Early Years
Bloom was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Thelma Louise (née Berry) and Rudolph Lewis Bloom. He was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and attended Vanderbilt University on a sports-writing scholarship. He began his writing career at Texas Monthly and Dallas Times Herald. While a movie reviewer at the Herald, he created the humorous persona of "Joe Bob Briggs" to review "exploitation" movies.
The column soon became controversial and widely read, earning Briggs a national profile. Reviewing the movie True Romance, movie critic Roger Ebert once said, "It is the kind of film that will make the best 10 lists of such supporters of the decline of civilization as Joe Bob Briggs."
Read more about this topic: Joe Bob Briggs
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