Howard Kissel dies at 69

Howard Kissel, the longtime theater critic at the NY Daily News, died at his Manhattan home on Friday. He was 69 and had been suffering complications from a 2010 liver transplant. Kissel was the chief theater critic at the Daily News for 20 years. Before that he was arts editor for Women's Wear Daily and W magazine. He authored a biography of theater producer David Merrick and a book on Stella Adler's acting techniques. Kissel also led both the NY Drama Critics Circle and the NY Film Critics Circle. At the time of his death, Kissel was writing a blog posts on cultural affairs for the Huffington Post. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com