Actors - J. Michael Straczynski

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	Actors - J. Michael Straczynski

Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is also a playwright, journalist and author of a well-regarded tome on scriptwriting. He was the creator, executive producer and head writer for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5 and Crusade. Straczynski wrote most of the Babylon 5 episodes, notably an unbroken 59-episode run including all of the third and fourth seasons. He is also a participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1985. He is a friend and collaborator with speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison, a student and friend of Norman Corwin and an outspoken admirer of the work of Rod Serling.

Straczynski is a graduate of San Diego State University, having earned Bachelor's degrees in psychology and sociology (with minors in philosophy and literature). While at SDSU, he wrote prolifically for the student newspaper, at times penning so many articles that the paper was jokingly referred to as the "Daily Joe." Straczynski currently resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, fellow writer Kathryn M. Drennan.

Straczynski's professional name is J. Michael Straczynski, although informally he goes by "Joe". In print, and particularly on Usenet, he is often referred to by his initials JMS.

Early years

Straczynski hails from Paterson, New Jersey.

According to the jacket bio for the first edition of his scriptwriting text (see Other work below), Straczynski had a play produced when he was 17, a sitcom produced when he was 21, and sold his first movie script when he was 24. By the age of 28, he had credits that included television and film scripts, radio scripts for Alien Worlds and the Mutual Broadcasting System, a dozen plays, and more than 150 newspaper and magazine articles. He had also been teaching his craft for several years at various lectures and seminars in California and elsewhere.

He also spent some time co-hosting the Hour 25 radio talk show with Larry DiTillio.

Television

Straczynski started in television in 1983, working on various animated shows, and he quickly worked his way from staff writer to executive producer, culminating in his most famous television work: Babylon 5 (which won back-to-back Hugo Awards). He wrote 91 out of Babylon 5s 110 episodes, as well as the pilot and five television movies. The character-driven space opera is also notable for its five year story arc, gritty realism, and its pioneering, extensive use of CGI for its special effects. Straczynski was also creator and executive producer of B5's short-lived sequel series, Crusade, for which he wrote 10 of the 13 episodes.

Straczynski created Jeremiah, loosely based on the French post-apocalyptic comic of the same name. He wrote 19 of the 35 episodes.

A partial list of Straczynski's other television credits:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Staff Writer; specifically writing 8 episodes

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Staff Writer, specifically writing 11-14 episodes

The New Twilight Zone - Story Editor; writer of 11 episodes

The Real Ghostbusters - Story Editor; writer of 21 episodes and one Special

Jake and the Fatman - Executive Story Editor; writer of 5 episodes

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future - Executive Story Editor; writer of 13 episodes

Murder, She Wrote - Co-Producer; writer of 7 episodes

Additionally, Straczynski was involved in She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Spiral Zone, from which he removed his name and used the pseudonym Fettes Grey (derived from the names of the grave robbers in The Bodysnatcher). He also wrote an episode of CBS Story Break (an adaptation of Evelyn Sibley Lampman's The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek), as well as an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, where he was supervising producer at its inception.

Straczynski has also worked on television movies. Outside of the five Babylon 5 films, he wrote the award-winning adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, an attempted Captain Power spin-off pilot, Captain Power: The Beginning, and a Murder, She Wrote movie, Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, which he also produced.
Novels and short stories
Straczynski is the author of three horror novels - Demon Night, Othersyde, and Tribulations - and nearly twenty short stories, many of which are collected in two compilations, Tales from the New Twilight Zone and Straczynski Unplugged. He wrote the outlines for nine of the canonical Babylon 5 novels, and is the author of four Babylon 5 short stories published in magazines and (as of 2005) not yet reprinted.
[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for J. Michael Straczynski ]

Some related entries: Mark Moraghan | Grace Zabriskie | Ann Williams | Harald Juhnke | Joey Lauren Adams | Paul Giovanni | Andy Secombe | Tami Erin | Karthik | Robert Lewis | Maurice Roëves
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