Rex Reed, the oft-controversial film critic known for his scathing reviews and other brash takes, has died. He was 87.
His publicist Sean Katz and friend William Kapfer confirmed news of his death to The New York Times on Tuesday, after the entertainment journalist died earlier that morning in his Manhattan apartment following a short illness.
Reed came to prominence at a time when film criticism was expanding from more straightforward copy to an artform unto itself, earning notoriety for colorful and, at times, scathing takedowns of films alongside titan Pauline Kael, whose work would prove transformative for the profession and the relationship between critics and filmmakers.
Born in Fort Worth on Oct. 2, 1938, Reed got his journalism degree from Louisiana State University and began his career in the 1960s. By the 1970s and ’80s, he was already a media personality of his own, appearing as himself on television in “The Gong Show” and “The Critic” and as an actor in Gore Vidal’s “Myra Breckinridge” — he even made a cameo in 1978’s “Superman.”
His most recent review was for 2025’s “Truth & Treason” for The Observer, where he’d worked since 1987 (despite a brief firing in 2017).
Throughout his career, some of the more notable recipients of Reed’s ire included actresses like Marisa Tomei, Marlee Matlin and Melissa McCarthy, as well as movies such as “The Shape of Water” and “Get Out.”
