Alvin Klein (c. 1938 in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant and the subsection of ...

– February 28, 2009) was an American theatre critic who wrote for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' for more than 15 years, publishing nearly 3,500 reviews and other articles.

Early life and education

Klein was raised in

Flatbush, New York Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

. He obtained his degree from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

and later received his master's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Klein began his career as an industrial psychological and management consultant. He later taught courses in English at public schools in New York City. He covered theater for The Times from the late 1970s until September 2004. Here, he wrote for the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, Long Island, and Westchester County sections. Prior, he worked for the radio station WNYC in 1966 where he would review and eventually worked his way up to become the opening-night theater critic until the 80s. In the 80s, he was the president of the

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

, an organization that recognizes excellence in New York theater. He was also a member of the awards committee of the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

Family

He was the son of immigrants from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He was married to his wife Janet Ginsberg Klein, who died in 2001. Together they had a son named Gideon, a daughter named Alexandria Klein Rafaeli, and three grandchildren.

Death

Klein died at the age of 73 at his home in the East Village section of

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The cause of his death was from a heart attack.

References

2009 deaths 1930s births American theater critics Brooklyn College alumni Columbia University alumni People from Brownsville, Brooklyn 20th-century American journalists American male journalists People from Flatbush, Brooklyn People from the East Village, Manhattan {{US-journalist-1930s-stub