Alvin H. Marill

All those double features Alvin H. Marill sat through as a kid paid off in the long run.

Mr. Marill of Glen Rock, a film historian and prolific author whose movie star subjects ranged from Edward G. Robinson to Tommy Lee Jones, died Saturday. He was 76.

Growing up in Brockton, Mass., during Hollywood's Golden Age, Mr. Marill slipped away to the movie house three times a week, usually with his sister, said his son, Steven. That stoked a lifelong fascination with films.

By day, Mr. Marill had a career in the marketing, broadcasting and recording industries, including a stint in the 1980s writing feature stories and press releases for CBS Television. On the side, he wrote two dozen books, including the definitive reference guide to made-for-TV movies.

The five-volume set "Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004," lists and summarizes more than 5,000 movies created for the small screen, beginning with the very first one, NBC's "See How They Run," starring John Forsythe, Leslie Nielson, Jan Wyatt and George Kennedy. Leonard Maltin, the Teaneck-born film critic, wrote the foreword for "Movies Made for Television," and Mr. Marill was a contributor to Maltin's annual movie and video guides.

Many of Mr. Marill's books focused on the filmographies of Hollywood's biggest stars: Mickey Rooney, Sidney Poitier, Robert Mitchum and Anthony Quinn, among others. His books were characterized by fascinating detail, such as the revelation that in order to work in South Africa on the 1951 film "Cry, the Beloved Country," Poitier had to become producer Zoltan Korda's slave, because only 'indentured' blacks were permitted to enter the country.

Mr. Marill especially loved movies from the '40s and '50s. "That's all he talked about," his son said.

Mr. Marill died after suffering a stroke. He is survived by his son, of Hawthorne, a grandson and a sister. His wife, Sandra, died in 1998.

Entombment was Sunday in the Sanctuary of Abraham & Sarah in Paramus. Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.

E-mail: levin@northjersey.com