Lawrence J. Quirk is the nephew of James R. Quirk, former editor and publisher of the now-defunct Photoplay magazine. He was an Army sergeant in Korea, a reporter for the Hearst papers, and a film magazine editor and publisher. Quirk has been a film critic, writer, and editor for many publications. Since the 1960s, he has written more than 30 books primarily on movie stars in Hollywood. He has used his knowledge and friendship with Hollywood actors and politicians such as the Kennedys to gain material for his books. Quirk has also appeared on many radio and television programs, including Good Morning America, Good Morning, New York, and A Current Affair. He was profiled by Patricia Bosworth for the April 1998 Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair. He lives in New York City.

Books

• The Complete Films of William Powell (1986)
• Fasten Your Seat Belts: The Passionate Life of Bette Davis (1990)
• Bob Hope: The Road Well-Traveled (1999)
• Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography (University Press of Kentucky, 2002)
• Rat Pack, The Neon Nights with the Kings of Cool (2003)
• The Kennedys in Hollywood (2004)
• Robert Francis Kennedy: The Man and the Politician (1968)
• The Films of Joan Crawford (1968)
• The Films of Ingrid Bergman (1970)
• The Films of Fredric March (1971)
• The Great Romantic Films (1974)
• The Films of Robert Taylor (1975)
• The Films of Ronald Colman (1977)
• The Films of Warren Beatty (1979)
• The Films of Myrna Loy (1980)
• The Films of Gloria Swanson (1984)
• Claudette Colbert: An Illustrated Biography (1985)
• Jane Wyman: The Actress and the Woman: An Illustrated Biography (1986)
• Lauren Bacall: Her Films and Career (1986)
• Norma: The Story of Norma Shearer (1988)
• The Films of Katharine Hepburn, by Homer Dickens, revised and updated by Lawrence J. Quirk (1990)
• The Life and Wild Times of Cher (1992)
• Great War Films: From the Birth of a Nation to Today (1994)
• James Stewart: Behind the Scenes of a Wonderful Life (1997)
• Paul Newman: A Life, Updated Edition (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2009)

Reviews

• "Lulu in Hollywood: A Disgraceful Pot-Pouri of Blatant Falsehoods, Distortions and Odd Biographical Omissions: Self-Pitying, Self-Congratulatory - and Self-Serving " (June 1982)
• "Brilliant Pittsburgh Journalist Barry Paris Coming Out with a Major Biography of Louise Brooks" (August 1986)