Vaya con Dios, Chris
Big news for the Deseret Morning News (the cross-town rival of the Cricket's perch, The Salt Lake Tribune) came from this memo from its editor, Joe Cannon, that the paper would seek out its niche to cover "the LDS culture" for "the worldwide market."
But the little news within Cannon's memo is the retirement in January of the D-News's features editor - and longtime movie maven - Chris Hicks.
In the summer of 1993, when the Cricket was a fresh-faced new critic at the Tribune, Hicks was the veteran of the movie-critic cadre - and he welcomed the Cricket into the fold with good humor and a generous spirit.
The Cricket learned first-hand how popular Hicks was one April, when he subbed for Hicks on Doug Wright's "The Movie Show" on KSL radio. It was April Fool's Day, and Doug jokingly introduced the Cricket as Hicks' replacement - and the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Even Wright's wife and KSL management thought the joke was real. In less than an hour, Wright copped to his listeners and reminded them what day it was.
Hicks wrote the book (literally) on all things Mormon in movies, long before the current Mormon Cinema boom that started with Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" - and he kept current on the LDS-movie tidal wave when he was promoted in 1997 to editing the D-News' cultural coverage and writing a weekly column.
Hicks' readers were less willing to let him give up day-to-day movie criticism than he was. It took years for his successor (and the Cricket's friend), Jeff Vice, to get out from under Hicks' long shadow. Vice has been the D-News' movie critic for 10 years, but some of his paper's readers still regard Hicks as the voice of movie criticism in Utah.
In the Tribune newsroom, we sometimes joke about Hicks' column, over his reliability of reviewing every classic movie re-released on DVD - almost always in a "they don't make 'em like that" tone. But you have to admire someone who sticks to standards, as Hicks has, and celebrates the best of Hollywood history.
Enjoy retirement, Chris. We'll miss you.
But the little news within Cannon's memo is the retirement in January of the D-News's features editor - and longtime movie maven - Chris Hicks.
In the summer of 1993, when the Cricket was a fresh-faced new critic at the Tribune, Hicks was the veteran of the movie-critic cadre - and he welcomed the Cricket into the fold with good humor and a generous spirit.
The Cricket learned first-hand how popular Hicks was one April, when he subbed for Hicks on Doug Wright's "The Movie Show" on KSL radio. It was April Fool's Day, and Doug jokingly introduced the Cricket as Hicks' replacement - and the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Even Wright's wife and KSL management thought the joke was real. In less than an hour, Wright copped to his listeners and reminded them what day it was.
Hicks wrote the book (literally) on all things Mormon in movies, long before the current Mormon Cinema boom that started with Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" - and he kept current on the LDS-movie tidal wave when he was promoted in 1997 to editing the D-News' cultural coverage and writing a weekly column.
Hicks' readers were less willing to let him give up day-to-day movie criticism than he was. It took years for his successor (and the Cricket's friend), Jeff Vice, to get out from under Hicks' long shadow. Vice has been the D-News' movie critic for 10 years, but some of his paper's readers still regard Hicks as the voice of movie criticism in Utah.
In the Tribune newsroom, we sometimes joke about Hicks' column, over his reliability of reviewing every classic movie re-released on DVD - almost always in a "they don't make 'em like that" tone. But you have to admire someone who sticks to standards, as Hicks has, and celebrates the best of Hollywood history.
Enjoy retirement, Chris. We'll miss you.
9:09 AM
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