Eddie Muller

Eddie Muller (born October 15, 1958) is an American author and the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation. He is known for his books about the film noir genre, and is the host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies. He is also known by his moniker: the "Czar of Noir".

Born in San Francisco, Muller studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and worked as a bartender. He next worked as a newspaper journalist for nearly two decades. In 1996, Muller wrote his debut non-fiction book Grindhouse, with Daniel Faris. Two years later, he wrote Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, which explored the "classic period" of American film noir. He wrote a follow-up book Dark City Dames, detailing six biographies of American film actresses who portrayed notable femmes fatale. Based on the former book, Muller collaborated with the American Cinematheque to program a film festival screening dedicated to film noir. This resulted in Muller launching the "Noir City" film festival, which currently screens films across major cities throughout the United States.

In 2005, Muller founded the Film Noir Foundation, dedicated to preserving and restoring films noir. During the 2010s, he appeared as a host for the TCM Classic Film Festival and Classic Cruise, and in 2013, he appeared with Robert Osborne to present a primetime lineup of films noir. In 2014, Muller was hired as a host for TCM, where he currently hosts the Noir Alley programming block that airs on weekends.

Muller was born in San Francisco, California to Edward John Vojkovich (renamed Edward Muller, 1907–1982), a boxing sports writer, and Rose Muller (1915–2017). He has three siblings: Bruce, Dean and Deborah. The elder Muller began working for San Francisco Examiner in 1924, as a copy boy. In 1930, he became a sports writer covering West Coast boxing fights in his column "Shadow Boxing". He earned the moniker "Mr. Boxer". He retired from the Examiner in 1976, and died of a heart attack on December 3, 1982.

During the late 1970s, Muller studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. There, he took a "narrative filmmaking" class taught by filmmaker George Kuchar, and filmed a 16 mm student film titled Bay City Blues, homaging the work of Raymond Chandler. It became one of five finalists for the 1979 Student Academy Award. Muller also starred in Kuchar's film Symphony for a Sinner (1979). Meanwhile, he worked as a professional bartender in his hometown. He later followed in his father's career path, and worked as a print journalist for 16 years.

In 1998, Muller wrote Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, published by St. Martin's Press. It was nominated for the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work from the Mystery Writers of America. In 2001, Muller published a follow-up book titled Dark City Dames, chronicling six Hollywood actresses—Marie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Jane Greer, Ann Savage, Evelyn Keyes and Coleen Gray—who notably portrayed femmes fatale. In 2005, Muller co-authored the memoir Tab Hunter Confidential with the actor, following a two-year collaboration. The project originated after Hunter had read Muller's profile of his friend Evelyn Keyes in Dark City Dames. Amazed at his precision, Hunter called him asking if he would be interested in co-writing his memoir, which Muller agreed. The book inspired a 2015 documentary film of the same name.

In 2002, Muller published his debut fictional novel, The Distance. Inspired by his father's sports writing career, the novel tells of Billy Nichols, who writes a boxing column for the San Francisco Inquirer. One night, Hack Escalante, a rising boxing star, kills his manager in a fit of rage, to which Billy helps to shield Hack from justice. It won the 2003 Shamus Award for the Best First P. I. Novel, from the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA). In 2003, Muller wrote a sequel titled Shadow Boxer, in which Billy is enlisted to help a woman to clear her husband of a murder charge. Meanwhile, Billy investigates the case of a friend who was hurt by a liquor truck.

In 2023, Muller published a cocktail recipe book titled Noir Bar, pairing 50 different noir films with each unique cocktail. That same year, he co-authored his first picture book, Kid Noir: Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey, with Jessica Schmidt. The Running Press publishing company had approached Muller to write a children's noir book. He previously had written a children's story about a girl rescuing a stray cat, but it was turned down by publishers due to Muller's background in noir.