Customer Reviews

Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book. While I have no specific insight as to how the author really chose the subjects for inclusion in this book, he certainly appears to have extracted a lively (though dead) group of celebrities from all strata of the movie industry.
This book was well-researched and provided lots of juicy tidbits about the lives and deaths of the celebrity dead contained within. Unlike many books which promised but failed to deliver the goods, this book was well worth the purchase price. I consider this a worthy sucessor to the out-of-print Hollywood Album I & II which were compilations of NY Times obituaries. And best of all, you finally do find out exactly what happened to many of your favorite actors and actresses. Can it get much better!

Although the film industry is primarily Hollywood-based, this book is useful in that it contains a healthy number of obits for British actors and actresses from the 1930s-60s (Felix Aylmer, Bernard Bresslaw) that most Americans have never heard of. The book's subtitle is "A Book of Movie Obituaries", and, yes, all the big names are in here: Monroe, Brando (a particularly lengthy article that could have been trimmed a bit: the adventures of his pet raccoon are as long on the entry on Roy Rogers), etc. But it's not just actors. Directors and producers are included. Pauline Kael, the film critic, gets an entry, as does Keiko the whale from FREE WILLIE (Lassie does not, but Rin Tin Tin does). Ronald Reagan is here, though if he had not been president, one wonders if he would have qualified. Murder, suicide, and scandal appear quite a lot, and sometimes it seems as if any connection to film will do if it will provide a "sexy" entry. Does John Lennon really qualify as a movie star? And Larry Linville (from M*A*S*H) seems to have been included just so that his various personal scandals could be detailed. Still, the author takes pains to clear Fatty Arbuckle's reputation. Mel Blanc, who provided the voice for Bugs Bunny and a host of cartoon characters, and in doing so changed the way cartoons were recorded (among other things) gets 13 lines, while Tex Avery, who directed many cartoons, gets a page and a half (most of which merely list the cartoon's names and dates).

Sort of an encyclopedic text on movie obits and mini-bios, with a typical Brit left-leaning approach (read the write up on Ronald Reagan and that becomes obvious.) Many (US) actors you would expect to see are, rather curiously, not listed - and there are many (mostly Brit and European) you've never heard of. Some of the material doesn't agree with more extensive (and presumably, extensively researched) biographies on some of the subjects. The author also seems to devote as much text to sexual preferences and affairs (rather a bit heavy on the gay emphasis) as to the movies the actors appeared in. Then again, what else would you write about in a book of obituaries? Lots of tidbits that make good party conversation. A decent casual read (or scan). In other words, a library loaner. (This is the 3rd edition - 2005)

A great film book....buy it, read it, treasure it and you will keep referring to it every time an old film appears on telly!

Researched, compiled, and arranged by Paul Donnelley, Fade To Black: A Book Of Movie Obituaries is the newly revised and expanded edition of a practical Cinematic Studies resource and reference, adding 100 new entries to the chronicles of the lives and deaths of over 1,000 movie personalities. Each separate entry efficiently condenses the individual's life into a single column or page of informative text. Big stars as well as crucial supporting characters from the history of film, (including scandals, success, great power, and hidden secrets preserved until after death) pack the pages of this fact-filled and enthusiastically recommended compendium.

I picked this book up in my local library and was hooked from the get go. It took a year or two for me actually buy it, but Im so glad that now I can pick it up, pick a page at random and still find something that could be sad, shocking,or even heart warming. It contains a wealth of imformation about all aspects of hollywood: the actors, producers, directors. If you are interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend that you get this. This is a book that no film buff should ever be without.

I bought this book for a movie loving friend with everything. This book was a great solution to the Blockbuster gift card situation that I was in after so many gift giving occasions. AND he loved it. A little morbid but definitely a fun and unique gift that adds a little more trivia to the movie buffs life.

Hi!

I read a lot of celebrity books, especially bios. this book is hardly your typical obituary compilation. It is an enormous undertaking and includes some of the more obscure celebrities. It also includes some very comprehensive obits, more like bios. There also are humorous moments and some titilation that I enjoyed , whether fact or not who cares!!! A very nice surprisingly well detailed work. Lots of time no doubt went into this and it shows.
Phil

Yes, this book is a great help if you want to find out about your favorite stars, and the lesser stars, too. It even had Joan Marsh, I think. But if I recollect,no June Knight. I wanted to find out more about her, even if she didn't make a lot of movies. I've watched some of them: Take a Chance, Wake Up and Dream, Broadway Melody of 1936 (My favorite), Lilac Domino. But she wsn't in the book, I think. I wanted to find out more, so I was dissapointed. Still, the book helped me a whole lot, and some of the obituaries were fascinating. It's a great gude to classic stars, so go ahead and buy it. (P.S. Does anyone know what happened to Redheads on Parade with Dixie Lee and John Boles? I can't find it... is it lost? I can't find Ladies Must Love either... HEEEEEEELLLPPP MEEEEEEEEE!I heard that 'redheads' sucked anyway...)