William K. Everson is a film historian and teacher whose role in preserving and re-evaluating British and American film heritage will one day be seen as truly heroic. Everson's example, in finding and re-viewing practically everything still existing from the silent and early sound periods, has proven that the normal practice of film historians and textbook writers - to see and evaluate only those films which received some critical attention at the time of their release, as well as early or obscure films by directors who were to become auteurs - is woefully, shamefully insufficient. It was necessary for Everson to find and collect films himself in order to preserve for others his exciting discoveries: Everson's weekly programs at the Theodore Huff Film Society, in the 50s and early 60s, re-educated an important group of cinephiles and film scholars by showing them how little they really knew of film history.
William K. Everson has written extensively for Sight and Sound, Cinema, Cinema Nuovo, Films in Review, Film Culture, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Film Comment, etc. He has written 13 books on film including “The Western: From Silents to the Seventies” (with George N. Fenin); “A Pictorial History of the Western”; “The Films of Laurel and Hardy”; “Claudette Colbert”; “The Bad Guys”; and “American Silent Film.” Mr. Everson is on the faculty of The School of Visual Arts, The New School, and New York University. He has lectured extensively all over the world and organized several cycles of films and special events at the Museum of Modern Art, The Montreal Cinematheque, the Royal Film Archive (Belgium), and George Eastman House. Mr. Everson serves on several committees of, and is consultant for, The American Film Institute.
