Martin Quigley Jr. (November 24, 1917 – February 5, 2011) was a publisher of film magazines, an author and a politician twice elected mayor of

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a Village (New York), village located within the Town (New York), Town of Mamaroneck (town), New York, Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. Larchmont is a suburb of New York City, located approximately northeast of Midt ...

.Obituary ''Larchmont Gazette'', February 14, 2011
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Journalism and publishing

He was the son of Martin Quigley (1890–1964). His father had been a founder of developer of motion picture trade periodicals including the ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' (MPH) was an American film industry trade paper first published as the ''Exhibitors Herald'' in 1915, and MPH from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals ...

'' and an active proponent and co-author of the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the Cinema of the United States, United States from 1934 to 1968. It ...

, which governed the content of Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the 1960s.(5 May 1964)
Martin Quigley, Wrote Film Code
''

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 ...

'' The younger Quigley became very active in the editing and publication of those periodicals from young adulthood, also attempting to maintain the influence of the Code, especially in the 1960s, as it faded into irrelevance as moral standards changed.Obituary ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', February 12, 201

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Espionage

During

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 ...

, he used his publishing position as a cover to gather intelligence in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, which remained neutral during the Second World War, and in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, on behalf of the US

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS).

Authorship

Books written or cowritten by him include these: * ''Magic Shadows - The History of the Origin of Motion Pictures'' (1948) * ''Catholic Action in Practice: Family, Life, Education, International Life'' (1963, co-written with Msgr. Edward M. Connors) * ''Peace Without Hiroshima'' (1991) * ''A U.S. Spy in Ireland'' (1999)

Personal life

His father was an important publisher of film magazines. He was a devout Catholic and active in Church activities. He was twice elected mayor of

Notes

1917 births 2011 deaths American magazine publishers (people) American magazine editors American film historians American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers American film critics American Roman Catholics Writers from Chicago Georgetown University alumni Columbia University alumni People of the Office of Strategic Services World War II spies for the United States Historians from Illinois {{publish-bio-stub