The Los Angeles area feels almost alive with movie history. It is impossible to walk down any neighborhood block that didn't play host to movie history on some level. From Chaplin walking Hollywood sidewalks in 1915 to the Three Stooges running down Culver City streets in 1930 to westerns filmed in the Valley in the 1950's, the area has been the background for thousands of films and home to millions of movie people. Historical documents, census records, movie studio and institutional archives, and personal writings have all been scoured in order to compile the most exhaustive and complete Hollywood address listing ever compiled.

As the cable TV industry exploded in the 1980s, offering viewers dozens of channels, an unprecedented number of series were produced. For every successful sitcom--The Golden Girls, Family Ties, Newhart--there were flops such as Take Five with George Segal, Annie McGuire with Mary Tyler Moore, One Big Family with Danny Thomas and Life with Lucy starring Lucille Ball, proving that a big name does not a hit show make. Other short-lived series were springboards for future stars, like Day by Day (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), The Duck Factory (Jim Carrey), Raising Miranda (Bryan Cranston) and Square Pegs (Sarah Jessica Parker). This book unearths many single-season sitcoms of the '80s, providing behind-the-scenes stories from cast members, guest stars, writers, producers and directors.

From their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, B movies declined in popularity through the 1970s. As the big Hollywood studios began to make genre films with sky-high budgets, independent producers of low-budget movies could not compete in theaters. The sale of American International Pictures in 1979 and New World Pictures in 1983 marked the end of an era. The emergence of home video in the 1980s marked the beginning of a new phase, as dozens of B movies were produced each year for the small screen, many becoming cult classics of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Through numerous interviews with producers, directors, photographers and actors, this book sheds light on an overlooked corner of film history with behind-the-scenes stories of 28 low-budget favorites from the 1980s.

The 1980s was the decade when the action film as it's now known came into being. Nonstop, big-budget excitement became the standard as epic adventures like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Road Warrior set the tone for the summer blockbusters of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. Homages (and ripoffs) made with lesser budgets followed every hit, especially with the advent of direct-to-video releases. Providing detailed commentary on 284 films, this book explores the excitement, audacity and sheer weirdness of '80s low budget action cinema, from the American Ninja series to dime-a-dozen barbarian pictures to such bargain-basement productions as The Courier of Death, Kill Squad and Samurai Cop.

This three-volume set is a valuable resource for researching the history of American television. An encyclopedic range of information documents how television forever changed the face of media and continues to be a powerful influence on society. What are the reasons behind enduring popularity of television genres such as police crime dramas, soap operas, sitcoms, and "reality TV"? What impact has television had on the culture and morality of American life? Does television largely emulate and reflect real life and society, or vice versa? How does television's influence differ from that of other media such as newspapers and magazines, radio, movies, and the Internet? These are just a few of the questions explored in the three-volume encyclopedia TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. This expansive set covers television from 1950 to the present day, addressing shows of all genres, well-known programs and short-lived series alike, broadcast on the traditional and cable networks. All three volumes lead off with a keynote essay regarding the technical and historical features of the decade(s) covered. Each entry on a specific show investigates the narrative, themes, and history of the program; provides comprehensive information about when the show started and ended, and why; and identifies the star players, directors, producers, and other key members of the crew of each television production. The set also features essays that explore how a particular program or type of show has influenced or reflected American society, and it includes numerous sidebars packed with interesting data, related information, and additional insights into the subject matter.