James Farrell Marrs Jr. (December 5, 1943 – August 2, 2017) was an American newspaper journalist and ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' best-selling author of books and articles on a wide range of alleged cover-ups and

conspiracies A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

. Marrs was a prominent figure in the JFK assassination conspiracy theories community and his 1989 book ''Crossfire'' was a source for Oliver Stone's 1991 film '' JFK''. He wrote books asserting the existence of government conspiracies regarding aliens, 9/11, telepathy, 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 on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

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 the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

, Marrs earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in journalism from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

in 1966 and completed graduate work at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

in Lubbock, Texas 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 The ''Denton Record-Chronicle'' is the main newspaper for the city of Denton, Texas and Denton County. In 1899, William Edwards consolidated the ''Denton Chronicle'' and ''Denton County Record'' (founded 1892 and 1898, respectively) as a weekly ...

'', '' Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'', 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. Carter ...

'', 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 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 Forces. Since July 2020 ...

intelligence unit (under the aegis of the

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...

) 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, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

. 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. ...

firm in Arlington, Texas) 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, author, and public relations professional based in exurban 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 English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, C-SPAN,

The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

, TLC,

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

, '' Alex Jones Show'', ''This Morning America'', '' Geraldo'', ''

The Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from 1991 to 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Montel Williams S ...

'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'', ''

TechTV TechTV is a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming ...

'', ''

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

'', ''

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 1 ...

'' (with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American 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 syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

and Art Bell) 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Paperback Non-Fiction Best Seller list in mid-February 1992. It became a basis for the Oliver Stone 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 Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

's attack on

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

(

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

motive); President Kennedy's failure to support the Cuban exiles at the

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...

(Cuban and

C.I.A. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

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 defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the r ...

, 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, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

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), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

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 Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States P ...

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 () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, 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. Beginning in 1976, Marrs taught continuing education classes on the Kennedy assassination as an adjunct professor at the

. He added a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

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 Stargate Project was a secret U.S. Army unit established in 1978 at Fort Meade, Maryland, by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and SRI International (a California contractor) to investigate the potential for psychic phenomena in military and ...

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. Typically a remote viewer is expected to give information about an object, event, person or location that is hidden ...

, 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 one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

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 a club or an organization whose 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, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

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 Conspiracy Con (shortened form for Conspiracy Conference) was an annual conspiracy convention begun in 2001 by Brian William Hall and took place in Santa Clara, California, USA. It was held on the weekend preceding Memorial Day until 2007 and h ...

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 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 or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disor ...

, 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 capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

at least once a year.

Private life, illness, and death

Marrs's avocations included

American Civil War reenactment American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or living historians. Alt ...

, collecting Civil War memorabilia and researching the history of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. However, according to his wife, Carol, who met him on a

blind date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

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, and the Free Your Mind Conference in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, both in April. In June 2017, additional announcements were made about health issues Marrs was experiencing, including being on kidney dialysis 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 ;Radio Interviews Though participating in a number of radio shows, it has become tradition for Marrs to be the guest of the season premier of Binnall of America Audio * Binnall of America Season 1 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– September 10, 2005 * Binnall of America Season 2 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– September 30, 2006 * Binnall of America Season 3 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– October 20, 2007 * Binnall of America Season 4 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– October 26, 2008 * Binnall of America Season 5 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– November 24, 2009 * Binnall of America Season 6 Premier �
Part 1
an
Part 2
– November 29, 2010 * Binnall of America Season 7 Premier �

May 1, 2012

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 JFK-UFO conspiracy theories People 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 Writers from Texas

Early life and education

Career

Opinions

Assassination of JFK

UFOs and other topics

Last years

Private life, illness, and death

Media

Books

Videos

Audio

See also

References

External links