Martin Grams is the author and co-author of more than twenty books about old-time radio, retro television and classic movies. Dubbed as the young "Isaac Asimov" by Ivan Shreve of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, Martin wrote his first book when he was in high school, and since then he has not stopped writing and researching.
"There are historians and authors who, from time to time, have been quoted on internet message boards, staged panels at conventions and magazine articles -- all borrowing the scholarship of Martin Grams," remarks Terry Salomonson of Audio Classics. "I know for a fact that in the past year, two historians were paid to do write-ups for their magazines, because of their name status, and the editors were unaware that most of the information in those articles were lifted from the pages of Martin's books, and/or phone calls and emails they placed to Martin [as a consultant]."
"Mr. Grams is well known by now among fans of old-time radio as a prolific author and publisher of books detailing the life and times of a number of shows that were revered during the golden age of radio," remarked Charles R. Sexton in the September 2003 RLL ON THE AIR newsletter. "All of his books provide welcome detail about the creation and life of these shows but they are more noteworthy for the extensive logs that make up the bulk of each volume."
Martin has written articles for many magazines including: SCARLET STREET, FILMFAX, RADIOGRAM, THE OTR DIGEST, ON THE AIR, RADIO RECALL, RETURN WITH US NOW, NOSTALGIA DIGEST and many others.
Martin is the recipient of the 1999 Ray Stanich Award, the 2005 Stone/Waterman Award, and the 2005 Parley Baer Award. In May of 2009, Martin was made an official honorary friend of SPERDVAC and his recent book on the TWILIGHT ZONE received the Rondo Award for "Best Book of the Year."
Martin hosts a number of slide show presentations at conventions throughout the year. Since 2006, he has been a volunteer for the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, held annually every September in Maryland. Through this event, he has helped raise thousands of dollars for the St. Jude Children's Hospital. The dates for this year's event: September 22-24, 2011. Already confirmed are Tony Dow, Davy Jones, Billy Gray, Karen Valentine and Patty Duke!
Martin has also contributed chapters, appendixes and essays for . . .
VINCENT PRICE (2000, Midnight Marquee Press)
THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORY (2001, ed. Ken Mogg)
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN (2003, ed. Ben Ohmart)
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN 2 (2004, ed. Ben Ohmart)
LET'S PRETEND (2004, ed. Arthur Anderson)
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN 3 (2006, ed. Jim Harmon)
YABBA, DABBA, DOO: The Alan Reed Story (2009, Alan Reed and Ben Ohmart)
(Upcoming book) MEL BLANC (2012, Bear Manor Media)
Martin recently received a nomination for the 2013 Rusty Hevelin Service Award, also known as The Munsey.
Martin's next book, THE TIME TUNNEL, will premiere in August at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention! The two stars of THE TIME TUNNEL will be there so you can get their autograph!
Martin's book on THE TWILIGHT ZONE recently won the 2011 Halloween Book Festival's best Science-Fiction book of the year! The competition honors general excellence and the awards are intended to draw public attention to worthy selections during the busiest season for book sales. The festival is part of the 2011 Aliens to Zombies Convention (The A to Z Convention) in Hollywood, CA.
Martin's Have Gun-Will Travel book just went out of print last month! As a result, the retail price has gone up. Remember, when books go out of print, the price goes up (not down)! if you've been meaning to get a copy, grab it now because it'll get more difficult to find in the coming year!
CineWeekly just posted a glowing review of Martin's TWILIGHT ZONE book! CLICK HERE
Martin recently agreed to an interview on line! CLICK HERE
Martin also agreed to an interview with Elizabeth McLeod for Radio Spirits! CLICK HERE
A recent interview with Martin concerning his TWILIGHT ZONE book is now on-line at the Drunken Severed Head blog.
Martin contributed audio commentary to THE TWILIGHT ZONE Bluray releases (Seasons Two through Five). His audio commentary for the "King Nine Will Not Return" episode on the Season Two Blu Ray release of TWILIGHT ZONE recently got nominated for "Best Commentary" by the Rondo Awards! Congrats Martin!
VCI Entertainment recently released THE GREEN HORNET: The Motion Picture. Martin helped provide the editorial cuts for the motion-picture, now available wherever DVDs are sold. Both the 1940 and 1941 cliffhanger serials are available on DVD, also through VCI Entertainment. Martin provided the extensive liner notes that accompany the serial. This is a great opportunity to read up on the serials before watching them!
On Jan. 5, Radio Once More celebrated it's one year anniversary with the first annual Radio Once More Awards and Hall of Fame Enshrinement. The first person to receive The Founder's Award, a special award given at the discretion of Radio Once More for those who have gone above and beyond in the promotion of the Old-Time Radio hobby, was given to author, researcher, and historian Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin's new book catalog will be released in late 2012!
Comic artist Ron Fortier just made a review of Martin's latest book! Ron is a professional writer for over twenty-five years, having worked on comic book projects such as The Hulk, Popeye, Rambo and Peter Pan. His most popular comic series being The Green Hornet and The Terminator (with Alex Ross).
Every book written by Martin Grams has been Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) certified. For more information, visit http://www.sfiprogram.org/
