Tom Shales was a Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic who spent over 30 years with the Washington Post and was known for his sharp wit and cutting insights.
- Died: January 13, 2024 (Who else died on January 13?)
- Details of death: Died of COVID-19 and kidney failure in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 79.
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Tom Shales’s legacy
Shales studied journalism at American University in Washington, D.C., where he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Eagle. He was also the paper’s movie critic, setting the stage for the career that would make his name. From 1968 to 1972, he was entertainment editor for the D.C. Examiner, then moved to the Washington Post in 1972, where he would stay for the next several decades. Initially a style editor, he became chief television critic in 1977.
Shales quickly developed a reputation for his sharp wit and cutting criticism, earning both respect and fear from TV producers. In 1988, his coverage of the Robert Bork (1927–2012) Supreme Court nomination hearings helped earn him a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. He made regular appearances on NPR, was a recurring guest with Roger Ebert (1942–2013) after Gene Siskel’s (1946–1999) passing, and for five years in the mid 1990s was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors. He was laid off by the Washington Post in 2010.
Shales is the author or coauthor of four books, including 1982’s “On the Air!” 1989’s “Legends: Remembering America’s Greatest Stars,” and “Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live,” coauthored with James Andrew Miller.
Notable quote
“When you’re young, you have way fewer taboo topics, and then as you go through life and you have experiences with people getting cancer and dying and all the things you would have made fun of, then you don’t make fun of them anymore. So rebelliousness really is the province of young people.”—excerpt from “Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live”
Tributes to Tom Shales
Full obituary: The Washington Post
