Wilella Louise Waldorf (November 22, 1899 – March 12, 1946) was an American drama critic and newspaper editor.
Early life
Wilella Louise Waldorf was born and raised in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
, the daughter of John Maurice Waldorf and Carrie Throckmorton Waldorf. She graduated from high school in 1918, and from
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
in 1922.
Career
As a young woman, Waldorf worked as an investigator for a law firm,
a clerk for
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...
, and editor of a historical encyclopedia.
She joined the staff of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' in 1925; she was film critic from 1926, drama editor from 1928 to 1946,
and drama critic from 1941 to 1946, replacing
John Mason Brown
John Mason Brown (July 3, 1900 – March 16, 1969) was an American drama critic and author.Van Gelder, Lawrence (March 17, 1969). "John Mason Brown, Critic, Dead." ''The New York Times''
Life
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he graduated from Harva ...
. She was one of the first women to hold an editorial position at the ''Post'', and the only woman drama critic at a New York daily newspaper. She was elected to the
New York Drama Critics Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...
in 1941, and served as the group's treasurer in her last years.
Her last review, of a revival of ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'', was published in January 1946. Vernon Rice succeeded her at the ''Post.''
Waldorf's negative reviews were characterized by blunt judgment, pronouncing ''The Time, the Place and the Girl'' (1942) "an embarrassing bore", and ''Hairpin Harmony'' (1943) as "doggedly amateurish". She is sometimes credited with the phrase "We can always call them Bulgarians," in reference to stage characters written or played as gay or lesbian. She quoted film producer
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...
as using the line.
Personal life
She died in 1946, aged 46 years, at her home in New York City, after several months of illness.
References
External links
* Dorothy Chansky (September 2018)
"Lone Body/Lone Voice: Historicizing Critic Wilella Waldorf" a recent manuscript on Waldorf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldorf, Wilella
1899 births
1946 deaths
People from South Bend, Indiana
Mount Holyoke College alumni
American film critics
American women film critics
American theater critics
Women theatre critics
American newspaper editors
Women newspaper editors