David L. Itzkoff (born March 2, 1976) is an American journalist and writer who is a former culture reporter 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 ...

''. Before joining the ''Times'', he was an associate editor at ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' and ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

''. He is the author of ''Cocaine's Son'', a memoir about growing up with his drug-abusing father.

Early and personal life

Itzkoff was born in New York City to Madelin and Gerald Itzkoff, and grew up in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His father had a cocaine addiction, which affected Dave's home life. He has a sister, Amanda, a psychiatrist. He is Jewish; his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather were Russian Jews who worked in the fur trade. Itzkoff obtained his B.A. in English literature from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1998. He married actress and singer Amy Justman in 2008, and lives in New York. Together they have one son (b. 2015).

Career

In 1999, Itzkoff worked as an editorial assistant for '' Details'' magazine. He worked for ''

'' magazine from 1999 to 2002 and ''

'' magazine from 2002 to 2006. From June 2007 to July 2008, Itzkoff worked as a freelance editor for the Sunday Styles section in ''

''. He is a former culture reporter for ''The New York Times'' and writes frequently about film, television and comedy. His latest work is a biography of

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

. In 2023, Itzkoff was one of almost 1,000 ''New York Times'' contributors to sign an open letter expressing "serious concerns about editorial bias" in the newspaper's reporting on transgender people. The letter characterized the newspaper's reporting as using "an eerily familiar mix of pseudoscience and euphemistic, charged language," and raised concerns regarding the paper's employment practices regarding trans contributors.

Books

*''Lads: A Memoir of Manhood'', published in 2004 *''Cocaine's Son: A Memoir'', published in 2011 *''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies'', published February 2014. *''Robin'', a biography of Robin Williams, published in May 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itzkoff, Dave 1976 births 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American biographers 21st-century American memoirists Memoirists from New York (state) American newspaper reporters and correspondents American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American journalists Living people Princeton University alumni The New York Times journalists Journalists from the Bronx 21st-century American Jews