Joe Leydon was the Post's film critic from 1982 until the paper closed in 1995, and has also reviewed for Variety since 1990.
Houston · 1880–1995 · defunct
/legacy/media/houston-post-film/ ↗︎
The Houston Post traced its history to February 19, 1880, and William P. Hobby took control in 1939. The Post company also ran radio and TV station KPRC. In 1983 the Hobbys sold the Post to the Toronto Sun Publishing Company, which sold its interest to William Dean Singleton's Consolidated Newspapers in 1987.
Joe Leydon became the Post's film critic in 1982 and held the job until the end. In 1990 he also began reviewing for Variety, which he still does.
The Post's daily circulation fell from 335,000 in 1991 to just over 287,000 in 1995. Citing newsprint costs, Consolidated sold the paper's assets to the Hearst Corporation, owner of the rival Houston Chronicle. The last edition ran on April 18, 1995, and made no mention of the sale. The Houston Press reported that about 1,000 full-time employees were told to clear out their desks by 5 p.m. that day.
Leydon later taught at Houston Community College and the University of Houston from 2001 and became a member of the Houston Film Critics Society.
| Name | Role | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Leydon | film critic | 1982-1995 | ↗︎ |