Ed and Susan Poole
Linda Thurman
Archivists
Executive Director
Ed and Sue Poole have spent 46 years building the foundation of movie poster research. What began with a single Gidget poster bought on a date in the French Quarter grew into a career as collectors, dealers, wholesalers, and the hobby’s most dedicated researchers.
They founded Learn About Movie Posters (LAMP), the first reference resource for the field, and have authored 24 reference books — including six on Hollywood on the Bayou, their personal collection documenting over 3,000 films made in Louisiana since 1898. Their research has catalogued more than 60,000 production codes and 1,600 poster artists.
Ed and Sue’s documentation has shaped the legal ground collectors stand on. In a landmark case against four major studios, their evidence helped establish that the copyright on a movie poster is separate from the copyright on the film itself — the ruling that makes it legal for collectors to own and trade original posters today. They later worked with the FBI to help convict a counterfeiter who had sold millions of dollars in fake posters.
As archivists for Movie Poster Archives, Ed and Sue bring the rigor of original research to every item — condition, provenance, production codes, and artist attribution — so collectors know exactly what they’re getting.
Linda Thurman is a Louisiana native who spent decades inside the film industry before bringing that experience home to lead Movie Poster Archives. She held positions at United Artists, Norman Lear’s Act III Productions, and HBO Pictures, and served as Managing Editor of the Hollywood Creative Directory, where she launched HCD Online in 1994 — one of the first film industry databases on the web.
Linda is the author of Hollywood South: Glamour, Gumbo, and Greed (Pelican Publishing), and her credits span more than 200 films including Fried Green Tomatoes, Sweet Dreams, and the cult classic The Hitcher. She held the Tom Bigler Endowed Chair in Media at Wilkes University, is a founding member of the Television Academy’s Interactive Media Peer Group, and co-founded Emerald Bayou Studios after returning to Louisiana.
At Movie Poster Archives, Linda leads the organization’s mission to preserve, document, and share the visual history of cinema — connecting collectors with the archive and the people who maintain it.
Our story begins with a passion for preserving cinematic history. Over the years, we have dedicated ourselves to collecting invaluable film memorabilia, ensuring that future generations can experience the magic of movies. From iconic posters to rare artifacts, each piece in our collection tells a story worth sharing.
We believe that every donation, no matter how small, plays a crucial role in our mission. By digitizing and preserving these items, we create a digital archive that not only safeguards these treasures but also makes them accessible to everyone.
Join us as we continue this journey—a journey filled with milestones and memories. Together, we can celebrate the art of film and ensure that its legacy is never forgotten. Your support can make a real difference, so let’s preserve these stories together.
