Michael Charlies Kuchwara (February 28, 1947 – May 22, 2010) was an American theater critic, columnist and journalist. Kuchwara worked as both a critic and journalist for the Associated Press for more than from 1984 until 2010, writing pieces that were read worldwide.[
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Biography
Early life
Kuchwara was born on February 28, 1947, in Scranton, Pennsylvania.[ His father, a United States Air Force pilot, worked for the National Security Agency. Kuchwara's interest in theater and the entertainment industry began when he saw his first play during the late-1950s, the comedic Third Best Sport, by Leo G. Bayer and Eleanor Perry, at the Poconos Playhouse in Pennsylvania.][
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He received his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and his master's degree from the University of Missouri.[
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Career
Kuchwara worked for the Associated Press for more than 40 years, first as a reporter and then as a theater critic.[ He began his career as a journalist for the Associated Press' bureau in Chicago, Illinois.][ He moved to New York City to work as an AP editor on the wire service's national desk.][
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In 1984, Kuchwara became the Associated Press chief theater critic, a position he held until his death in 2010.[
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Michael Kuchwara died at Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan of idiopathic ischemia lung disease on May 22, 2010, at the age of 63.[ He is survived by his sister, Patricia Henley, and wife, Jonnie Kay Kitchen; the couple had been married since 1975.][
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