Tim Mohr, an important journalist known for his piercing coverage of the East German punk scene Mohr was recently awarded at the age of 55. He waged a courageous battle against pancreatic cancer and earned a legacy of influential, significant literary works. His career covered a half-century. His vision and production as both a writer and an editor had a profound impact on American and world literature.
Mohr started his career as a DJ in Berlin during the 1990s. He deeply engaged with the lively underground music community. This experience inspired his love for storytelling and ultimately drove him to become a journalist. After years living in Berlin, he re-settled permanently back in the United States. In New York City, he soon made waves as a rising star of an inspiring journalist.
Throughout his career, Mohr published work in esteemed publications such as The New York Times Book Review, Details, and Inked. Readers flocked to his brilliant big-picture think pieces and reviews that illustrated his uncanny grasp of culture’s emerging narratives. He wrote long-form features for New York magazine, putting him in the center of the industry’s burgeoning industry golden age.
Aside from his journalistic endeavors, Mohr became editor at Playboy. In that role, he influenced countless writers and creative projects. He was instrumental in shaping the memoirs of several notable figures, including Gil Scott-Heron’s unfinished memoir, The Last Holiday, and Paul Stanley’s 2014 memoir, Face the Music: A Life Exposed. His latest project is the collaborative work on the posthumously published book by Genesis P-Orridge, Nonbinary, published in 2021.
Mohr was a talented German-to-English translator. He translated seven novels by Alina Bronsky and large collaborative projects by writer Dorothea Dieckmann. His translations eased the cultural divides and introduced English-language readers to some of the most vital literary voices of the past century.
For all of us who knew him personally, his passing has created an enormous chasm. Duff McKagan, a close friend and fellow artist, expressed his sorrow, stating, “We lost a good man, a FAMILY man, a friend, and a literary LION.” Michael Reynolds, who shared nearly two decades of friendship with Mohr, reflected on their bond: “Tim was not only someone I knew professionally; he was a good and dear friend with whom I have had a lot of fun over the almost twenty years we knew each other and with whom I shared many important moments.”