Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams Jr. (born April 19, 1977) is an American historian who has written extensively on radio, television and films. Under the guidelines of his profession Grams provided audio commentary for commercial releases of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, written hundreds of magazine articles for scholarly journals, provided commentary for filmed documentaries and delivers lectures at various institutions including ARSC, SPERDVAC, REPS and the Library of Congress.[1]
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Grams is the son of magician Martin Grams Sr. and librarian Mary Pat Grams. Educated at South Eastern School District in York County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Kennard-Dale High School in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania, in 1995. He worked in banking before settling on a career in writing and publishing. He created OTR Publishing in 1998, building the business into a corporation, located in Forest Hill, Maryland.[2]
Radio research
Since 1998, Grams has documented broadcasting in the 20th century through a number of reference books: Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills (Morris Publishing, 1998), followed by The History of the Cavalcade of America] (Morris Publishing, 1999) in cooperation with the Dupont chemical company.[3] Through this book, the chemical company's public image with textiles and mass marketing was preserved on the printed page. These two books were followed by two additional works, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater, co-authored with Gordon Payton, and Radio Drama. Both were contracted through McFarland Publishing, a book publishing house specializing in college and university press. Grams admitted in multiple interviews, including the OTRR Radio Times, that his contract with McFarland originally called for a three-book deal, but never disclosed whether the third book was completed or whether his contract was bought out by another publishing company.[4]
Under his OTR Publishing byline, a company founded in 1998, Grams produced a series of six books documenting OTR and retro television. The first was The Have Gun – Will Travel Companion, co-authored with Les Rayburn, a film producer.[5][6] and The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion, a 660-page survey of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television program, with co-author with Patrik Wikstrom, a physics scientist.[7]
Grams co-authored The Sound of Detection: Ellery Queen's Adventures in Radio with American mystery writer Francis M. Nevins, a revision of the 1981 study by Nevins and Ray Stanich.[8] In the spring of 2013, both Nevins and Grams announced that an expanded edition was in the works for a 2015 publication, following a revised treatment of the first half of the book for "The Art of Detection" through Amazon Digital Services in 2013. Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Behind the Creaking Door extensively documented both the radio and TV series with an appendix on all of Simon & Schuster's mystery novels, three short stories based on uncirculating radio programs, plus a chapter about the Inner Sanctum movies penned by Gregory William Mank.[9] This book was licensed through Simon & Schuster, and according to Grams in an interview with OTRnow.com and OTRR.org, almost never met fruition as a result of the tragic events of 9/11, when business offices in Manhattan temporarily closed and completion of the project by a deadline was not granted an extension due to acts of terrorism. The book was completed on schedule.[10]
The fourth of six books under the OTR Publishing byline was Invitation to Learning, released with a print run of 500 as an experiment. "Marketing specialists at a number of publishing houses posed the question of whether the Internet, before the days when 'social media' was an actual term, could be used to promote the sale of a book no one knew anything about," Grams recalled in an interview to OTRR.org. "All 500 were sold within 48 hours." [11] The sixth and final book was The I Love A Mystery Companion, unearthing never-before-published material by Carlton E. Morse. The book covers I Love A Mystery, I Love Adventure, Adventures by Morse, Captain Post, The Return of Captain Post, The Cobra King Strikes Back, The Witch of Endor, The House of Myths and others.[2] Extensive coverage included research at Dartmouth College and Stanford University, where Grams delivered a lecture about Morse in 2005, at both institutions, following publication.[12]
After signing a contract with Bear Manor Media in 2005, for an undisclosed amount, Grams penned "Information, Please," the first of five books for the publishing company, including a chapter on the Information Please Almanac. This was followed by Bear Manor's 2007 list by Grams: The Railroad Hour, co-authored with Gerald Wilson, covers the 1948-54 radio program. I Led Three Lives documented the history of the TV series which starred Richard Carlson as Herbert A. Philbrick.[2] "I Led Three Lives" was supposed to be the first of many books documenting ZIV Television programs of the 1950s. The second was Science Fiction Theatre: A History of the Television Program, 1955–1957. When MGM Entertainment, owners of ZIV Television programs, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010, the contract for a third book between the studio and Grams, "Men Into Space," was voided.[2]
Beginning in 2008, Grams published a series of four books, the second and third deemed by The New York Times as "raising the bar" for reference guides.[13] The first was The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic, which won Best Book of the Year at the Halloween Book Festival.[14] His second reference book, The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion-Pictures, Comics and Television, was released in time for the major motion picture starring Seth Rogen. Martin provided liner notes for the 2010 DVD release of The Green Hornet motion-picture, and assisted with the editing of the movie.[15] His third was The Shadow: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930–1954. The fourth was a history of Duffy's Tavern.[16][17]
In 2012, Grams authored The Time Tunnel: The History of the Television Program, in conjunction with Irwin Allen Enterprises. Unlike prior books about The Time Tunnel, Grams included production costs, dates of production, conception sketches, and never-before-published photographs. Christine Brennan, a journalist for USA Today, and sportscaster Bob Costas, both admitted in the February 11, 2016, issue of USA Today that they were fans of The Time Tunnel, proudly displaying the Grams book in a photograph and feature article.[18] According to a press release, this was supposed to be the first in a series of four books documenting Irwin Allen's television programs, including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants and Lost in Space.
Grams' latest book is The Top 100 Classic Radio Shows, co-authored by film and radio host Carl Amari, available at Costco and Sam's Club in the winter of 2017-2018. According to a recent interview with USA Today, Martin plans to finish two books in 2018, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted and The Lone Ranger, both of which have been projects close to his heart and in the works for more than a decade.[19][20]
In 2005 Martin created a non-profit foundation that benefits children with treatable cancer. Among the institution's programs, the organization known as MANC, llc, holds an annual event in Hunt Valley, Maryland, hosting Hollywood celebrities to sign autographs for fans and raise money for cancer victims.[25][26]
In 2011, Grams supplied audio commentary for the BluRay release of The Twilight Zone. His commentary for "King Nine Will Not Return" was nominated for a Rondo Award months following the BluRay release. He lost to Ray Harryhausen.[27]
Awards
Grams 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. He won the 2008 Rondo Award for ‘Best Book of the Year’ for The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic.