Richard Schickel


Richard Warren Schickel was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for Time from 1965-2010, and also wrote for Life and the Los Angeles Times Book Review. His last writings about film were for Truthdig.
He was interviewed in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. In this documentary, he discusses early film critics Frank E. Woods, Robert E. Sherwood, and Otis Ferguson, and tells of how, in the 1960s, he, Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, rejected moralizing opposition of the older Bosley Crowther of The New York Times who had railed against violent movies such as Bonnie and Clyde. In addition to film, Schickel also critiqued and documented cartoons, particularly Peanuts.
WWW richardschickel.com

Personal life

Schickel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Helen and Edward John Schickel. He received his B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1955.
Schickel had two daughters. Following a series of strokes, he died in Los Angeles on February 18, 2017, eight days after his 84th birthday.

Honors

Schickel received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1964. He also lectured at Yale University and University of Southern California's School of Film and Television.

Books

The World of Carnegie Hall The Stars The Gentle Knight Movies: The history of an Art and an Institution The World of Goya, 1746–1828 The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney ; revised editions: 1984, 1997The Museum Second Sight: Notes on Some Movies 1965–1970 His Picture in the Papers: A Speculation on Celebrity in America Based on the Life of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Harold Lloyd: The Shape of Laughter The World of Tennis The Men Who Made The Movies Douglas Fairbanks: The First Celebrity Another I, Another You: A Novel Singled Out: A Civilized Guide to Sex and Sensibility for the Suddenly Single Man—or Woman Cary Grant: A Celebration D.W. Griffith: An American Life ; British Film Institute Book Prize, 1985Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity ; revised 2000Lena by Lena Horne and Richard SchickelJames Cagney: A Celebration Gary Cooper Striking Poses: Photographs from the Kobal Collection Carnegie Hall: The First One Hundred Years by Richard Schickel and Michael Walsh Schickel on Film: Encounters—Critical and Personal—With Movie Immortals Brando: A Life in Our Times Double Indemnity Clint Eastwood: A Biography Hollywood at Home: A Family Album 1950–1965 Matinee Idylls: Reflections on the Movies Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip: Movies, Memory and World War II Woody Allen: A Life in Film Elia Kazan: A Biography Bogie: A Celebration of the Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart The Essential Chaplin: Perspectives on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian Clint A Retrospective Conversations with Scorsese Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective
  • ''Keepers: The Greatest Films - and Personal Favorites - of a Moviegoing Lifetime''

Documentaries

DVD commentaries