Oliver, Edith (1913–1998)
Oliver, Edith (1913–1998)
American drama critic for The New Yorker. Born in New York, New York, on August 11, 1913; died at her home in Manhattan on February 23, 1998; daughter of Samuel Goldsmith and Maude (Biow) Goldsmith; graduated from Horace Mann School in New York City, 1931; attended Smith College, 1931–33; never married.
Edith Oliver was an influential drama critic at The New Yorker for over 30 years. She began her career as a radio actress, working on such shows as "Philip Morris Playhouse" and "Gangbusters." She also wrote the radio quiz show "True or False" and, from 1940 to 1952, wrote and produced "Take It or Leave It: The $64 Question." Oliver began contributing to The New Yorker in 1947 and joined its staff in 1961 as a movie and off-Broadway theater critic. For many years, Oliver spent her summers serving as a dramaturg of fledgling plays at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Said its chair George White: "[Edith] was packaged like the quintessential elderly lady that a Boy Scout would help across the street, except that she drank martinis, smoked cigarettes and could, on occasion, have a mouth like a sailor." Oliver retired from The New Yorker in 1992.