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Gibbs, (Oliver) Wolcott
Gibbs, [Oliver] Wolcott (1902–58), critic. A descendant of Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence, he was born in New York and attended the Hill School but not college. He held such odd jobs as architect's apprentice and railroad conductor before joining The New Yorker, for which he became drama critic when Robert Benchley retired in 1939 and held the post until his death. Gibbs could be acerbic, as when he wrote of Saroyan's My Heart's in the Highlands, “This collision between the most completely undisciplined talent in American letters and the actors of the Group Theatre bored me utterly to distraction.” But he could also be warm and open, as when he confessed to a “feeling of rising excitement” while watching Abe Lincoln in Illinois, concluding, “I suppose it was just the surprise and gratitude and somehow sorrow of seeing a very great man exactly as he must have been.” He was one of those rare critics who successfully worked both sides of the footlights, writing the well‐received comedy Season in the Sun (1950).
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Gibbs, (Oliver) Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Gibbs, (Oliver) Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-GibbsOliverWolcott.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Gibbs, (Oliver) Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-GibbsOliverWolcott.html |
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Gibbs, Wolcott
Gibbs, Wolcott (1902–58), American author who in 1939 replaced Robert Benchley on the New Yorker and soon became recognized as a valuable addition to the ranks of American dramatic critics. A shrewd and alert playgoer, he often wrote more brilliantly of bad plays than of good ones; but his irony was a tonic which Broadway badly needed, and though he wrote with humorous and sardonic detachment he never descended to ‘wise-crack’ reviewing. He was an excellent writer of parodies, and his play A Season in the Sun (1952) contains a dozen biting burlesques of contemporary novelists and playwrights.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GibbsWolcott.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GibbsWolcott.html |
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Gibbs, Wolcott
Gibbs, Wolcott (1902–58), drama critic for The New Yorker (1940–58) and occasional contributor to the magazine's “Talk of the Town.” His pieces from the journal were collected as Bed of Neuroses (1937), Season in the Sun (1946), and More in Sorrow (1958). He also wrote a comic play, Season in the Sun (1950), about a journalist who leaves his job to write a novel.
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Cite this article
James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GibbsWolcott.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Gibbs, Wolcott." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GibbsWolcott.html |
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