Author Marshall Fine in Conversation with Robert Klein

Looking for some mid-winter excitement?

Shake off those winter blues and join us for a lively conversation between two friends: Author/ journalist/critic Marshall Fine and comedian/actor Robert Klein.

Following a distinguished career in journalism, Marshall recently published his first novel, The Autumn of Ruth Winters, which explores the possibilities that life presents us, no matter what age. Goodreads.com says this about the book: “In this heartwarming story about second acts and second chances, a no-nonsense retiree, very much set in her ways, must learn to adapt and make peace with her past in order to build a fulfilling future.” With decades of writing and performing between our guests, we can’t wait to see where the conversation goes!

Copies of The Autumn of Ruth Winters will be available for purchase and signing.

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About Marshall Fine

Marshall Fine is an author, journalist, critic, historian, and filmmaker. He is the author of three biographies: Bloody Sam: The Life and Films of Sam Peckinpah (1991); Harvey Keitel: The Art of Darkness (1998); and Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented the American Independent Film (2006).

Fine spent 25 years as film critic and entertainment writer for Gannett Newspapers and another 10 as film/TV critic for Star magazine. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Cosmopolitan, and numerous other newspapers and magazines.

Fine is a former chairman, member emeritus, and general manager of the New York Film Critics Circle. He received a special award from the group in 2022 for "service to the group and his many decades on the New York film scene."

After 20 years of programming subscription film clubs at four different venues in the New York area, he retired in May 2021 as critic-in-residence at The Picture House in Pelham, NY, where he programmed and hosted its sold-out film club. He received the Harold Lloyd Lifetime Achievement Award from The Picture House in 2021. His documentary feature, Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg, had its debut at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival, subsequently playing the Tribeca Film Festival, the Greenwich International Film Festival, and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. It premiered on Starz in March 2017.

Fine spent the 2020-21 academic year as an adjunct journalism professor at Purchase College-SUNY. The Autumn of Ruth Winters (Lake Union Press, 2024) is his first novel.

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About Robert Klein

For more than fifty years, Robert Klein has entertained audiences, in an acclaimed career that encompasses stand-up comedy, Broadway, television, radio and film. He was the subject of a 2017 documentary, “Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg,” in which comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Ray Romano, David Steinberg, Fred Willard, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno and others discussed Klein’s influence on their careers and comedy as a whole, and their reverence for his comedic genius.

Born in the Bronx, Klein graduated from Alfred University and was accepted to the Yale School of Drama, before being selected to become a member of the famed Second City theatrical troupe in Chicago. He has been awarded honorary degrees by Alfred University, Monmouth University and Columbia College Chicago.

In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on HBO. He went on to do nine one-man shows for HBO, receiving Emmy nominations for 2000’s “Robert Klein: Child in His 50’s” and 2010’s “Robert Klein: Unfair and Unbalanced.” He was nominated twice for Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album of the Year for his albums “Child of the Fifties” and “Mind Over Matter.” He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in the hit Neil Simon musical, “They’re Playing Our Song.” In 1993, Klein won an Obie and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Wendy Wasserstein’s, “The Sisters Rosensweig.”

Among dozens of starring and guest-starring roles on television, he co- starred in the hit NBC series, “Sisters,” had a recurring guest-starring role on “Law and Order” and has guest starred on “The Good Wife” and “Madame Secretary.” He regularly appeared on talk shows, making more than 100 appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Klein has also appeared in many notable films including, “Hooper,” “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Primary Colors,” “People I Know,” “Two Weeks Notice,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “The Back-Up Plan,” “Before I Go” and “Notice to Quit.” “The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue,” published Simon & Schuster in 2005, was Klein’s affectionate coming-of-age memoir about growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s before embarking on a show business career. Publishers Weekly wrote: "...he unfurls an array of captivating anecdotes, writing with wry wit and honesty."

Klein is a longtime resident of Briarcliff Manor, New York.

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About The Autumn of Ruth Winters

Ruth Winters is retired, widowed, and resigned to spending the rest of her life alone in her suburban home. She likes her routine and uses it to avoid having to spend time with other people. She probably wouldn’t call herself fulfilled, but it’s too late now to go chasing happiness.

Then three things happen at once: a beloved niece makes a big announcement, an old flame reaches out, and her estranged sister receives life-changing news. Ruth finds herself reconnecting with people she thought were long gone from her world, as she is forced to reconsider her expectations for this phase of her life.

None of this fits into Ruth’s routine―in fact, the whole thing just blows it to bits. But when Ruth starts to pick up the pieces, she discovers that maybe it’s not too late to make something new after all.