Leonard Maltin | |
---|---|
at the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles, March 5, 2010
|
|
Born |
Leonard Michael Maltin December 18, 1950 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Education | Teaneck High School |
Alma mater | New York University |
Occupation | Film critic, film historian, animation historian, food critic |
Years active | 1965–present |
Home town | Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Alice Tlusty (m. 1975) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www.leonardmaltin.com |
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is known as a "go-to" critic for the major studios, for writing the shortest review in the U.S. and for creating the Walt Disney Treasures series.
Maltin was born in New York City, son of singer Jacqueline (née Gould; 1923–2012), and Aaron Isaac Maltin (1915–2002), a lawyer and immigration judge. He is married to researcher and producer Alice Tlusty. He has one daughter, Jessica Bennett ("Jessie") Maltin, born in 1986, who works with him (his production company, JessieFilm, is named after his daughter). Maltin is Jewish. Maltin grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1968. He described his relationship with fellow film critic Roger Ebert as friendly but not close.
Maltin began his writing career at age fifteen, writing for Classic Images and editing and publishing his own fanzine, Film Fan Monthly, dedicated to films from the golden age of Hollywood. After earning a journalism degree at New York University, Maltin went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, newspapers, and magazines, including Variety and TV Guide. In the 1970s Maltin also reviewed recordings in the jazz magazine, Downbeat.
As an author, Maltin is best known for Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, a compendium of synopses and reviews that first appeared in September 1969 and was annually updated from October 1987 until September 2014, each edition having the following year's date. (Its original title was TV Movies, and some editions were Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide.) In 2005 coverage of many films released no later than 1960 was moved into a spin-off volume, Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide, to allow the regular book to cover a larger number of more recent titles. He has also written several other works, including Behind the Camera, a study of cinematography, The Whole Film Sourcebook, Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals, and Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons.