Nathan Cohen (critic)

Nathan Cohen
Born
Samuel Nathan Cohen

(1923-04-16)16 April 1923
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died26 March 1971(1971-03-26) (aged 47)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
EducationBachelor of Arts
Alma materMount Allison University
OccupationJournalist
Years active1942–1971
Employer(s)Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto Telegram, The Toronto Daily Star
Known forArts criticism/TV Broadcaster
Notable workThe Glace Bay Gazette; Fighting Words TV Series
Political partyLabor-Progressive Party (ca. 1945–1947)*[1]
SpouseGloria Cohen (née Brontman)[2]
Children2
AwardsHonorary Doctors of Law[3]
Notes
* Only for about two years (1945–47). In the 1960s he described himself as a left-leaning Liberal.[1]

Samuel Nathan Cohen known as Nathan Cohen (16 April 1923 – 26 March 1971) was a Canadian theatre critic and broadcaster. Cohen was considered the country's only serious drama critic during the first two decades following World War II, the period when Canadian theatre became established.[4] He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, to an Eastern European Jewish immigrant family. He got his start in media when he was the editor of Mount Allison University's student newspaper. After graduating from Mount Allison, he was the editor of the Glace Bay Gazette. He permanently moved to Toronto in 1945 and wrote for various Communist Party supported newspapers. In 1948, he became the Theatre critic for CBC Radio. When CBC began television broadcasts in the 1950s, Cohen became one of their first talk show hosts. He joined The Toronto Daily Star in 1959, and worked as its theatre critic until his death in 1971.