Critic and Obie Awards Creator Jerry Tallmer Dies at 93

Theater critic and Village Voice Obie Awards creator Jerry Tallmer died in Manhattan on Sunday morning at the age of 93.

Tallmer served as the Voice's first associate editor, fostering the works of contributors that included Jules Feiffer, Nat Hentoff, Jonas Mekas, Jill Johnston, and Andrew Sarris. He was also the Voice's first theater critic and edited pieces by his hot-tempered colleague (and the paper's cofounder) Norman Mailer. In 1962, Tallmer received the George Jean Nathan Award for Distinguished Theater Criticism, becoming the first of seven Village Voice critics to accept the honor.

In an effort to draw attention to both the paper and the downtown theater scene, Tallmer proposed an awards show to celebrate innovative off-Broadway works. The accolades, which came to be known as the Obie Awards (derived from the first letters of the term "off Broadway"), were first awarded in 1956 to off-Broadway artists and were extended to off-off-Broadway productions in 1964. Some of its most notable recipients include actors Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Meryl Streep; playwrights Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, and Sam Shepard; and directors Harold Prince and Alan Arkin.

Tallmer himself ran the Obies from 1956-62. In 1962, he left the Voice for the New York Post, where he wrote and edited until being terminated by the paper's then-owner Rupert Murdoch in 1993. He then served as a senior copy editor for General Media from 1994-2005, writing for several of their publications including Penthouse and Gay City News. He continued writing theater and film reviews throughout his last decade and contributed personal recollections about the history of the Voice to The Villager.

Tallmer is survived by his fourth wife, Frances Martin, as well his daughter Abby and her twin brother Matthew.

The American Theatre Wing, whose partnership with The Village Voice as copresenter of the Obie Awards was announced in September, issued the following statement: "Jerry Tallmer’s impact on the theater community, especially the off-Broadway theater community, is immeasurable. We are honored to have the opportunity to carry on his legacy with the Obie Awards."