Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Directory of Silent and Sound Era Performers

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In the spirit of fairness, I should begin this review by mentioning that my name appears in the book's acknowledgments. That said, however, this, Billy Doyle's final book in his trilogy, is indeed indispensable for everyone researching past film personalities. An indefatigable necrologer, Mr. Doyle has left no stone unturned in order to deliver the facts -- birth and death places and dates for more than 15,000 performers. Doyle has spent a lifetime collecting and updating his material and is the foremost authority in his field. Naturally, a great deal of the names are unknown to even the most ardent film buff, but THE ULTIMATE DIRECTORY ... can settle any argument concerning the true age of anyone from Jean Arthur to Blanche Yurka. And Doyle did not stop there but has included a wealth of foreign actors -- from Hans Albers to Milivoye Zivanovic. As an added bonus, Doyle has included corrections and additions to the first two books in the trilogy, THE ULTIMATE DIRECTORY OF SILENT SCREEN PERFORMERS and THE ULTIMATE DIRECTORY OF FILM TECHNICIANS.