Biographies of classic stars from the silver screen to the present day.
Series editor: Carl Rollyson, Independent Scholar
For more information or to submit a proposal, contact acquisitions editor Emily Snyder Bandy.
Hollywood Legends Series
She Damn Near Ran the Studio
Best known as the woman who “ran MGM,” Ida R. Koverman (1876–1954) served as talent scout, mentor, executive secretary, and confidant to American movie mogul Louis B. Mayer for twenty-five years. ...
Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea (1907–1968) made a vivid impression on moviegoers with his first major screen appearance as the conniving Leo Hubbard in 1941's classic melodrama The Little Foxes. His subsequent film and ...
José Ferrer
José Ferrer (1912–1992) became the first Puerto Rican actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the 1950 film version of Cyrano de Bergerac. His iconic portrayal of the lovelorn poet/swordsman ...
The Life of Dick Haymes
There was a time when no one would have left Dick Haymes (1918–1980) out of the top class of such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. But now the Argentine-born baritone is known only to ...
The Lost World of DeMille
Longlisted for the 2020 Moving Image Book Award by the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation
As only an accomplished author, consummate collector, and savvy insider can, John Kobal tells the story of the man who invented ...
The Brothers Mankiewicz
Winner of the 2020 Peter C. Rollins Book Award
Longlisted for the 2020 Moving Image Book Award by the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation
Named a 2019 Richard Wall Memorial Award Finalist by the Theatre Library ...
Sterling Hayden's Wars
A master sailor when he was barely in his twenties, Sterling Hayden (1916-1986) became an overnight film star despite having no training in acting. After starring in two major films, he quit Hollywood ...
Winnie Lightner
Winnie Lightner (1899–1971) stood out as the first great female comedian of the talkies. Blessed with a superb singing voice and a gift for making wisecracks and rubber faces, she rose to stardom in ...
Madeline Kahn
Best known for her Oscar-nominated roles in the smash hits Paper Moon and Blazing Saddles, Madeline Kahn (1942–1999) was one of the most popular comedians of her time—and one of the least understood. ...
She Could Be Chaplin!
Alice Howell (1886-1961) is slowly gaining recognition and regard as arguably the most important slapstick comedienne of the silent era. This new study, the first book-length appreciation, identifies ...