the ''
Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...
'', and on the
arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
for ''
The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
''. From the late 1950s, he began writing anonymously on television and theatre for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', and by 1962 he had become the paper's film critic, initially anonymous but later named after the paper abandoned its anonymity rule in January 1967 when
William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of t ...
became editor. During this era, he wrote books including ''Anger and After: A Guide to the New British Drama'' (1962), titled ''The Angry Theatre'' in the USA; revised and expanded and published in paperback (1969); ''Anatomy of a Television Play'' (1962), concerning the ''
Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...
'' productions ''
Afternoon of a Nymph ''Afternoon of a Nymph'' is an episode of the British ''Armchair Theatre'' series made by the ITV franchise holder ABC Weekend TV and first broadcast by the ITV network on 30 September 1962. It was written by Robert Muller and features Janet Mu ...
'' and ''The Rose Affair''; ''Cinema Eye, Cinema Ear: Some Key Film-Makers of the Sixties'' (1964); and ''The Art Nouveau Book in Britain'' (1966). Subsequently, he wrote ''The Penguin Dictionary of the Theatre'' (1966), ''The Rise and Fall of the Well-Made Play'' (1967), ''The Art Dealers'' (1969) and ''The Hollywood Musical'' (1971), as well as
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
monographs on Harold Pinter,
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
and
David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...
. He also edited the film criticism of
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
in ''The Pleasure Dome'' (1972, called ''Graham Greene on Film'' in the USA). In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the
19th Berlin International Film Festival The 19th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1969. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Yugoslav film '' Rani radovi'' directed by Želimir Žilnik. Jury The following jury members were announced for the fes ...
,. and was later frequently on the juries at other festivals, including Delhi, Venice, Kraków, Cork, Istanbul, Troja, Parnu, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal and, several times, the
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
. In the early 1970s, Taylor wrote the book ''The Second Wave: British Drama of the Sixties'', a sequel to ''Anger and After'', and several television plays, including a version of ''Dracula'' with
Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in '' Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (19 ...
in the title role, which was praised by
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...
as the best version ever. In 1972, he moved to
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, to teach film at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, serving as a Professor of Cinema from 1972 to 1978, while continuing to contribute to the London ''
Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time speci ...
'', as its American Cultural Correspondent, ''Sight and Sound'', ''
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 ...
'', and the ''
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 U ...
''. During this period, he wrote ''Directors and Directions: Cinema for the Seventies'' (1975). Having developed a friendship with Alfred Hitchcock during the 1970s, he became Hitchcock's authorised biographer.John Russell Taylor. ''Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock'', Pantheon Books, 1978, dust jacket, . In 1978, after publishing ''Hitch'', Taylor returned to the UK, becoming the art critic for ''The Times'', a post that he held until 2005. His other books since 1978 include ''Strangers in Paradise: The Hollywood Emigres 1933–1950'' (1983), and bio-critical studies of Ingrid Bergman (1983), Alec Guinness (1984), Vivien Leigh (1984),
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
(1986), Elizabeth Taylor (1991), film historian
John Kobal John Kobal (born Iwan Kobal; 30 May 1940 – 28 October 1991)Kobal's biography page
, John Kobal Fou ...
(2008) and the artists
Edward Wolfe Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe (1685 – 26 March 1759) was a British army officer who saw action in the War of the Spanish Succession, 1715 Jacobite rebellion and the War of Jenkins' Ear. He is best known as the father of James Wolfe, famous for ...
(1986), Peter Samuelson (1987), Robin Tanner (1989),
Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, Ukraine, where his fathe ...
(1990), John Copley (1990), Muriel Pemberton (1993), Ricardo Cinalli (1993),
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...
(1995), Bill Jacklin (1997), Cyril Mann (1997), Peter Coker (2002),
Zsuzsi Roboz Zsuzsi Roboz (15 August 1929 – 9 July 2012) was a London-based Hungarian painter known for her portraiture paintings and paintings of the arts. Her work is in public galleries including the Tate Britain and The National Portrait Gallery. E ...
(2005), Peter Prendergast (2006),
Panayiotis Kalorkoti Panayiotis Kalorkoti (born 11 April 1957, Cyprus) is a British artist. He works primarily in acrylics and watercolour, and has also produced drawings, etchings, screenprints, lithographs and monotypes. His work is figurative and features bri ...
(2007), Carl Laubin (2007), Philip Sutton (2008), Kurt Jackson (2010), Philip Hicks (2013) and Paul Day (2016). More general books on art include ''Impressionist Dreams'' (1990) and ''Exactitude: Hyperrealist Art Today'' (2009). Since 2005, he has contributed frequently to ''The Times'' on art and film subjects and to ''
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
'' on art, and reviewed drama regularly for ''Plays International''. He was also editor of the magazine '' Films and Filming'' from 1983 until its closure in 1990. In 2013, an e-book edition of ''Hitch'' with a long introductory chapter giving the history of his relationship with Hitchcock was published, and five of his early books, ''Anger and After'', ''The Rise and Fall of the Well-Made Play'', ''The Second Wave'', ''Cinema Eye, Cinema Ear'' and ''Directors and Directions'', were reprinted as part of the
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
classic critical text series.


References

* (Revised and expanded edition of ''Anger and After: A Guide to the New British Drama''.)


External links

* . Retrieved 7 May 2008. ("Filmography".)
"John Russell Taylor Biography (1935– )"
at ''filmreference.com''. Retrieved 7 May 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John Russell 1935 births Living people Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British theatre critics English art critics English male journalists English literary critics English film critics British film historians Film theorists People from Dover, Kent The Times people English male non-fiction writers