Jim Marrs
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James Farrell Marrs Jr. (December 5, 1943 – August 2, 2017) was an American newspaper journalist and ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' best-selling author of books and articles on a wide range of alleged cover-ups and conspiracies. Marrs was a prominent figure in the
JFK assassination conspiracy theories assassination of John F. Kennedy, The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963, has spawned numerous conspiracy theories. These theories allege the involvement of the Central Intelligence ...
community and his 1989 book ''Crossfire'' was a source for
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
's 1991 film ''
JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...
''. He subsequently wrote books asserting the existence of government conspiracies regarding aliens,
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
,
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
, and secret societies. He began his career as a news reporter in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex and taught a class on the
assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...
at
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...
for 30 years. Marrs was a member of the Scholars for 9/11 Truth.


Early life and education

A native of
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, Marrs earned a B.A. in journalism from the
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
in 1966 and completed graduate work at
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
in
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...
from 1967 to 1968.


Career

Beginning in college, he worked as a reporter, cartoonist, and photographer for several Texas newspapers, including the '' Denton Record-Chronicle'', ''
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...
'', and ''Lubbock Sentinel''. In 1968, he took a position with the ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Car ...
'', where he served as police reporter and general assignment reporter covering stories locally, in Europe, and in the Middle East. From 1969 to 1970, he concurrently served in a stateside
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
intelligence unit (under the aegis of the Fourth United States Army) as a translator of French and German periodicals; when the Army offered to remedy a longstanding shoulder ailment prior to his scheduled mobilization or release him from his service obligation, he accepted the latter option. He later became the newspaper's military and aerospace writer and an
investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend ...
. After leaving the ''Star-Telegram'' to take a position with Jerre R. Todd and Associates (a
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
firm in
Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
) in 1972, he returned to the newspaper in 1974 before leaving again in 1980. For the remainder of his career, Marrs was a
freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
, author, and public relations professional based in
exurban An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and relatively hi ...
Springtown, Texas. From 1983 to 1984, he published a weekly newspaper (the ''Springtown Current'') in his hometown along with a monthly tourism tabloid (''Cowtown Trails''). Previously, he produced a cable television show (''Texas Roundup'') from 1982 to 1983. He also served as communications director for the First Bank and Trust of Springtown from 1985 to 1995. Marrs appeared on ABC,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, CBS,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
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,
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,
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, The History Channel, '' Alex Jones Show'', ''This Morning America'', '' Geraldo'', '' The Montel Williams Show'', ''
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'', ''
TechTV TechTV was an American cable television channel with a focus on technology. It was launched as ZDTV on May 11, 1998, by computer magazine publisher Ziff Davis, Ziff-Davis following two short-lived technology-based programs by the company. Init ...
'', ''
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...
'', ''
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...
'' (with
George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...
and
Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program '' Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds ...
) radio programs, as well as numerous national and regional radio and TV shows.


Opinions


Assassination of JFK

In 1989, Marrs's book, ''Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy'', was published and reached ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Paperback Non-Fiction Best Seller list in mid-February 1992. It became a basis for the
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
film ''JFK'', released in 1991. According to Stephen E. Ambrose in an essay generally critical of conspiracy theorists, Marrs wrote in ''Crossfire'' that motives for the murder of Kennedy were "Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's attack on
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
(
Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
motive); President Kennedy's failure to support the Cuban exiles at the
Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...
(Cuban and C.I.A. motive); the 1963 Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (
military–industrial complex The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the Arms industry, defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving fac ...
, or M.I.C. motive); Kennedy's plan to withdraw from Vietnam before the end of 1965 (
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
and M.I.C. motive); Kennedy's talk about taking away the oil-depletion allowance (Texas oil men motive); Kennedy's monetary policies (international bankers motive); Kennedy's decision to drop Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
from the ticket in 1964 (L.B.J. motive) and Kennedy's active civil rights policy (Texas racist billionaires motive)." Sylvia Meagher is a critic of the
Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...
and author of ''Master Index to the JFK Assassination'' and ''Accessories After the Fact''. In April 1987, Meagher received the manuscript of Marrs's ''Crossfire.'' She was asked to evaluate the book by
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
, which was considering publishing it. Meagher concluded, "The accuracy of the manuscript in dealing with a vast body of complex evidence is nearly impeccable ... the manuscript is, in my opinion, a fine and admirable work." Despite this glowing recommendation, Simon & Schuster became one of about 25 major U.S. publishers to turn down the book. It was finally published in 1989 by
Carroll & Graf Publishers Carroll & Graf Publishers was an American publishing company based in New York City, New York that published a wide range of fiction and non-fiction by both new and established authors, as well as reprinted previously hard-to-find works. It ...
. Beginning in 1976, Marrs taught continuing education classes on the Kennedy assassination as an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...
at the
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...
. He added a UFO course in 2000 before retiring from teaching in 2007.


