Howard Taubman

Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell University, from which he graduated, as a Phi Beta Kappa member, in 1929.

In 1961, Taubman, along with six other theater critics, was the victim of a famous hoax when Broadway producer David Merrick placed a newspaper ad for his show Subways Are for Sleeping.

The ad appeared to quote praise from Taubman, Walter Kerr, and other prominent New York critics for the commercially faltering musical.

After retiring from the Times, Taubman worked as a consultant to Exxon Corporation for the PBS series Great Performances.

He was the recipient of honorary degrees from the Philadelphia Academy of Music, Oberlin College, and Temple University.