Army Archerd, 1922-2009

Hollywood reporter Army Archerd has died, according to his wife, Selma. He will be missed. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing the longtime Variety columnist last year before a film festival screening of Howard Hawks’ Red River starring John Wayne. We talked about the Duke, the Western and the Golden Age (which he mentioned in his column). In person, the Navy veteran was an outspoken, spright, and dapper man who enjoyed remembering movie stars and the way they were. I always liked that Army Archerd was neither salacious nor malicious; his work was generally oriented toward facts. When I decided to write a column for Box Office Mojo in 2005, I knew that he had done it first, longest, and with lasting results. He wrote about Hollywood like its movies mattered. Army Archerd was 87.