Bio
Leonard Maltin is an American film critic and historian, writer and television presenter best known for hosting the film review segment on the entertainment news show Entertainment Tonight, since 1982.
In addition to interviewing the world's most prolific filmmakers and actors as film correspondent on ET, Maltin is widely recognized for his annual best-selling paperback reference book, Leonard Maltin's Video Guide.
Maltin also hosts The Secret's Out on the Reelz! Channel and he is also a contributor to www.movielink.com. He co-produces the popular DVD collection of Walt Disney Treasures and can be found hosting a series of John Wayne feature films for Paramount Home Video, as well as the Night at the Movies segments for Warner Home Video.
Maltin also teaches at the University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television and hosts Leonard Maltin's Video View, a daily radio feature that airs on KNX-AM 1070 in Los Angeles.
Maltin has also authored a number of cinema-related books and articles during his career, including The Great American Broadcast, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang (as co-author), Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide, The Great Movie Comedians, The Disney Films and The Art of the Cinematographer and Selected Short Subjects.
His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, TV Guide, Esquire, Premiere, Smithsonian, Film Comment and Disney Magazine, among others. He also served as film critic and columnist for Playboy magazine for six years.
As a member of the National Film Preservation Board, Maltin votes on the 25 films named each year to join the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress. Previously, he also served as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts.
The many highlights associated with his career and devotion to film preservation include the 2001 Annie Award from the International Animated Film Society, The Publicists Guild's 1997 Press Award, the 1996 Video Software Dealers Association special award for his contribution to home video, the 1993 Anthology Film Archives of America Preservation Award, the 1993 Laser Beam Award from the Laser Disc Association of America and the 1973 Man of the Year award from Society for Cinephiles.
Widely respected for his vast expertise in the genre, Maltin is frequently quoted by top newspapers and magazines and has been seen in scores of television documentaries, biographies and news programs.
Perhaps his most notorious and celebrated appearance was in an episode of the hit animated Comedy Central program South Park.
From 2001 to 2004, Maltin co-hosted the popular weekend movie review show Hot Ticket. Prior to joining ET, he held a faculty position at the New York School for Social Research.
Fans can keep up with his thoughts on current movie trends at www.leonardmaltin.com. He also publishes a quarterly newsletter for old-movie buffs, entitled Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy.
Maltin is a native of New York City, where he graduated from New York University with a major in journalism.