Jack Garner, legendary film critic and institution in Rochester arts world, dies at 75 – Democrat & Chronicle

Rochester resident Jack Garner, who for many years served as the Gannett Data Services and products movie critic, died Sunday at the age of 75.

Identified for reviews that introduced every a critic’s scrutinize and a movie lover’s tastes, Mr. Garner used to be a fixture in Rochester’s art circles for many years. A jazz aficionado, he continuously presented one of the most annual Jazz Competition’s prime acts. A trustee at the Eastman Museum, he used to be the 2d recipient of the museum’s prestigious George Eastman Medal of Honor.

He additionally used to be very laborious to miss in a crowd — standing 6-foot-9. His laugh, and he laughed continuously, resounded as if it had a lifetime of its own.

“The glass used to be always half full with him,” his accomplice, Bonnie, acknowledged Sunday. “It used to be by no contrivance half empty.”

She and Mr. Garner would have notorious their 50th anniversary subsequent month. A pair that liked to tear — a South African day tear this 365 days used to be cut short by COVID-19 — they were planning world trips after the slay of the pandemic.

“We had an correct right existence collectively,” she acknowledged.

Even his movie reviews mirrored Mr. Garner’s outlook on existence, and his effervescent optimism. Mr. Garner would strive and search out a nugget of one thing refreshing even in films that were largely panned. 

“When he used to be a movie critic, he always tried to search out the acceptable in one thing he saw,” Bonnie acknowledged. “He used to be always very upbeat.

“He had 2,500 Fb mates, for crying out loud. They preferred his thought.”

Other folks who knew Mr. Garner well were responsive to his connections to Hollywood, though he used to be no longer instant to chat of the diversified hours he spent interviewing stars and the recognition he had in these circles. But as soon as shortly it grew to change into obvious.

2013:  Jack Garner is Rochester’s Hollywood connection

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Dilapidated Democrat and Yarn editor Ellen Rosen remembered overhearing him check his phone messages at the place of enterprise.

“Forward of voicemail, he had an answering machine,” she acknowledged. “After lunch, he would always play help the messages he overlooked.”

One, she recalled, used to be “Jack, Bob Redford here, calling you help.”

“I’m in a position to no longer have too many most necessary stars he didn’t interview,” Rosen acknowledged.

While Mr. Garner used to be known for his ability to unearth one thing appealing in most films, there may perchance possibly well also be exceptions.

“Jack panned a movie known as The Program, which in its preliminary liberate incorporated a scene where high college athletes lay within the center of a busy avenue on a dare,” remembered Democrat and Yarn editor Len LaCara,

” ‘I dread the day I examine some precise high college jocks who’ve been impressed to copy that irresponsible movie sequence,’ he wrote in his review,” LaCara acknowledged. “Jack used to be the first nationwide critic to criticize Disney for the scene, on the other hand it wasn’t till two children were killed replicating it that the studio cut it from the movie.”

Mr. Garner used to be interviewed by the BBC and CBS Evening Data about the movie’s affect. “He understood the art of cinema but always considered it by contrivance of the lens of our readers,” LaCara acknowledged. “No shock he foresaw what others didn’t.”

Mr. Garner started reviewing films for the Democrat and Yarn in 1977, starting up with the distinctive Smartly-known person Wars. A decade later he used to be chosen the chief movie critic for Gannett newspapers, and supplied reviews for extra than 100 newspapers.

Jack Garner’s first peep: 1977 review known as ‘Smartly-known person Wars’ story, talked about ability sequel

Smartly-known person Wars:  Be taught all 6 Smartly-known person Wars movie reviews by Jack Garner

He retired in 2007, though persevered writing freelance arts columns.

“His journalism resonated with young and broken-down alike thanks to his participating contrivance and his palpable like for the humanities,”  acknowledged archaic Democrat and Yarn govt editor Karen Magnuson. “When I saw him out within the neighborhood, he embraced everyone spherical him with big gusto. He used to be preferred by all he touched by contrivance of his journalism and loads other contributions.”

