From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
Entries are arranged in alphabetical order (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello to George Zucco), include vital statistics, and note any higher-education institution the actor attended. Narrative capsules of the actor's career are accompanied by black-and-white photographs obtained from Screen World archives. Monush has done extensive research to compile the biographies, and the entries convey his love of moviemaking. Did you know that Yul Brynner was a trapeze artist before he became "the King"? That the "Wicked Witch of the West," Margaret Hamilton, ran a nursery school before heading to Hollywood? That "Kojak" (Telly Savalas) was once a writer for the State Department? There are fun anecdotes included in every entry, and readers will learn new trivia each time they peruse the encyclopedia.
The capsules are followed by chronological listings of the actor's screen and stage work as well as credits for select television appearances. Data were compiled from a number of sources, and the Encyclopedia includes a bibliography of reference works that readers can use for additional research. There is no index.
Although there are other reference sources that include film actors, such as the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (Saint James, 2000) and The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (Knopf, 2002), this is an item that academic libraries and specialized film libraries will want to add. It would also no doubt find an audience in public libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
