Jerry Vermilye, 1931 – 2026

Film historian Jerry Vermilye, 94, died on May 29. Like me, he started his career acting, then segued into writing (unlike me, he got back into acting after he retired). Vermilye wrote several of those “The Films of . . .” books which movie geeks like me collected: Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Charles Bronson, Laurence Olivier. He also wrote several of those terrific pocket-sized “Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies” volumes, which were always a treat: Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Barbara Stanwyck, Ida Lupino; as well as the 2023 bio Profane Angel: The Life and Career of Carole Lombard. Fellow film historian Jeffrey Carrier writes, “I met Jerry in 1989 when I was researching a book on Jennifer Jones, and we became close friends almost immediately. And when I found myself out of a job in 2001, he came to my rescue by turning over to me his enormous collection of vintage film stills to sell on eBay. We went into business together, which kept me in a state of bliss for twenty-five years! I shall miss him terribly, but I am grateful that our paths crossed.”