UFOs and other topics

From 1992 to 1995, Marrs researched and completed a non-fiction book on a top-secret government program called the Stargate Project involving the psychic phenomenon known as
remote viewing Remote viewing (RV) is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind. There is no scientific evidence that remote viewing exists, and the topic of remote viewing is generally regarde ...
, only to have the program canceled as the book was going to press in the summer of 1995. In May 1997, Marrs's investigation of UFOs, ''Alien Agenda'', was published by
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
Publishers. The paperback edition was released in mid-1998. It has been translated into several foreign languages and has become the top-selling UFO book in the world. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' said:
Marrs shows little discrimination, overemphasizing dubious phenomena like remote viewing and crop circles, and giving nearly equal weight to ludicrous pretenders like Billy Meier (who claimed close encounter with Pleiadians) and sophisticated commentators like Jacques Vallée. Marrs even devotes a chapter to theories that the moon may be a UFO, and he refuses to rule out obvious frauds like the alien autopsy tapes. But if rigorous analysis escapes Marrs, little else does; this is the most entertaining and complete overview of flying saucers and their crew in years.
In early 2000, HarperCollins published ''Rule by Secrecy'', which claimed to trace a hidden history connecting modern
secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
to ancient and medieval times. This book also reached ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 2003, his book ''The War on Freedom'' probed the alleged conspiracies of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
and their aftermath. It was released in 2006 under the title ''The Terror Conspiracy''. Marrs was a featured speaker at a number of national conferences including the annual International UFO Congress and the annual Gulf Breeze UFO Conference, but he also spoke at local conferences, such as Conspiracy Con and The Bay Area UFO Expo.


Last years

In October 2011, Marrs started his own radio program, ''The View from Marrs'', on the
Jeff Rense Jeffry Shearer Rense is an American Internet radio talk-show host. His show, the ''Jeff Rense Program'', was broadcast via satellite radio and is now produced at his home in Ashland, Oregon and streamed through his personal website. Rense's p ...
Radio network. The program aired on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3 p.m. Central time. Marrs had on his show a wide variety of guests and dedicated the entire month of November to the latest information regarding the JFK assassination. He also explored UFO research,
survivalism Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists, doomsday preppers or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, ...
, and other topics. With a friend, Michael H. Price, Marrs wrote and illustrated a comic book (''Oswald's Confession & Other Tales from the War'') that was published by Cremo Studios, Inc., in 2012. In February 2013, Marrs's ''Our Occulted History: Do the Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens?'' was published by HarperCollins. Marrs usually also held a book signing at Brave New Books in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
at least once a year.


Private life, illness, and death

Marrs's avocations included American Civil War reenactment, collecting Civil War memorabilia and researching the history of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. However, according to his wife, Carol, who met him on a
blind date A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before. Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...
while they were students at the University of North Texas, " was almost a pacifist. He didn't believe we should be in a war unless you were defending your home." In March 2017, an announcement was made on Marrs' official Facebook page about an unspecified illness that caused him to cancel appearances at two upcoming events, the 5th annual Out of this World UFO Conference in
Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and th ...
, and the Free Your Mind Conference in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, both in April. In June 2017, additional announcements were made about health issues Marrs was experiencing, including being on
kidney dialysis Kidney dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions naturally. Along with kidney transplantation, it is a type of renal replacement therapy. ...
at home, and problems with his remaining good eye. Marrs died on August 2, 2017, from a heart attack at age 73.


Media


Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Videos


Safespace
nbsp;— Winter 2006
Fastwalkers
nbsp;— Winter 2006
Lecture at Allen Public Library
nbsp;— Allen Texas, November 20, 2013
Ancient Aliens and the New World Order
nbsp;— Writer, Host, and Star, 15 November 2014
Dr. Grover Proctor Lecture with Jim Marrs Guest Speaker at 58:00
nbsp;— Allen Texas, November 2015


Audio

;CDs * 16 Questions


See also

*
Conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
* Mark Dice * James H. Fetzer *
David Ray Griffin David Ray Griffin (August 8, 1939 – November 2022) was an American professor of philosophy of religion and theology and a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.Sources describing David Ray Griffin as a "conspiracy theorist", "conspiracist", "conspiracy nut ...
* Steven E. Jones *
Jeff Rense Jeffry Shearer Rense is an American Internet radio talk-show host. His show, the ''Jeff Rense Program'', was broadcast via satellite radio and is now produced at his home in Ashland, Oregon and streamed through his personal website. Rense's p ...
* Aaron Russo * Webster Tarpley * Loose Change *
David Icke David Vaughan Icke ( ; born 29 April 1952) is an English conspiracy theorist, author and a former Association football, footballer and sports broadcaster. He has written over 20 books, self-published since the mid-1990s, and spoken in more tha ...
* G. Edward Griffin *
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...
* Texe Marrs


References


External links


Jim Marrs – Homepage


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marrs, Jim 1943 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American military personnel 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 9/11 conspiracy theorists American UFO writers American conspiracy theorists American investigative journalists John F. Kennedy conspiracy theorists Writers from Fort Worth, Texas Pseudohistorians Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy Radio personalities from Texas Texas Tech University alumni Ufologists United States Army reservists University of North Texas alumni University of Texas at Arlington faculty