Charles Champlin was a journalist and author best known for his long association with the Los Angeles Times. In addition to his distinguished career in print, he appeared on television as a commentator on the arts, and he hosted various local shows in the Los Angeles market.
Born in Hammondsport, New York, in 1926, Champlin was studying at Harvard when he joined the Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps. In May of 1944, two months after his 18th birthday, he volunteered for the Army. In early 1945 he was wounded and returned to the U.S.
Charles Champlin was a journalist and author best known for his long association with the Los Angeles Times. In addition to his distinguished career in print, he appeared on television as a commentator on the arts, and he hosted various local shows in the Los Angeles market.
Born in Hammondsport, New York, in 1926, Champlin was studying at Harvard when he joined the Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps. In May of 1944, two months after his 18th birthday, he volunteered for the Army. In early 1945 he was wounded and returned to the U.S.
Upon his discharge, he returned to Harvard, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1948, and soon afterward found a job at Life magazine in New York. He spent several years with the magazine, and was based variously in New York, Chicago, Denver and London before settling in Los Angeles.
He joined the Los Angeles Times in 1965 and remained at the paper for 26 years. He was lead film critic from 1967 to 1980; he was also a book reviewer and arts columnist. His Times platform brought significant influence in the entertainment community.
Also an author, Champlin's books included The Flicks: Or, Whatever Became of Andy Hardy, George Lucas: The Creative Impulse, Hollywood's Revolutionary Decade and the memoirs Back There Where the Past Was: A Small-Town Boyhood, A Life in Writing: The Story of an American Journalist and My Friend, You Are Legally Blind. The latter described the deterioration of his eyesight due to macular degeneration.
Beyond print, Champlin maintained a sideline in television. Ove the years, he hosted the KNBC interview program At One With, On the Film Scene on the cable service known as the Z Channel, Champlin on Film on the Bravo cable channel and the KCET public affairs program Citywatchers. He was joined on the latter by fellow Times columnist Art Seidenbaum.
In 1992 Champlin received an honorary Life Member Award from the Directors Guild of America, and in 2007 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Champlin died November 16, 2014, in Los Angeles. He was 88.
The Television Academy database lists prime-time Emmy information. Click here to learn more