His shut buddy, archaic Democrat and Yarn sports actions columnist Scott Pitoniak, grew to change into mates by contrivance of the Buffalo Payments. Mr. Garner used to be a season designate holder and fan.

“I would repeat him, ‘Right here is better than the movies, Jack,’ ” Pitoniak acknowledged. “It be like a drama, but the Payments continuously have a sad ending.

“He used to be a journalistic enormous and a prince of a man. He used to be as right a person as I even have discover within the industry. … That you simply can well likely focus on one thing and all the pieces with him and likewise which that you just might well likely learn one thing you didn’t know earlier than.”

Mr. Garner graduated from St. Bonaventure University and had a master’s from Syracuse University. He joined the Rochester Events-Union in 1970, working as a “rewrite” editor — a job in which a person gathers up incoming reviews from a single occasion and weaves them right into a chronicle. Mr. Garner handled rewrite for one of the most Pulitzer Prize-a success protection from the Events-Union of the 1971 Attica insurrection.

His 2013 book, From My Seat on the Aisle (he always wanted an aisle seat thanks to his prime), used to be published by RIT Press and contains some of his accepted reviews and tales of his interactions with Hollywood stars.

The Garners have three children: Matthew Garner, married to Sonia; Erica, married to Ben Tremble; and Mary, married to Whitney Christian. They have six grandchildren.

His children supplied thoughts on their father for a Excessive Falls Movie Competition celebration as soon as.

Amongst the reminiscences from Erica were: “Every evening while my siblings and I moving the dining room desk for dinner it used to be my dad’s job to gain out the tune.  We always had tune playing within the background at dinnertime.  Our meals were accompanied by an limitless array of artists starting from classical, jazz, blues, and rock and roll. …

“My birthday is simplest 5 days after my dad’s so several conditions in my lifetime my birthday occasion used to be held on my dad’s precise birthday.  All over these conditions in spite of all the pieces my guests would advance the first aspect my dad would carry out used to be pop the Beatles White Album into the stereo and verbalize alongside precise loud “You utter it be your birthday, well it be my birthday too, yeah.”  I always obtained the kind of kick out of the fact that it used to be factual.”

Matthew, who is now an just movie editor, wrote: “In college I started off attempting to gain a level in English literature, well I immediate realized that this wasn’t necessarily primarily the most uncomplicated for me and therefore switched my focuses to vivid art, photography and movie. I began to value how unprecedented education I had had right at residence with all of these many years with my of us and pop particularly when it got here to movie. I no longer simplest had an mountainous movie library to investigate cross-check, but additionally a plethora of books, quite so much of which which that you just might well no longer have label within the college libraries.”

Mary wrote: “Christmastime particularly, we would hear the same mix Christmas album on easy solutions to cut down the tree and the same tune Christmas morning. My brother, sister and I would wait at the slay of the steps to no longer sleep for the tune that used to be a trace to us that we were allowed to cross downstairs and rip our stockings from the chimney. When I was in dusky health my dad would always rely on of me what I needed and would continuously snatch me a Inflamed journal and my very own kit of Lorna Doone cookies, alongside with the cough drops, soup and juice my mother despatched him to gain for me.”

Native jazz saxophonist Jimmie Highsmith Jr. remembered how overjoyed he used to be when Mr. Garner reviewed one in every of his CDs favorably. “The indisputable fact that Jack Garner wanted to jot down about me meant plenty to me,” he acknowledged.

“He used to be no longer simply a writer. He used to be no longer simply a reporter. He used to be fragment of this community in a titanic contrivance.”

Contact Gary Craig at gcraig@gannett.com or at 585-258-2479. Prepare him on Twitter at gcraig1. This protection is simplest doable with increase from readers. Signal up at the present time for a digital subscription.