Biography
As a child, New York-born Irwin Martin Cohn moved to Hollywood where his father worked as editor for MGM. After World War II, he changed his name to Quinn Martin and dropped out of college to follow in his father's footsteps. Martin was one of the writers on the comedic musical "Blondie Goes Latin," and by the mid-1950s, after a stint at Universal, he was hired as an executive producer at Desilu Productions. In '58, Martin wrote and produced "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre" and, by '59, he was producing the hit series "The Untouchables." Morally upstanding crime-fighting would become one of the thematic signatures of his Quinn Martin (later QM) Productions. Martin produced "The New Breed" in '61, and followed with the suspenseful shows "12 O'Clock High" and "The Fugitive," an iconic mega-hit starring David Janssen. In '65, Martin's production company launched one of its longest-running series, the investigative drama "The F.B.I.," which aired for nine seasons. In '70, the short-lived detective series"Dan August" kickstarted the career of Burt Reynolds, and, during the following year, Martin produced the popular crime series "Cannon," as well as the creepy feature film "The Mephisto Waltz," starring Alan Alda. Another hit QM series, "The Streets of San Francisco," featured a young Michael Douglas, and Martin's last great show was "Barnaby Jones," starring Buddy Ebsen, which ran for eight seasons. Martin retired in '80, and died from heart failure in '87.
