Henry Hewes, 89; Longtime Theater Critic for the Saturday Review
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Henry Hewes, 89, a longtime theater critic for the now-defunct Saturday Review and an editor of the annual Best Plays compilation, died Tuesday at his home in New York City.
Hewes joined Saturday Review in 1951, becoming the theater critic in 1954, a position he held until 1977 when he became the magazine’s critic-at-large.
During his tenure, Hewes championed not only Broadway but off-Broadway, regional and international theater. He did the same while working from 1960 to 1964 as editor of Best Plays, a leading theatrical reference work.
Born in Boston, Hewes served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and graduated from Columbia University after the war. He was an associate drama critic at the New York Times, working with the fabled Brooks Atkinson, before going to the Saturday Review as an editor.
A board member of the American Theater Wing, Hewes founded the American Theater Critics Assn. in 1974.
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