Chapman earned the nickname "Old Frostface" for his ability not to reveal his opinions until his reviews were published.

Chapman's desk was considered sacred, but that didn't keep him from kicking back and putting up his feet.

Arthur Chapman, John Chapman's father and author of "Out Where the West Begins," is represented in the collection.

Collection Overview

Creator: Chapman, John Arthur, 1900-1972.

Title: John A. Chapman Collection

Inclusive Dates: 1943-1973

Size: 9 linear ft.

Processed By: Original finding aid prepared by Annita Arlene Andrick, January 1985; Subsequent finding aid and web version prepared by Robin Beran, February 2001; revised July 2003

John Chapman, nicknamed "Old Frostface" by the press and "The Curmudgeon" by affectionate colleagues, was a noted theater critic and New York City celebrity in the 1930s through the 1950s. The acerbic and witty comments in his reviews kept him popular for decades. On Mae West's performance in Catherine the Great, Chapman wrote, "I'm afraid Catherine the Great will be a bust, which is one more than Miss West needs." In another review, Chapman described Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as being "three hours long, four characters wide, and cesspool deep."

Chapman spent some time reviewing movies in Hollywood, but his base was always in Manhattan. He and his wife Georgia also maintained a home in Westport, Connecticut. He was the son of Arthur Chapman, a Denver newspaperman best known for his poem "Out Where the West Begins." John Chapman always maintained a soft spot for Colorado. He often went fishing in the Rockies on his vacations, or visited his daughter Karin, who settled in Denver.

Scope and Content

The bulk of the collection dates from Chapman's rise in popularity in the late twenties, and includes photographs of Chapman with various movie stars, typescripts and clippings of Chapman's reviews and other writings, biographical material, publicity material he received from movie production companies, and correspondence with publishers. Though most of the collection pertains to his professional life, some personal photographs and correspondence are also included. These mainly concern his daughter, Karin, and wife, Georgia, whom he married in 1923. The collection includes copies of his obituaries, letters of condolence sent to Georgia, and a recording of his memorial service. The collection also contains material pertaining to John Chapman's father, Arthur Chapman, such as his poetry and photographs of Arthur Chapman and his family.