Regular readers The House Next Door’s ‘Mad Men Mondays’ column found a surprising, sad announcement today from the site’s founder, Matt Zoller Seitz:
Mr. Johnston had been writing the weekly re-cap and analysis column since the first season of the critically-aclaimed AMC series and had a devoted following among readers who looked to his insights and erudition to make sense of Matthew Weiner’s layered, novelistic show.
Several critics offered their condolences in the comments to Mr. Seitz’s column, including Slant Magazine’s Keith Uhlich (who also edits The House Next Door) who called this, "A terrible loss. Andrew was an invaluable contributor to the House and truly the kindest of men."
Premiere critic Glenn Kenny wrote, "Andrew was not just a piercing intellect and a first rate writer, he was an absolute mensch. He will be missed."
Esquire‘s Mike d’Angelo offered this extremely personal remembrance of Mr. Johnston:
In 2003, Mr. Johnson was the named the head of The New York Film Critics Circle. (That year the group awarded the final Lord of the Rings movie top honors.) Time Out‘s blog has also posted a tribute written by friend and colleague Joshua Rothkopf.