Kevin Courrier

{{Short description|Canadian film and music critic (1954–2018)}}

Kevin Courrier (November 23, 1954 – October 12, 2018) was a Canadian film and music critic, best known as the author of books about Randy Newman, Frank Zappa and the Beatles.Adam Nayman, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/when-the-beatles-became-bigger-than-god-one-toronto-critic-understood-that-the-utopian-promise/article_6fc93f99-07cd-58e3-bb48-47192f76896e.html "When The Beatles became bigger than God, one Toronto critic understood that the utopian promise of their music was shadowed by malevolence"]. Toronto Star, November 20, 2023.

He began as a film critic for Toronto campus-community radio station CJRT-FM in the 1980s,"Series highlights ethics of filmmaking". The Globe and Mail, July 14, 1986. before becoming more widely known as the regular film critic for CBC Radio's entertainment newsmagazine series Prime Time in 1989 after the program's prior film critic, Geoff Pevere, was promoted to host."Movie critic lucked into Prime Time gig". Edmonton Journal, September 29, 1989. He was also a freelance film critic for various newspapers, including the Toronto Star, the Financial Post and The Globe and Mail, continuing to write for those papers after Prime Time was cancelled in 1993.

In 1998, Courrier and Susan Green published Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion, a compendium about the Law & Order television franchise.Shirley Knott, "Couchlanders might expand their minds (and not just their backsides) with these TV-themed books". The Globe and Mail, December 19, 1998. An expanded edition of the book was published in 2000 to add the 1999 season.Tralee Pearce, "Law & Order junkies: here's your fix". The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2000.

In 2002, he published the Frank Zappa biography Dangerous Kitchen: The Subversive World of Zappa.Ray Robertson, "If you can't stand the heat... ; Courrier mines the musical life of Frank Zappa". Toronto Star, August 18, 2002. He subsequently published Randy Newman's American Dreams in 2005,Gale Zoë Garnett, "He writes the (best) songs". The Globe and Mail, December 3, 2005. Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica in 2007, and Artificial Paradise: The Dark Side of the Beatles' Utopian Dream in 2008.

He was also a coordinator of film screening series for the Silver Screens Arts Festival,"The Silver Screens Arts Festival unveils highlights of the 2009 line-up". Canada NewsWire, April 14, 2009. the Revue Cinema,Jason Anderson, "Santo and Blue Demon wrestle with the world: Toronto's very own lucha libre mini festival". Toronto Star, July 8, 2011. and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.Jason Anderson, "A fragile democracy springs into action". Toronto Star, December 30, 2011.

He died of cancer in 2018.