The Times Lives Behind the Screen: Era-defining obituaries of film stars

by Nigel Farndale, Times Books (Editor)

From the silent film era to Hollywood’s golden age and beyond, this book captures the essence of cinema's most captivating actors. Dive into the untold stories behind their unforgettable performances, the triumphs and tragedies of their careers, and the cultural impact of their artistry. Featuring era-defining obituaries and rare, behind-the-scenes photographs from The Times archive, this collection offers an intimate journey through the lives and legends of the silver screen’s most iconic figures.

Genres: Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

Published February 10, 2026

About the author

Nigel Farndale was born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, in 1964. He is the author of six books, including The Blasphemer (shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award) and Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce (a biography shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize). His latest novel is The Road Between Us.

As a journalist he has interviewed a host of celebrities and public figures from Mick Jagger, Woody Allen, the Dalai Lama and Henry Kissinger to Elton John, Prince Charles, Hillary Clinton, Paul McCartney, George Best, and Stephen Hawking.

He writes for various newspapers and magazines, including The Observer, FT, Spectator and Country Life, and has won a British Press Award for his interviews in the Sunday Telegraph.

His appearances on Radio 4 have included Loose Ends, Broadcasting House and Between Ourselves, a programme in which he and Lynn Barber compared notes on the art of the celebrity interview.

Before becoming a writer, Farndale read philosophy for a Master’s degree at Durham University.

He is the son of a sheep and dairy farmer from Wensleydale, and worked as a farmer there himself for a few years. He now lives on the Hampshire-Sussex border with his wife Mary and their three children.

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love films and stars and revealing stories of their lives, you will devour this book of 80 obits written in inimitable style and published in The Times. I learned so much about these famous icons and found I could not put this addictive book down. A gem!

[James Haigh-Kenworthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of book to anything I've ever read. Obituaries, like 100 little biographies in one place. Yes there's a few you might skip over but the stories and lives in here are inspiring and it's got me into the path of so many more films to see!

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Times Lives Behind the Silver Screen by Edited by Nigel Farndale and Times Books was a wonderful book I would have loved to share with my grandad and my mum, if they were still here. So many memories of me watching these films with them when I was a kid ❤️
This book was packed with great black and white photos of famous Hollywood actors and actresses and so much information about them, it was a joy to read. I remember watching so many films with these wonderful Hollywood actors and actresses in. . . .

This wonderful book has a great collection of the most iconic figures, that were/are on our screens. . .

They include::

❤️ Sean Connery – Hollywood heart-throb who would never have played Bond had its creator, Ian Fleming, had his way.
❤️ Joan Crawford – Oscar-winning actress and dancer whose obituary states that she was “aged between 69 and 76”
when she died, so careful was she that no one could know her true age.
❤️ Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton – Hollywood royalty whose colourful and turbulent relationship included two
marriages, two divorces, and plenty of drama.
❤️ Carrie Fisher – The cult icon whose father ran off with Elizabeth Taylor years before she herself entered the limelight.
❤️ Oliver Reed – The hellraiser better known for arm-wrestling and drinking than acting.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ and so many more ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

The Times Lives Behind the Silver Screen is a great table show off book for everyone to see. . . . . . . . . . .

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Times Lives Behind The Silver Screen by Nigel Forndale is a great coffee table book or want to have while on the go there’s many many mini not only obituaries but biographies as well. I learned so many things I didn’t know about people I thought I knew after reading this book I didn’t know Burt Reynolds dated Lorna Loft and many others of course I didn’t know he posed naked in a magazine but more than that they were stars I’ve never heard of or knew but didn’t know their names. I found this book so entertaining I love the actors from the golden era and this totally feeds into that if you’re just someone who loves historical tidbits this is a great book but if you love actors and actresses from the good old days you will love this as well. from Gene Wilder Richard Burton, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe in so many others really too many to name in this review it is a book stock full of tidbits and facts about the people that were admired by so many including myself. This is a great book to have on the go as you can read it while waiting at the doctor while eating your lunch I just love books like this in this one I love more than usual it really has some great things in it that would also be a great Christmas gift or just and entertaining read. this is definitely the kind of book I would’ve bought my own mother for Christmas it was something she would’ve definitely loved. #NetGalley,#TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #NigelForndale, #ThetimesLiesBehindTheSilverScreen,

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Lauren Bacall on Howard Hawks] " We sat on mountaintops in cars reading books aloud to the canyons"

thereafter he [Sean Connery] found himself polishing coffins for a living. Sometimes sleeping in them to save his bus fare home

[Dan Ackroyd] who once used the Heimlich manoeuvre on her [Carrie Fisher] when she choked on a Brussel sprout

on one occasion, she [Carrie Fisher]woke up next to the dead body of a Republicans lobbyist whose ghost she later feared haunted her house

[Gene Wilder] served as an aide in a psychiatric ward administering electric shock treatment to patients

So to the curious animal magnetism of Bogart, as of an attractive armadillo, was now added the pleasure of beauty mated with the beast"

asked by a reporter in 1946 what she planned to do with her life? she replied[Garbo] "I have no plans. I am drifting"

in 1955 [Robert Mitchum] Stripped off at a masquerade party, doused himself in ketchup and announced to that he was a hamburger

Dorothy parker on Katherine Hepburn "ran the gamut of emotions from A to B"

Maggie Smith on the stage " I like the ephemeral thing about theatre, every performance is like a ghost - it's there and then it's gone"

[Rachel N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a good obituary is an artform in itself and the Times has been renowned for the section over the years. This book gathers together those of a wide range of stars from classic Hollywood to Barbara Windsor, with obituaries as recent as Gene Hackman, and ends up with an excellent collection of life stories. Each one talks about the career that made them famous and gives background on their early life, coming together to create a concise and fascinating glimpse into a huge variety of stars. This is a wonderful book for any fan of film and would make an excellent gift!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully researched and written compendium of obituaries of nearly all of the major names from theatre and silver screen who so entertains us all throughout the 20th century.

All the big mane are there from Bogart to Bergman and their lives are brilliantly encapsulated by an expert team of writers who make them seemingly come to life again.

Few details are spared about their lives and there is so much to learn about what made them tick and their offscreen peccadillos.

It is packed with juicy if not salacious gossip and is a captivating read - one to dip into rather than peruse from cover to cover.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book of obituaries for the era-defining stars of the Silver Screen. For a book about deaths, there were some amusing anecdotes, alongside information on their public & private lives but usually nothing too salacious. Reading this has definitely made me want to make a list of classic films I'd like to watch in the future. I particularly liked the entry for Cary Grant who, for me, was the epitome of old Hollywood & I adore his films.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Collins Reference/Times Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic delve into the lives of famous and successful actors through the ages.

For me, it was truly nostalgic - reading about the actor and actresses in the golden age of cinema - from films that I'd seen with my parents, or heard of as a child. It felt morbid to start with, as these are the obituaries from The Times, so each ends with how old they were when they died, as well as how they died. It features actors famous from the 1920s to the ones that have been famous in the modern day. Dame Maggie Smith was in there for example. It's fascinating to read about who worked together, what their big break was, and also an insight into their private lives, controversies and multiple marriages.

This is a great book to delve into and add to any IMDB searching! Also perfect for a gift - my Dad would have loved it.

Thanks to Nigel Farndale, Times Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review