J. Michael Straczynski Biography (1954-)

Full name, Joseph Michael Straczynski; born July 17, 1954, in Paterson, NJ; son of Charles (a manual laborer) and Evelyn (maiden name, Pate) Straczynski;married Kathryn May Drennan (a writer), 1983. Addresses: Agent: Joel Begleiter, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Writer, producer, journalist, critic, story editor, educator
Birth Details: July 17, 1954; Paterson, New Jersey, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Work
Series
Coproducer, Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1991-93
(Uncredited) Supervising producer, Walker, Texas Ranger, CBS, 1993
Creator and executive producer, Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1994-97, TNT, 1998
Creator and executive producer, Crusade, TNT, 1999
Creator and executive producer, Jeremiah, Showtime, 2002-2004
Creator of Aragon and the Wuff, ABC. Also producer of Jake andthe Fatman, CBS.
Movies
Creator and executive producer, Babylon 5: In the Beginning (alsoknown as In the Beginning), TNT, 1998
Creator and executive producer, Babylon 5: Thirdspace (also knownas Thirdspace and Thirdspace: A Babylon 5 Adventure), TNT, 1998
Creator and executive producer, Babylon 5: The River of Souls (also known as The River of Souls), TNT, 1998
Producer, Murder She Wrote: A Story to Die For, CBS, 2000
Pilots
Creator and co-executive producer, Babylon 5: The Gathering (alsoknown as Babylon 5 and B5), syndicated, 1993
Creator and executive producer, Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (also known as A Call to Arms), TNT, 1999
Executive producer, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers--To Live andDie in Starlight (also known as Legend of the Rangers: Babylon 5),Sci-Fi Channel, 2002
Television Director
Episodic
"Sleeping in Light," Babylon 5 (also known as B5), TNT, 1998
Television Appearances
Specials
The Guide to Babylon 5, TNT, 1997
Episodic
(Uncredited) Maintenance worker, "Sleeping in Light," Babylon 5 (also known as B5), TNT, 1998
Radio Appearances
Series
Host, Hour 25, KPFK-FM (Los Angeles), 1987-92
RECORDINGS
Video Appearances
Hero in Crisis, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, 2004
WRITINGS
Television Series
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (also known as He-Man), syndicated, 1984
She-Ra, Princess of Power, syndicated, 1985
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (also known as Jayce et les conquerants de la lumiere), CBS, 1986
Elfquest, CBS, 1986
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, syndicated, 1986-87
The Real Ghostbusters, ABC, between 1986 and 1989
Batman, ABC, 1988

