Peter Travers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Travers
Travers in 2008
Born
Peter Joseph Travers

1943 or 1944 (age 79–80)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • film critic
Years active1970–present
Spouses
  • Diane Harris
    (m. 1967, divorced)
  • Robyn Lee Reeves
    (m. 1980)
Children3

Peter Joseph Travers (born 1943 or 1944)[1][2] is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts the film interview program Popcorn with Peter Travers for ABC News.

Early life and education[edit]

Travers grew up in Yonkers, New York, the only child of Howard and Ruth Travers.[3][4] He received a BA degree from Manhattan College in 1965 before graduating from New York University with an MA in English.[5][6]

Career[edit]

According to eFilmCritic.com, Travers is the nation's most "blurbed" film critic.[7] Travers' blurbs were being printed in newspapers as early as 1970, when he was a writer for Reader's Digest.[8] By the mid-1970s, he was a film critic for The Herald Statesman, a Yonkers newspaper.[9] In the 1980s, he wrote for People for four years before joining Rolling Stone in 1989.[10] In 2020, he departed Rolling Stone and became the film critic for ABC News.[11]

Travers hosts the New York Film Critics Series, a company that hosts live-streamed screening events and discussions,[12] as well as the ABC News show Popcorn with Peter Travers, where he interviews actors and directors about the latest projects and their lives.[13]

Personal life[edit]

Travers married Diane Harris of White Plains, New York in 1967; the marriage ended in divorce.[2][14] In 1980, Travers married Robyn Lee Reeves, an actress and graduate of Vassar College, in an Episcopalian ceremony.[2] He has three children: Jennifer, David and Alex.[15]

Preferences[edit]

Favorites[edit]

In 2010, When asked to rank the best films of the 2000s decade, Travers named:[16]

Best of the year[edit]

Since his career as a film critic from People to Rolling Stone, Travers marked these films the best of the year:

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Lollipop Dragon: The Great Christmas Race". People. December 21, 1987. Retrieved May 5, 2022. Peter Travers, 43, agrees: 'I couldn't stand it.'
  2. ^ a b c "P.J. Travers Weds Robyn Lee Reeves". The New York Times. September 28, 1980. p. 68.
  3. ^ Travers, Peter (March 31, 2020). "Movie Love in the Time of the Coronavirus". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "He Provides Background on 'Exorcist'". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. November 20, 1974. p. 7.
  5. ^ "43 Yonkers Men Win Degrees at Riverdale's Manhattan College". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. June 9, 1965. p. 56.
  6. ^ "Peter Travers Official Biography". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  7. ^ Childress, Erik. "Criticwatch 2008 - The Whores of the Year". eFilmCritic.com. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  8. ^ "One of the Year's 10 Best!". The New York Daily News. December 29, 1970. p. 57.
  9. ^ Travers, Peter (November 9, 1976). "Star of 'Sarah' Visits Westchester". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. p. 21.
  10. ^ "New York Film Critics Circle: Peter Travers". New York Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  11. ^ Friedman, Roger (September 8, 2020). "Exclusive: Peter Travers Exits Rolling Stone after 36 Years as Chief Film Critic, Made Magazine Important in Hollywood: 'It's been a hell of a ride'". Showbiz 411. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "NY Film Critics Series". Nyfilmcriticsseries.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  13. ^ "Popcorn". ABC News. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "Peter J. Travers". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. July 7, 1967. p. 32.
  15. ^ "Ruth Travers Obituary". Legacy. March 10, 2006. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "10 Best Movies of the Decade". Rolling Stone. December 3, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Travers, Peter (December 27, 2001). "The Best of 2001". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  18. ^ Travers, Peter (December 26, 2023). "Review: The 10 best movies of 2023". ABC News. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

External links[edit]