(757) 625-6276
Join Our E-List
The inimitable entertainment critic Mal Vincent passed away this weekend at the age of 83. In the days before the internet, Rotten Tomatoes, and social media, Mal’s film reviews as printed in The Virginian-Pilot often determined the size of our audiences, to both the good and bad of that week’s ticket sales. But there is no question that Mal was a big-time supporter of The Naro as a community institution – you only had to see the sold-out houses he generated in 17 years of hosting Mal’s Movies, our annual series of classic films that he carefully selected and introduced in-person. He will be missed! We reprint below his obituary from The Virginian-Pilot. Please feel free to post your own thoughts and memories of Mal at the bottom of the articl
Longtime Virginian-Pilot movie critic Mal Vincent, beloved for his tales of Hollywood stars, dies at 83
Mal Vincent, the longtime film and theater critic for The Virginian-Pilot, died overnight Saturday. He was 83.
Vincent interviewed many of Hollywood’s best and brightest stars during a storied career that spanned more than half a century. He began working for The Pilot in the 1960s and was still writing freelance articles for the newspaper at the time of his death.
Mal Vincent, the longtime film and theater critic for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper, died Saturday Nov. 27, 2021. He was 83. (L. Todd Spencer) Courtesy The Virginian-Pilot.
His most recent assignment involved an interview with singer Marie Osmond about her upcoming performance at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall, but he hadn’t yet turned his story in, said Pilot features editor Denise Watson.
“Mal was a force to be reckoned with,” Watson said. “He had so many great stories about all the people he’d met over the years.”
Among them were Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Sir Laurence Olivier, Bette Davis, Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts. But the one interview he wanted most and never got: screen legend Ava Gardner.
Vincent’s love of movies and theater began as a child, according to his longtime friend Page Laws. His parents frequently took him to New York to see Broadway shows, she said. During his adult life, Laws was the one who usually accompanied him to the theater.
In addition to his work for The Pilot, Vincent made regular appearances on WHRO public radio’s “HearSay with
Cathy Lewis” and hosted a wildly popular weekly summer movie series at Naro Expanded Cinema every year.
The films were selected by Vincent and typically starred actors and actresses he’d met. Before each film was shown, Vincent — a native of the tiny town of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina — would share tales about its stars in his characteristic Southern drawl.
“The line (to get into the theater) would wrap around the block,” said Thom Vourlas, a co-owner of The Naro and friend of Vincent’s since the mid-1980s. “The audience ate it all up. They absolutely loved him and his stories.”
Vourlas and Tench Phillips, the other owner of The Naro, would invite Vincent to watch new movies before their release so he could publish a review in time for the opening. The private screenings were typically held late at night and then Vincent would head to the newspaper’s office to write his review.
Mike D’Orso, a former writer for The Pilot and author of 16 books, was sometimes in the newsroom when Vincent showed up after midnight. The two remained friends for decades.
“Talk about immersion,” D’Orso said. “It wasn’t just a job to him. It was his life.”
Link to source article
Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
UPDATES: A memorial tribute will be held for Mal at 10am on Saturday, December 11, at The Naro. Admission is free; doors will open at 9am.
A longer weekend feature article about Mal was published by The Virginian-Pilot on December 3rd with additional photos and tributes from the community. Read it here.
To me, before Siskel and Ebert, there was Mal Vincent. I started reading his reviews in the 1960 when I was in Junior High/ Middle School in the 1960s. I hope that the 3 of them can send us some great movie scripts, something that is so rare now.
As a 2018 transplant to the area, Mal’s Monday nights at the Naro became a regularly scheduled outing. I was briefly introduced to him only last summer and will miss his wit, film insights and color. It’s a great sadness to learn of his passing as I browsed for summer 2022 schedules. I do hope his memory and tradition at the Naro will persist for years to come.
It is, indeed, the end of an era. I shall truly miss Mal’s Picks this summer! It always felt like the “social event” of the summer as we often lined up an hour prior to showtime and shared a certain camaraderie with perfect strangers. We were all there to enjoy a splendid movie and anticipated glimpses into Hollywood’s notables via Mal’s recollections. It was always entertaining! I think a star in front of the Naro would be quite fitting!
Thank you for supporting my idea of a star for Mal on the pavement at the box office at the marquee.
As a kid who went to Blair and Maury, the Naro was just a part of life. Mal was as well with my parents quoting him. He was a legend.
Mr. Vincent was a very well spoken host at his Naro screenings,I loved them,and always had interesting tidbits about the various stars,directors and productions.As a print reviewer he was a good writer with a clear and concise style,I always found him to be open minded and fair. I will miss reading his work and seeing him on the stage of the Naro,or walking the aisles with his microphone.God Bless him and bring comfort to his family.
I know Mal is chasing down Ava Gardner for an interview at some glittering cafe, just beyond the Gates of Paradise, right now.
I will truly miss Mal’s film intros at the NARO. His wit and charm were beyond reproach. And what can we say about that Southern accent? Whenever Mal was hosting a movie at the NARO you’d best get there early because the line would stretch around the block.
I am deeply saddened to learn of Mal Vincent’s passing. I will miss his wonderful humor in telling his stories. His contributions to art lovers through his reviews in the newspaper, and his great success in presenting his annual Mal’s Movies, made him the real “star” of the local movie-going scene. The Naro is a treasure to all of us who are from Tidewater, and Mal was a devoted booster to the Naro’s success because he loved it so much. I think a “tribute star” imbedded in the walkway under the Naro marquee would be fitting to memorialize Mal’s achievement in delighting so many Naro patrons.
This makes me so sad. I remember going to many of the summertime classic movie screenings that he hosted at the Naro prior to the pandemic. (I’m sad that I didn’t have time to make it to any of the movies he hosted in 2021.) One of my favorite things he said was before a screening of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” years ago – “Now that I have you here, I have to tell you that I think this movie is completely ludicrous. Or before a screening of “Room at the Top” when he was discussing how Simone Signoret had gone to Hollywood in early 1960, when her husband Yves Montand was making “Let’s Make Love” with Marilyn Monroe – “Well, Yves and Marilyn took the title quite literally.” And of course, his own version of the Oscars after the last movie each summer was fun and hilarious. He had met all of the great stars of a bygone era. I think the biggest tribute Naro can pay him is to continue with those classic screenings in 2022. Granted, he won’t be there to share those funny quotes and stories, but my guess is that he’d love knowing people were still going to see those movies. Rest in peace, Mal. Thanks for being a great Movie Night host in the best movie theater in the world.