The Twilight Zone, syndicated, 1988-89
(As Fettes Grey) Spiral Zone, syndicated, 1989
V: The Next Chapter, The WB, 1989-91
Jake and the Fatman, CBS, multiple episodes, 1990
Murder, She Wrote, CBS, between 1991 and 1993
Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1994-97, TNT, 1997-99
Crusade, TNT, 1999
Jeremiah, Showtime, 2002-2004
Television Movies
Babylon 5: In the Beginning (also known as In the Beginning), TNT, 1998
Babylon 5: Thirdspace (also known as Thirdspace and Thirdspace: A Babylon 5 Adventure), TNT, 1998
Babylon 5: The River of Souls (also known as The River of Souls), TNT, 1998
Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, CBS, 2000
Television Specials
"The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek," CBS Storybreak, CBS, 1985
(Including songs "Boogaloo's Back in Town" and "Touching Old Magic") The Halloween Door, ABC, 1989
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (also based on a story by Straczynski), Nightmare Classics, Showtime, 1989
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, ABC, 1989
Television Pilots
Babylon 5: The Gathering (also known as Babylon 5 and B5), syndicated, 1993
Guardians, 1995
Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (also known as A Call to Arms), TNT, 1999
Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers--To Live and Die in Starlight(also known as Legend of the Rangers: Babylon 5), Sci-Fi Channel, 2002
Jeremiah, Showtime, 2002
Television Episodes
"A Shadow in the Night," Walker, Texas Ranger, CBS, 1993
Composer and lyricist (uncredited), "Untitled Telepath Song," for variousepisodes of Babylon 5 (also known as B5).
Television Scripts
Other
Captain Power: The Beginning (also known as Captain Power: Against the New Order), 1989
Stage Plays
The Apprenticeship, Marquis Public Theater, San Diego, CA, 1980
Author of more than twelve produced stage plays, including one publishedby Baker's Plays.
Radio Series
Writer for the series Alien Worlds and Mutual Radio Theater.
Comic Books
(With Mark Moretti) Babylon 5: The Price of Peace, DC Comics, 1998
Rising Stars (series; includes Power, 2002, Visitations, 2003, and Born in Fire, 2003, Joe's Comics, 1999-2004, hard-covercompilation, illustrated by Keu Cha and Brent Anderson, Diamond Comic Distributors, 2005
The Amazing Spider-Man (series; includes Coming Home, illustrated by John Romita and John Hanna, 2001, Revelations, 2002, Until the Stars Turn Cold, illustrated by Romita and Hanna, 2002, The Life& Death of Spiders, illustrated by Romita and Hanna, 2003, Unintended Consequences, illustrated by Romita, Hanna, and Fiona Avery, 2003, Skin Deep, illustrated by Mike Deodato, Jr. and Mark Brooks, 2005, Sins Past, illustrated by Deodato and Joe Pimentel, 2005, Marvel Comics, beginning 2001
Delicate Creatures, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Image Comics, 2002
Midnight Nation (series), Joe's Comics, 2003
Supreme Power (series; includes Powers and Principalities;based on an earlier Marvel series titled Squadron Supreme), Marvel Comics, beginning 2003
No Surrender, No Retreat: Babylon 5, illustrated by Shannon Kalvar, Diamond Comic Distributors, 2004
The Book of Lost Souls (series), Marvel Comics, beginning 2005
The Fantastic Four (series), Marvel Comics, beginning 2005
Dream Police, Marvel Comics, 2005
Strange: Beginnings and Endings, illustrated by Gary Frank and Jonathan Sibal, Marvel Enterprises, 2005
Author of, or contributor to, other comic books, including Star Trek 16: Worldsinger, DC Comics; Teen Titans Spotlight; and TwilightZone.
Other
The Complete Book of Scriptwriting: Television, Radio, Motion Pictures, the Stage Play, Writer's Digest Books, 1982, expanded edition publishedas The (Even More!) Complete Book of Scriptwriting, 1996
Demon Night (novel), E. P. Dutton, 1988, reprinted, Simon & Schuster, 2005
Tales from The New Twilight Zone (short stories based on his own scripts), Bantam/Spectra, 1989
(With David Bassom) Creating Babylon 5: Behind the Scenes of Warner Bros. Revolutionary Deep Space TV Drama, Del Rey, 1997
(With Jim Mortimore, Allan Adams, and Roger Clark) Babylon 5 SecurityManual, Del Rey, 1998
OtherSyde (novel), E. P. Dutton, 1990, reprinted, Simon & Schuster, 2005
Straczynski Unplugged (short stories), Pocket Books, 2004
(With August Hahn) The Centauri Republic Fact Book, Mongoose Publishing, 2004
Tribulations (novel), Simon & Schuster, 2005
But in Purple, I'm Stunning ... : The Babylon 5 Quote Book, PocketBooks, 2005
(Editor, with Greg Rucka, Peter Milligan, and others) Best of Spider-Man, edited by Romita and Deodato, Marvel Enterprises, 2005
Author of "Scripts," a column in Writer's Digest, 1982. Work represented in fiction anthologies, including Shadows 6. Contributor of more than 500 short stories and articles to periodicals, including Amazing Stories, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Los Angeles Reader, Los Angeles Times, Penthouse, Pulphouse, San Diego, San Diego Reader, Time, and Video Review. Contributing editor, Writer's Digest, beginning 1981, and Twilight Zone, 1983--.

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

The television series Crusade was adapted as a book by ChristopherBlackmoor and published by Mongoose Publishing in 2005.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

Babylon 5, August, 1997, pp. 32-37; November, 1997, p. 57; January, 1998, pp. 4-5; June, 1998, pp. 16-19; fall, 1998, pp. 24-25, 42, 44-45; June, 1999, pp. 11-13
Dream Watch, July, 1997, pp. 12-17
Starlog, April, 1998
Universe Today, fall, 1997, pp. 10-11

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:

forum