John Cottrell is a biographer and journalist, with his previous work including Richard Burton, very close up (1972), The Anatomy of an Assassination (1966), analysing the assassination of President Lincoln, and Assassination: The World Stood Still (1964), analysing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Ronald Proyer is a journalist and fiction writer who has written works entitled Stories of Famous Kidnappings (1972) and Famous Stories of Assassination (1973).
In 1972 John Cottrell and Ronald Proyer were commissioned to write a biography of Laurence Olivier, they worked together in producing the work however John Cottrell is accredited as the author. Ronald Proyer carried out the majority of the interviews and correspondence in 1973, remarking that ‘the deadline is tight’. Many of the letters are photocopies and the two authors have clearly kept the majority of their early planning in the folder.
From the guide to the Ronald Proyer Collection relating to Laurence Olivier Biography, 1928-1974, (V&A Department of Theatre and Performance)
