Mel Gussow

Mel Gussow (1933-2005) was a writer and drama critic who wrote for The New York Times for 35 years.

His books include a four-volume series of interviews with leading playwrights, Conversations with Miller, Conversations with Pinter, Conversations with Stoppard and Conversations with (and about) Beckett. He is also the author of the biography, Edward Albee: A Singular Journey and Gambon: A Life in Acting. He was the co-editor for the Library of America’s two-volume edition of the plays of Tennessee Williams.

His other books include Theatre On The Edge: New Visions, New Voices, a collection of theatre reviews and essays, and Don’t Say Yes Until I Finish Talking: A Biography of Darryl F. Zanuck. He also wrote numerous profiles for The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.

As a longtime drama critic for The New York Times, Mel Gussow was the recipient of the prestigious George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller grant and other awards. In 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.