Publication The Democrat and Chronicle confirmed the passing of its former long time film critic, Jack Garner, on Sunday. Garner was 75 years old.

Beginning in 1970 was when we're told the St. Bonaventure and SU graduate started at the Rochester Times-Union, working as a re-write editor on some of the paper's Pulitzer Prize award-winning coverage of the Attica prison uprising.

Garner turned to film criticism for the D&C in 1977 at the dawn of the blockbuster age. His first review was for the critically acclaimed "Star Wars." Even after retirement in 2007, Garner and his wife Bonnie were regular fixtures at the Little Theatre, either taking in a movie or he'd host panel discussions.

He continued to talk about movies on his Facebook page. Scott Pukos with the Little Theatre says Garner was always an advocate for the film scene in Rochester.

"People in this community go to him for film news. So he'd let people know what's going on if it's a film festival at the Little, a special screening at the Dryden, or an event at the Cinema. He'd tell people to be there and he was someone you'd listen to when it comes to the arts," Pukos said.

Garner eventually became the chief film critic for all of Gannett newspapers and his film reviews appeared in more than 100 papers nationwide.