John Kobal (born Iwan Kobal; 30 May 1940 – 28 October 1991)Kobal's biography page
, John Kobal Foundation. This page contains an extensive Bibliography of Kobal's books. was an Austrian-born British based film historian responsible for The Kobal Collection, a commercial photograph archive related to the film industry.

Biography

Iwan Kobal (named after his father) was born in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

, Austria. The family emigrated to Canada when Kobal was ten and settled in Ottawa.Charles Hage
"John Kobal, 51; Compiled Collection Of Hollywood Lore"
''The New York Times'', 30 October 1991 Kobal had a short-lived career as an actor in early 1960s London. He was an inveterate collector: magazines, postcards, pictures, any movie memorabilia. It was a chance encounter with

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

in Montreal, Canada in the late 1950s that led Kobal to develop his affection for the Golden Age of Hollywood. He used his contacts from a BBC appointment in New York from 1964 to acquire Hollywood related photographs, eventually numbering about 4,500 images dating from the end of the silent era to about 1960. The material was then considered of little value and regularly dumped. The author of 30 books, Kobal was responsible for organizing the first exhibition of Hollywood related photographs at London's

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in 1974. The critic

John Russell Taylor John Russell Taylor (born 19 June 1935) is an English critic and author. He is the author of critical studies of British theatre; of critical biographies of such figures in film as Alfred Hitchcock, Alec Guinness, Orson Welles, Vivien Leigh, ...

has described Kobal's contribution to film studies as "unique". Kobal died aged 51 of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-related pneumonia in London. His final biography, ''The Lost World of

DeMille DeMille or De Mille is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnes De Mille, American dance and choreographer * Beatrice deMille, English-born American playwright and screenwriter *Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; Augu ...

'' (

University Press of Mississippi The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi. Universities *Alcorn State University *Delta State University * Jackson State University *Mississippi State U ...

), was not published until 2019.

The John Kobal Foundation

The John Kobal Foundation, to which he donated his collection, was established as a registered charity at the end of 1992 and presented an annual award in Portrait Photography between 1993 and 2002. The collection is split between the London and New York offices of The Picture Desk and now consists of more than 200,000 images. The Collection also continues the exhibition work begun by John Kobal, mounting several exhibitions commissioned by the International Festival du Film, Cannes, and prestigious department stores in Japan.

References

External links

The Kobal Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobal, John 1940 births 1991 deaths AIDS-related deaths in England British film critics British people of Austrian descent British gay writers Photo archives in the United Kingdom Photography awards Photo archives in the United States 20th-century LGBT people Austrian LGBT people