Macklin, Tony 1937- (S.D. Franklin, F. Anthony Macklin)

PERSONAL:

Born December 30, 1937, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Francis Aloysius (a merchandise manager for a department store) and Alvira (a retail buyer) Macklin; married Mary Ann Marwitz, September, 1962 (divorced, January, 1985); married Judith Ann Baker, April 13, 1995; children: Steven Anthony, Stacy Ann. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Villanova University, B.A., 1960, M.A., 1963. Politics: Liberal. Religion: "Amphibian." Hobbies and other interests: Gambling, spectator sports.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Las Vegas, NV; fax: 702-360-3210. E-mail—tonymacklin@webtv.net.

CAREER:

University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, professor of English, 1962-2000; KBAD-AM Radio, Las Vegas, NV, film critic for Al Bernstein Sportsparty, 2002-05; Fayetteville Free Weekly, Fayetteville, AR, film critic, 2005—. University of California, Santa Barbara, visiting professor of film, 1985. Journal Herald (Dayton, OH), film critic, 1969-78. Juror for American Film Institute and Sight & Sound.

WRITINGS:

(Under pseudonym S.D. Franklin) Palestra (novel), Herculean Press (Dayton, OH), 1978.

Beyond Justice: Three Novellas (includes the novella "The Seventh Widow"), Herculean Press (Dayton, OH), 1995.

(Editor, with Nick Pici) Voices from the Set: The Film Heritage Interviews, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2000.

Little Boy Blue and the Golden Reunion (novella), Herculean Press (Las Vegas, NV), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including North American Review. Founder and editor, Film Heritage, 1965-78.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tony Macklin is an educator, film critic, and writer who taught at the University of Dayton for almost forty years. He is the author of Voices from the Set: The Film Heritage Interviews, culled from his interviews of people in the film industry. A reviewer of Voices from the Set in Film Comment noted: "During the 1970s, Tony Macklin conducted a stunning series of interviews for the magazine Film Heritage, dealing with all aspects of the industry, from costume designers to critics, writers, directors, and stars." Robert Welkos, writing in the Los Angeles Times Calendar, noted, "The book is certain to be a feast for film buffs."

Macklin once told CA: "I am an interpretive critic who has a fondness for symbolism. I have been a successful interviewer because I listen, follow up, and have special knowledge about the person I'm interviewing. I view that person as an equal. John Wayne once wrote to me, ‘Tony—you caught me in print as no one else has. Many thanks. Duke.’ The most rewarding interview I've had in recent years is the hour and forty-five minutes I spent with Clint Eastwood.

"My most successful fiction often is satiric; for example, poking fun at William Buckley or the game of baseball or the media. I came along at the right time, when film was being recognized as an art form. Therefore one of the best influences on me as a film critic and writer of fiction was James Agee. As an educator I was at the forefront of education and criticism about film.

"My credo: In any form I use, I try to get people to see with new perceptions and understand more. I guess that's the educator in me—and the human being."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Eastern Basketball, April 16, 1980, Alan Morrice, review of Palestra, p. 27.

Film Comment, November-December, 2000, review of Voices from the Set: The Film Heritage Interviews, p. 9.

Las Vegas Weekly, January 19, 2006, Josh Bell, "The Gambler: Film Critic Evermore," pp. 28-30.

Los Angeles Times Calendar, September 17, 2000, Robert Welkos, "Taking Direction from Hollywood Greats," pp. 24-26.

Philadelphia Daily News, June 24, 1999, Stan Hochman, "Writer Has Dim View of National Pastime," p. 92.