Bob Thomas
Robert Joseph Thomas (January 26, 1922 – March 14, 2014) was an American film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944 to 2010.
Also recorded as Robert Joseph Thomas
Bob Thomas
Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Bob Thomas
- Birth Name
- Robert Joseph Thomas
- Born
- 26 January 1922
- Birthplace
- San Diego, California, U.S.
- Died
- 14 March 2014
- Place of death
- Encino, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Biographer, reporter
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- University of California and Los Angeles
- Honours
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Languages
- American English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Robert Joseph Thomas (January 26, 1922 – March 14, 2014) was an American film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944 to 2010.
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Note VALÉORINE
Bob Thomas (1922–2014) was a biographer, journalist and writer, of American nationality. The biographer was born in San Diego and died in Encino. Bob Thomas was educated at University of California, Los Angeles.
Languages used include American English. Honours include star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bob Thomas • Birth Name — Robert Joseph Thomas • Born — 26 January 1922 • Birthplace — San Diego, California, U.S. • Died — 14 March 2014 • Place of death — Encino, California, U.S. • Occupation — Biographer, reporter • Children — 3
Biography
Biography
Thomas was born in San Diego, California in 1922. He grew up in Los Angeles, where his father worked as a publicist for Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. Thomas first joined the Associated Press in Los Angeles in 1943, where he aspired to be a war correspondent. However, he was assigned as a correspondent in Fresno, California, where he stayed for more than a year before quitting. He returned to the Los Angeles bureau in 1944 and was appointed as their entertainment reporter. He was also told to use the name "Bob Thomas" as his birth name was thought to be too formal. During his career at the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books, most of them biographies of prominent film industry personalities, including Irving G. Thalberg, Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, and Walt Disney.
Personal life
Personal life
He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They had three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014, at his home.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
• If I Knew Then (with Debbie Reynolds) • The Art of Animation • The Massie Case (with Peter Packer) • King Cohn • Liberace: The True Story • Thalberg • Selznick • The Secret Boss of California: The Life and High Times of Art Samish (with Arthur Samish) • The Heart of Hollywood • Winchell • Howard, the Amazing Mr. Hughes (with Noah Dietrich) • Marlon: Portrait of the Rebel as an Artist • Joan Crawford • The Road to Hollywood (with Bob Hope) • Bud & Lou: The Abbott and Costello Story • The One and Only Bing • Walt Disney: An American Original • Golden Boy: The Untold Story of William Holden • I Got Rhythm: The Ethel Merman Story • “Building a Company: Roy O Disney and The Creation of An Entertainment Empire”
Fiction
Fiction
• The Flesh Merchants • Weekend 33
For children
For children
• Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies • Donna DeVarona, Gold Medal Winner
Anthology
Anthology
• Directors in Action
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
San Diego.
Birth place
Encino.
Death place
Awards and honors
For contributions to the motion picture industry, Thomas received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first author-reporter to be given this honor, which was paid for by his friends in advance and placed at 6879 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2009, in recognition of over 60 years of covering the entertainment business for the Associated Press, the Publicists Guild awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Trounson, Rebecca. Bob Thomas dies at 92; AP newsman saw it all on Hollywood beat. Los Angeles Times. March 15, 2014.
- 2.Bob Thomas, dean of Hollywood reporters, dies. Associated Press. March 14, 2014.
- 3.Proffitt, Steve. Bob Thomas. Los Angeles Times. March 21, 1999.
- 4.Rogers, John. Bob Thomas, dean of Hollywood reporters, dies. The Charlotte Observer. March 14, 2014.
- 5.HWOF.com. Bob Thomas; Hollywood Walk of Fame. 24 February 2023.
- 6.Cohen, Sandy. AP's Bob Thomas wins lifetime achievement award. The Times Herald Associated Press. February 19, 2009.
- 7.Bob Thomas’s The Art of Animation|Cartoon Brew
- 8.The Story of Disney’s “The Art of Animation”|Cartoon Research
- 9.Thomas, Bob. Joan Crawford: A Biography. Simon & Schuster. 1978. 0-671-24033-1.
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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