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Overview
From the first edition: "comprehensive and affordable"—Westerns & Serials "enjoyable...provides accurate data"—Booklist/RBB "nostalgic"—Library Journal; "a useful addition"—Wilson Library Bulletin; "another useful addition to film reference shelves"—RQ; "handy as a reference work or for general reader interest...a far superior work than the [competition]"—ARBA; "comprehensive"—West Coast Review of Books; "selection of subjects is excellent...worth its weight in gold...indispensable...highly recommend[ed]...exhaustive"—Fangoria; "detailed information"—Photoplay; "useful and is definitely worth the money"—MidMar; "recommended"—Cinemacabre.From the second edition: "recommended browsing"—ARBA; "a great deal of information"—SFRA Review; "easy-to-read reference...reliable and informative"—Classic Images; "expanded edition...straightforward...refreshing...a good basic reference that even longtime genre fans will find useful and informative"—Filmfax; "well-illustrated...user friendly"—Scarlet Street; "intriguing profiles"—American Cinematographer; "lavishly illustrated and excellently indexed"—Film Review; "useful, fact filled...great pictures"—Psychotronic; "expanded and updated"—Preview; "revised and updated...expanded"—Westerns & Serials "consummate guide"—Thrust
John Carradine, Jamie Lee Curtis, Yvonne DeCarlo, Faith Domergue, Boris Karloff, Otto Kruger, Bella Lugosi, Jack Palance, Vincent Price, Santo, and George Zucco are just a few of the 80 horror film stars that are covered in this major standard reference work, now in its third edition. The author has revised much of the information from the two previous editions and has added several more performers to the lineup of horror film stars. The performers are given well rounded career bios and detailed horror film write-ups, with complete filmographies provided for those most associated with horror, science fiction, and fantasy movies, and genre-oriented filmographies for the lesser stars.
Author Biography: Michael R. Pitts is also the author of Charles Bronson: The 95 Films and the 156 Television Appearances (1999, $45), Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940 (1997, $75), and Western Movies (1997 [1986], $25). In addition to his long career of research and writing about the entertainment field, he has also compiled more than two dozen volumes of local history and genealogy. He resides in Chesterfield, Indiana.
Brief career summaries of sixty-seven horror film performers. Includes filmographies.
Synopsis
Alphabetically lists the biographies of 80 actors who appeared in classic horror films. Each entry provides a rounded picture of the actor's or actress's career with an emphasis on their work in the horror genre. The gloomy gang includes Lon Chaney, Tor Johnson, Herbert Lom, Paul Naschy, and Fay Wray. The third edition adds several performers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Booknews
A revision of Pitts' 1981 edition with extensions to the careers of earlier performers and the addition of new actors. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)