Wow.
I did not think I’d wake up to this sad news. Rex Reed is gone. He was 87, and he was a New York superstar.
Rex was maybe the most famous film critic ever in New York. A kid from Texas, with a drawl he couldn’t escape, Rex was close pals with another transplanted star from that state, the late Liz Smith. He called her “Lizzie” and they loved each other. I hope they’re having a drink in heaven right now.
Ditto actress Polly Bergen, another close pal. They adored each other.
Everyone today will have Rex stories. Rex did not keep his opinions to himself. If you sat with him during a screening and he didn’t like something the whole theater knew about it immediately. At the Toronto Film Festival every year, I’d have to whisper, “Rex, shhhh.” He’d say, “Well, really, how can you watch this?”
A funny moment: the intermission of Idina Menzel’s musical “If/Then.” Red didn’t care for the star’s shrill voice, or the songs. Right out loud, he exclaimed, “My ears are bleeding! Help!” I couldn’t help but laugh. He was right, as usual.
But when he liked something, or someone, you couldn’t do better than to have Rex in your corner. He defended good films and actors adamantly, not only in his New York Observer columns but in person. At New York Film Critics Circle dinners, actors would often read their negative Rex Reed posts. They were hilarious. But he could also heap on praise, and give movies or plays enough support to keep them going or give them much needed attention.
Rex was also a performer. The ham in him meant that he often turned up at various venues with anecdotes about his past. I’m including here a column the late Harry Haun (I can’t believe he’s gone either) wrote about such a night in 2018 at Birdland.
And talk about being in the center of things. A longtime resident of the Dakota, Rex had innumerable insights about the comings and goings of neighbors like Lauren Bacall, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, and Leonard Bernstein (his family, really). He knew where all the bodies were buried, but was circumspect enough to entertain us with amusing– not scandalous — stories. Yes, there was nothing better that he liked to do than gossip with friends. Peggy Siegal and I met up with him for lunch after Nora Ephron’s funeral. It was the most amazing celebration of life, and it could have gone on for days.
Rex, you will really be missed. I’m looking forward to all the social media posts today from other reviewers and actors you encountered. I know you will be, too! Tell Lizzie we said hello!
