Film critic Judith Crist dies at 90

The Associated Press, Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 11:03am (PDT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Judith Crist, a blunt and popular film critic in the 1960s, `70s and `80s, has died. She was 90.

Her son, Steven Crist, said his mother died Tuesday at her Manhattan home after a long illness.

She was a reviewer for the "Today" show, TV Guide and the New York Herald Tribune whose comments were at times so harsh that director Otto Preminger labeled her "Judas Crist."

Crist worked as a reporter and critic for the New York Herald Tribune from 1945-65 and reviewed films for "Today" from 1964-73, the morning news show's first regular movie critic.

She was known for biting remarks about some of Hollywood's most popular films, including "The Sound of Music," "Cleopatra" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told."