Lawrence J. Quirk (September 9, 1923 – October 17, 2014) was an American writer, Hollywood reporter and film historian.

Career

Lawrence J. Quirk was born in 1923 at Lynn, Massachusetts. He was the nephew of

James R. Quirk James R. Quirk (September 4, 1884 – August 1, 1932) was an American magazine editor. Career Quirk was the vice president and editor of '' Photoplay'' magazine, one of the earliest film or fan glamour magazines and particularly popular in t ...

, former editor and publisher of the now-defunct '' Photoplay'' magazine. He was an army sergeant in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, a reporter for the Hearst papers, and a film magazine editor and publisher. Quirk was a

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...

, writer, and editor for many publications. Since the 1960s, he wrote more than 30 books primarily on

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and wh ...

s in Hollywood. He used his knowledge and friendship with Hollywood actors and politicians such as the Kennedys to gain material for his books. Quirk also appeared on many radio and television programs, including '' Good Morning America'', ''Good Morning, New York'', and ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

''. He was profiled by

Patricia Bosworth Patricia Bosworth (née Crum, April 24, 1933 – April 2, 2020) was an American journalist and biographer, memoirist, and actress. She was a faculty member of Columbia University’s school of journalism as well as Barnard College, and was a wi ...

for the April 1998 Hollywood issue of '' Vanity Fair''. He lived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

until his death in October 2014 at the age of 91.

Works

Books

*''The Complete Films of

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

'' (1986) *''Fasten Your Seat Belts: The Passionate Life of

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

'' (1990) *''

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

: The Road Well-Traveled'' (1999) *''

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

: The Essential Biography'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2002) with William Schoell *'' Rat Pack, The Neon Nights with the Kings of Cool'' (2003) with William Schoell *''The Kennedys in Hollywood'' (1996)New Book Pulls The Covers Off Kennedys
/ref> *'' Robert Francis Kennedy: The Man and the Politician'' (1968) *''The Films of

'' (1968) *''The Films of Ingrid Bergman'' (1970) *''The Films of

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

'' (1971) *''The Great Romantic Films'' (1974) *''The Films of Robert Taylor'' (1975) *''The Films of Ronald Colman'' (1977) *''The Films of

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

'' (1979) *''The Films of

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

'' (1980) *''The Films of

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

'' (1984) *''

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

: An Illustrated Biography'' (Crown; 1985) *''

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

: The Actress and the Woman: An Illustrated Biography'' (Crown, 1986) *'' Lauren Bacall: Her Films and Career'' (1986) *''Norma: The Story of

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...

'' (St. Martin's; 1988) *''Margaret Sullavan: Child of Fate'' (St. Martin's) *''The Films of Katharine Hepburn'', by Homer Dickens, revised and updated by Lawrence J. Quirk (1990) *''The Life and Wild Times of Cher'' (1992) *''Great War Films: From the Birth of a Nation to Today'' (1994) *'' James Stewart: Behind the Scenes of a Wonderful Life'' (1997) *'' Robert Redford: The Sundance Kid" (Taylor Trade Publishing, ) with William Schoell *'' Paul Newman: A Life, Updated Edition'' (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2009)

Reviews

*"''Lulu in Hollywood:'' A Disgraceful Pot-Pouri of Blatant Falsehoods, Distortions and Odd Biographical Omissions: Self-Pitying, Self-Congratulatory - and Self-Serving " (June 1982) *"Brilliant Pittsburgh Journalist Barry Paris Coming Out with a Major Biography of Louise Brooks" (August 1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quirk, Lawrence J. 1923 births 2014 deaths American male journalists American LGBT journalists American LGBT writers 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers American male biographers American newspaper journalists American film critics American film historians United States Army personnel of the Korean War People from Lynn, Massachusetts Writers from Massachusetts Journalists from Massachusetts 20th-century American male writers