Mantle, Burns

(1873-1948)

   Robert Burns Mantle was born in Watertown, New York, where he apprenticed as a printer. He became a drama critic in 1898, writing reviews for the Denver Times and the Denver Republican before moving to Chicago for a six-year stint as critic for the Inter-Ocean. In 1907, Mantle joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune. Later he became critic for the New York Evening Mail (1911-1922) and then the New York Daily News (1922-1943). As a strong proponent of American drama, Mantle's most lasting contribution may be the BEST PLAYS annual he founded in 1919 (and edited from its founding to the 1947-1948 volume). It featured abridged versions of what he regarded as the most important American plays of the year, as well as narrative and statistical information on that year's Broadway theatre season. Mantle's other books include American Playwrights of To-Day (1929) and Contemporary American Playwrights (1938).