Tom Shales
Thomas William Shales (November 3, 1944 – January 13, 2024) was an American writer and television critic. He was a television critic for The Washington Post from 1977 to 2010, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1988. Shales also wrote a column for the television news trade publication NewsPro, published by Crain Communications.
This article is about the critic named Tom Shales. For the similarly named comic actor, see Tom Shale.
Tom Shales
Thomas William Shales
November 3, 1944
Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
January 13, 2024 (aged 79)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
- Critic
- author
1968–2015
Television
- Live from New York
- Those Guys Have All the Fun
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism (1988)
Early life and career[edit]
Thomas William Shales was born in Elgin, Illinois, on November 3, 1944, to Clyde Shales (who had once been Elgin's mayor) and Hulda Shales, and graduated from Elgin High School in 1962.[1][2][3] He attended Elgin Community College[1] before transferring to American University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a degree in journalism and was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Eagle, for the 1966–1967 academic year, as well as the paper's movie critic.[4][5][6][7][3]
Shales's first professional job was with radio station WRMN/WRMN-FM in Elgin at the age of 18. He served as the station's disc jockey, local news reporter, writer and announcer, on both the AM and FM bands. He later worked with Voice of America as a producer of broadcasts to the Far East.[4]
Death[edit]
Shales died from COVID-19 and kidney failure at a hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 13, 2024, at the age of 79.[1][7]