By Steve Vertlieb: It was Harry M. Geduld who brought Miklos Rozsa and George Pal to Indiana University’s main campus in Bloomington for a memorable film conference in 1978.

Genre fans will remember Harry as the co-author of The Girl In The Hairy Paw (1976), the very first volume ever devoted entirely to the legend of RKO’s classic monster, King Kong. While The Making of King Kong got the jump on the Avon publication in reaching bookstores just a little bit earlier, this colorful publication by Harry and his frequent writing partner and friend, Ronald Gottesman, was in preparation as early as 1972 and was, in truth, the very first book ever devoted to the genre milestone.

Harry and Ron wrote dozens of film books together, including their remarkable work on Sergei Eisenstein and Harry’s own personal literary masterpiece, The Birth Of The Talkies (a seminal work on the development of sound motion pictures).

Harry and Ron invited me to lunch in 1972 after the publication of my series of articles on the making and production of King Kong for the premiere issues of The Monster Times, inviting me to polish and rewrite my work for their forthcoming signature volume on the Merian C. Cooper classic for Avon Books in New York.

Harry was one of the most brilliant men that it’s ever been my privilege to know. He was a cherished friend, a mentor, and truly my brother. He succumbed, sadly, to a long debilitating illness on Sunday afternoon, January 10, 2016, passing peacefully in his sleep.

Harry Geduld was a very special soul who transformed my life with his generosity and kindness. I shall always love him.