Charles Champlin
Birth Name:
Charles Davenport Champlin
Birth Place:
Hammondsport, New York, United States
Profession
Actor, Producer
Fast Facts
- In 1992, he won the Directors Guild of America Honorary Life Member Award
- Joined the U․S․ Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps at Harvard University in 1944 and served in World War II in 1945
- Received the 1985 Writers Guild of America Valentine Davies Award
- In 1991, he won the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governors Award
- Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English in 1948
- Despite becoming legally blind from macular degeneration in 1999, he continued to contribute to The Los Angeles Times and wrote two more books
- Before becoming a film critic, he worked as a writer for Life and Time magazines for 17 years
- Quote: "It's just that you like [filmmakers] in many cases․ It's painful to say a movie is a disaster․ It pains you to do it, but you have to do it․ All you have going for you as a critic is your credibility․ If you lose it, you're useless as a critic․"
- Best known for his work as a film critic and arts editor for the Los Angeles Times
- Has taught courses at Loyal Marymount University and UC Irvine
- Was a member of the jury at the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival
- Once estimated that during his time as a film critic he saw 250 movies a year and wrote reviews for half of them