Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873 – February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic and screenwriter. He founded the Best Plays annual publication in 1920.[1][2]
Biography
Mantle was born in Watertown, New York, on December 23, 1873, to Robert Burns Mantle and Susan Lawrence. As a child he moved to Denver, Colorado.
By the late 1890s, Mantle was working as a drama critic for the Denver Times. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois, and then New York City, New York, in 1911.[1] He was at the New York Evening Mail until 1922, and then the Daily News until his retirement in 1943. Mantle was succeeded as the drama critic at the Daily News by his assistant John Arthur Chapman.[3][4]
His wife was the former Lydia (Lillie) Sears; her sister Clara Sears Taylor was a journalist and government official who assisted Mantle with compiling his Best Plays publications.[6]
References
^ abc"Burns Mantle Is Dead, Former Drama Critic". The Gazette. Associated Press. February 10, 1948. Retrieved 2012-12-17. Burns Mantle, 74, veteran drama critic noted for his annual compilations of the 'Best Plays' of the year, died today of cancer of the stomach. A drama critic in New York since 1911 Mantle served ...