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Connie Martinson, an insatiable reader and writer admirer who interviewed thousands of authors on her long-running cable television show, Connie Martinson Talks Books, has died at her home in Beverly Hills.
Martinson died peacefully on March 9 at the age of 90.
Her cable TV show began in 1979 and was watched by millions across the country and Canada by the time it ended in 2015. She has interviewed an impressive roster of writers, among them There was the upbeat Barack Obama, who spoke eloquently about his then-new book, Dreams From My Father, in 1995, and other notable fiction and non-fiction authors such as Walter Mosley, Ray Brad. Berry, Maya Angelou, Stud Turkel, Norman Mailer, Carolyn Sea, Joyce Carol Oates, Amos Oz.
“Connie Martinson was an integral part of the city’s literary life,” said author Janet Fitch, whose novel “White Oleander” was a bestseller, Oprah’s Book Club selection and film. Told.
“She was a great interviewer and read your book very carefully. She was very clear and insightful and was able to zoom in on what was most important. But there was something soothing about it, you saw that she took pleasure in reading and talking about books, and she was the kind of person you’d want to sit next to at a dinner party. was a person.”
Nearly 2,000 of Martinson’s interviews are now accessible at Claremont College’s Digital Library site, which donated the tapes in 2008.
Martinson was “incredibly curious, very smart and very vigilant,” said Rick Waltzman, former executive director of the Drucker Institute. “I finally got to know what a wide range of interests she had. See the list of people Connie interviewed—some of the greatest names in politics, culture, and literature. Ka. That point alone is priceless.”
She discussed anti-Semitism with A. Scott Berg and Alan Dershowitz, talked with Carlos Fuentes about the Spanish colonization of Mexico, asked Michael Tolkin questions about his book The Player, asked Budd Schulberg about his I asked him about his book “What Makes Sammy Run?” Some women named Amy not only discuss their book, but also the writing process (Amy Ephron), the hospitality guest (Amy Sedaris), and her mother’s welcome to her book (Amy Tang). I can see you talking.
Among the non-fiction authors interviewed were prominent journalists and essayists such as Pete Hamill and Maureen Dowd. Novelist Sidney Sheldon gave 10 interviews and Ray Bradbury was the clear favorite, with 14. But she also had her first-time writer. “As long as it’s a book, the author is a potential guest,” she once said.
Martinson was able to chat with just about anything, especially whatever the guest’s topic was. had dozens of yellow sticky notes on it, and she knew the book so well that she could quickly give an answer if a guest got stuck.
She was also a speed reader, noted her son-in-law, Douglas Kerner. You read the word.”
Martinson didn’t exactly plan his career path, said his daughter, Julianna Kerner, who manages the family business. When Koro was offered a radio show and turned it down, her mother said, “Oh, that sounds interesting.
“She began by interviewing celebrities and other people she and my father had known through their work as television and film directors. So she had the idea to combine the two things she loves most: asking questions and reading books.
So “Connie Martinson Talks Books” began. Martinson started with a few writers she knew, like Bradbury, then moved on to people she knew to some extent. Appearing on other cable stations around California and then on a cable access station in New York City. Her show took off nationally in her mid-’80s, and according to her daughter, Martinson peaked in her early ’90s, garnering 23 million viewers.
Julianna Kerner worked with her mother for about two years in the early ’80s and interviewed writers for one of the three 10-minute blocks that made up the show at the time. “Then I said to her mother, ‘Thank you for doing it for me.’ And she said, and I loved that she said that.”
Constance Fry Martinson was born in Boston on April 11, 1932, graduated from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and won the Davenport Prize for Speech and Literature. “Connie has always been very supportive of her alma mater, my alma mater, Wellesley College, and her Wellesley Club in Los Angeles,” said his longtime friend and former member of the Los Angeles Commission on Cultural Affairs. Lee, who is a member, said Lamer. “It was always interesting to hear her interviews because she asked questions we all might ask.”
She worked as an editor for Writers magazine in Boston before moving to Los Angeles in 1955 with her husband, Leslie Martinson. Martinson died in 2016 at the age of 101. Episodic her TV shows such as ‘Maverick’, ’77 Sunset Strip’ and ‘The Brady Bunch’.
Martinson attributed the show’s success to her ability to get authors to open up. “I try to get the audience’s attention by having them sit in my seat,” she says. I’m trying to think about how I was born.
“Writers were coming to L.A. and doing her shows and Johnny Carson shows,” her son-in-law said. It was very common for her to know that the author of the book did not remember what she wrote.
Over the years, Martinson’s shows were mostly self-financed, according to Douglas Kerner. His mother-in-law didn’t want her to lose control of herself, so she added that she never wanted the show to be syndicated or commercialized: “The mission was more important than the money.” ‘ he said. “She felt that if she could find even one person who could discover the joy of having a physical book, she would feel fulfilled.”
After each interview, she almost always signed the book to the author before asking viewers to support their local library.
Her passion for books and authors was clearly recognized. “she great woman I have been writing letters in Los Angeles for decades,” said Jonathan Kirsch, author, critic, and editor of the Jewish Journal book. “Her Interviews Her series was a platform for people around the world to promote their books. She was a local celebrity and a familiar face and name in the book community. There wasn’t a place where I didn’t meet Connie at the related events.
Martinson was bequeathed by his daughter-in-law Douglas Kerner, grandson Richard Kerner, and grandson-in-law Michael Kerner.
Eisenberg is a former Times staffer and author of Conversations. W.I’m Frank Gehry,” one of Martinson’s interview subjects.
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