Fiery theater critic John Simon has died at 94

John Simon, a theater and film critic known for his lacerating reviews, has died at 94

John Simon, a theater and film critic known for his lacerating reviews and often withering assessment of performers’ physical appearance, has died. He was 94.

Patricia Hoag Simon, Simon’s wife, said her husband died Sunday night at Westchester Medical Center. She said the couple was having lunch at a local dinner theater when he fell ill.

Simon served as the chief theater critic at New York magazine for nearly 40 years before being dismissed in 2005. He then worked at Bloomberg for five years before being fired in 2010.

Simon defended his sharp elbows, arguing that the theater was becoming dumbed down and that critics needed to have a sense of humor.