Rex Taylor Reed, the legendary film critic whose sharp wit and distinctive prose made him one of the most recognizable voices in American cultural journalism, died in his sleep on May 12, 2026, in New York City. He was 87. William Kapfer, a longtime friend, confirmed Reed’s death.
Reed had been back in the hospital after a January 12 visit to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where he had already spent several weeks. His final illness included blood transfusions and liver complications after he fell at a gas station and hurt his foot. In a January interview, Reed put the matter with the bluntness that marked his best work: “I’ll either get better or I’ll die,” and “I’ll let you know which one.”
For six decades, Reed was known not just for judgment but for style, telling stories with precision and color in a way that made his criticism linger. He was born in 1938 and became a fixture of New York dining rooms as well as New York culture, usually ordering a Cobb salad with no blue cheese and iced tea at Michael's in Midtown or Sardi's in Times Square, and ending with ice cream if the restaurant had hot fudge.
That mix of polish and plain talk defined the final stretch of his life as well. The repeated hospital stays, transfusions and liver complications made clear that this was not a brief setback but the end of a long decline that began with a fall and never fully reversed. Reed’s death closes the career of a critic who helped set the tone for American cultural journalism in his era, and who stayed unmistakably himself to the end.
