In 1998, Morris Publishing released SUSPENSE: TWENTY YEARS OF THRILLS AND CHILLS, a 460 page book documenting an obscure radio / television series that earned the attention of Hollywood and Broadway actors, a twenty-year run over CBS and spawned a series of mystery magazines, comic books, novels and movies including the 1948 classic SORRY, WRONG NUMBER starring Barbara Stanwyck. The author was Martin Grams, Jr. who had recently graduated from high school and SUSPENSE was the first of many publications.
The April 1999 issue of Sperdvac's Radiogram commented: "Probably no other series has had such a thorough job of research done on it as Mr. Grams as done in this book . . ."
The February 2004 issue of NECROPSY: The Review
of Horror Fiction commented:
"It's no mystery why radio fans love Grams . . ."
"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. 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."
Quoted Charles R. Sexton of the RLL ON THE AIR, September 2003 issue
"Martin Grams, Jr. is a name easily recognized by OTR buffs, primarily due to his prolific writing of books on the subject of old-time radio. I like to refer to him as "the Issac Asimov of OTR," as testimony to his amazingly voluminous output."
Quoted Ivan Schreve, Jr. of THRILLING DAYS OF YESTERYEAR, Nov. 7, 2003
Martin is the son of Martin and Mary Pat Grams, magician and librarian by occupation. Over 16 publications feature his name on the front cover and many more as a research consultant and/or contributor. Like many authors he still works a daily nine-to-five job while writing freelance as a "hobby."
Martin has written numerous magazine articles for such publications as SCARLET STREET, FILMFAX, RADIOGRAM, THE OTR DIGEST, ON THE AIR, RADIO RECALL, RETURN WITH US NOW, NOSTALGIA DIGEST and others.
He is the recipient of the 1999 Ray Stanich Award, the 2005 Stone/Waterman Award, and the 2004 Parley Baer Award for his contribution to preserving the arts. 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."
Along with his wife, Martin is active in environmental protection programs and helps support the funding and physical labor that goes into planting new trees, recycling, and alternative resources for electrcity including solar and wind.
Martin has also contributed chapters, appendixes and essays for . . .
VINCENT PRICE (2000, ed. Gary and Susan Svehla)
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)
The rest of the web-site is dedicated to the books written by Mr. Grams.
Reprints of book reviews, exerpts from the books and more.
Mr. Grams is also active with the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention
held annually every September in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
(Click on the banner below for more information.)
This annual gathering of nostalgia fans also features a charity auction
to benefit the St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Martin's TWILIGHT ZONE book recently won the Rondo
Award for "Best Book of the Year" and has received
praise from science fiction legend William F. Nolan
remarked, "I'm blown away by the mass fo data...
by the attention to the smallest detail. You deserve the
highest praise for this book. It puts everything else
written about Twilight Zone in the shade. Monumental
and fascinating, and hugely informative."
Martin was a recent visitor of the University
at Buffalo, and given a rare glimpse of
personal papers and bound volumes of
scripts formerly owned by the prolific
Fran Striker. (Photo of the fascilities on the right).
At the recent Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention,
in Aberdeen, Maryland, Martin received the
honors of hosting Academy Award winning
actress Celeste Holm. The event salutes the
by-gone days of Hollywood, Radio and
Television. Martin was also on stage to help
assist with the charity auction that helps benefit
the St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Martin also had his photo taken with stars
Johnny Whitaker and Lee Meriwether.
Next year's event will be held at the
Hunt Valley Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
The dates are Sept. 23-25, 2010.
Martin will be hosting two presentations.
The Lone Ranger in Pulps and Novels and
The History of The Green Hornet.
Martin was recently among the guests at the 2009
SPERDVAC Convention in Hollywood, California.
Martin was a participant in a number of panels
including a presentation about The Green Hornet!
This is his first appearance at SPERDVAC in ten
years and it was estimated that he signed more
than a hundred books since fans attending brought
copies of book he wrote. A fan at the event was kind
enough to send us a photo for the web-site.
Martin will be a guest on an upcoming broadcast
of Neal Ellis' SOUNDS LIKE YESTERDAY radio
program, discussing the history of THE GREEN HORNET.
Fans of the series may want to take note as loads
of trivia will be revealed during the program,
as well as rare recordings not heard since 1944.
Martin was a guest at the 34th Annual FOTR Convention
in Newark, New Jersey. Pictured on the left: Martin talks
with Prof. Mike Biel and his daughter Leah, as they
broadcast live over the radio, briefly following the
presentation of THE HISTORY OF THE GREEN HORNET
with his co-author, Terry Salomonson.
Martin was a recent guest on the DAVE WHITE PRESENTS
radio program. Archived copy of the interview is now
On October 30, 2009, Martin Grams, along
with a number of historians and experts,
paid a visit to Grovers Mill, NJ, where the
Martians supposedly attacked during that
famous 1938 broadcast. Photo on the left
reveals Martin posing next to the town's
now-historic monument. Photo on the right
features Neal Ellis, Ken Stockinger and
Leah Biel. Prof. Mike Biel was holding the
camera. For three and a half hours, the
crew broadcasted live from Grovers Mill
over the Yesterday USA radio network.
