Donald Lyons served as the drama critic at the literary journal New
Criterion, the Wall Street Journal and New York Post where he was chief
theater critic (1998-2002) replacing Clive Barnes. He was a frequent
guest on the PBS show "Theatre Talk" hosted by his fellow NY Post
theater columnist Michael Riedel.
A graduate of Fordham University, Mr. Lyons received his Masters at
Harvard. He went on to teach English Literature at Harvard, NYU and
Rutgers. In 1994 he wrote the book "Independent Visions: A Critical
Introduction To Recent Independent American Film." He was considered an
expert on the plays of Eugene O'Neill.
Mr. Lyons was a member of Andy Warhol's Factory where he had roles in
"Space" (1965) and "Chelsea Girls" (1966). At this time he was a
contributor to Interview, the magazine created by Andy Warhol when the
New York Film Festival refused to credentialized him and his acolytes.
In Patti Smith's memoir "Just Kids" she credits Lyons with inspiring
her to become a musician after he took her to Max's Kansas City to hear
the Velvet Underground perform.
In the early 1970s, he wrote extensively about films for Andy Warhol's "Interview" magazine, and in the 1990s was a frequent contributor to "Film Comment" and other film magazines.