Ephraim Katz
Encyclopedia
Ephraim Katz was a writer, journalist, and filmmaker who devoted his life to gathering the information in his book, The Film Encyclopedia, first published in 1979.
Katz, born in Tel Aviv
, studied law and economics at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He later studied political science at Hunter College
, New York and cinema at New York University
.
Ephraim was a film reporter and critic in Israel
, before moving to the United States
in 1959. Residing in New York
, he made television documentaries for CBS
, including The Taste of Sunday, one of its first in color, and later for NBC
. Katz, Quentin Reynolds
, and Zwy Aldouby co-wrote the book Minister of Death: The Adolf Eichmann Story (1960), about Israel's capture of Eichmann
.
Ephraim Katz directed many documentaries, educational and industrial films, but his greatest contribution to cinema was his single-volume work, The Film Encyclopedia (1st hardcover edition, 1979). One of the most comprehensive critical and historical works on film in print, he single-handedly wrote the entire first edition. The Encyclopedia contains biographical and critical information about many major and minor figures in films including actors, directors, producers, and production people. It also chronicles the history of cinema around the world and contains definitions and descriptions of technical processes and film terminology. A softcover version of the first edition was released by Harper & Row in 1990.
Katz and his wife Helen had two daughters, Alyssa and Laura. He died in New York City of emphysema
on August 2, 1992.
At the time of his death, Katz was in the process of updating The Film Encyclopedia. The second edition was eventually completed by two colleagues, Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolen, and released in 1994. Klein and Nolen continued to revise and update Katz's work as needed, with a 3rd edition released in 1998; a 4th edition in 2001, and a 5th edition in 2005. Nolen alone revised and issued a 6th edition of Katz's work, published in 2008.
Katz, born in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, studied law and economics at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He later studied political science at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, New York and cinema at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Ephraim was a film reporter and critic in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, before moving to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1959. Residing in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he made television documentaries for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, including The Taste of Sunday, one of its first in color, and later for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Katz, Quentin Reynolds
Quentin Reynolds
Quentin James Reynolds was a journalist and World War II war correspondent.As associate editor at Collier's Weekly from 1933 to 1945, Reynolds averaged twenty articles a year...
, and Zwy Aldouby co-wrote the book Minister of Death: The Adolf Eichmann Story (1960), about Israel's capture of Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
.
Ephraim Katz directed many documentaries, educational and industrial films, but his greatest contribution to cinema was his single-volume work, The Film Encyclopedia (1st hardcover edition, 1979). One of the most comprehensive critical and historical works on film in print, he single-handedly wrote the entire first edition. The Encyclopedia contains biographical and critical information about many major and minor figures in films including actors, directors, producers, and production people. It also chronicles the history of cinema around the world and contains definitions and descriptions of technical processes and film terminology. A softcover version of the first edition was released by Harper & Row in 1990.
Katz and his wife Helen had two daughters, Alyssa and Laura. He died in New York City of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
on August 2, 1992.
At the time of his death, Katz was in the process of updating The Film Encyclopedia. The second edition was eventually completed by two colleagues, Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolen, and released in 1994. Klein and Nolen continued to revise and update Katz's work as needed, with a 3rd edition released in 1998; a 4th edition in 2001, and a 5th edition in 2005. Nolen alone revised and issued a 6th edition of Katz's work, published in 2008.
External links
- New York Times obituary, August 8, 1992.