Education
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.
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 Columbia Broadcasting System, including The Taste of Sunday, one of its first in color, and later for National Broadcasting Company. 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. lieutenant 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. 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.
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.
A 7th edition () was released in 2012.