Martin A. Grove, a fixture in Hollywood’s media landscape for nearly four decades, died Tuesday at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center of cancer-related natural causes. He was 83.
Grove’s passing leaves a void in film journalism. Over 25 years, he wrote more than 3,300 columns for The Hollywood Reporter. His “Hollywood Report” column, which ran from July 1985 to January 2000, analyzed box office figures, marketing strategies, and distribution trends. His “Filmmaker Focus” feature, which detailed the art of making movies, continued as an exclusive THR.com piece until December 2010. His daughter, Alyson Grove, a vice president at Universal Pictures, confirmed the news and said, “My dad truly loved his time at THR.”
Grove’s influence extended beyond print. He appeared on CNN’s ShowBiz Today from 1989 until 2001 as a film expert. Between 1996 and 2004, he contributed as a film analyst for CNNfn’s The Biz. His entertainment reports aired on KNX in Los Angeles during weekday afternoons from 1999 to 2004.
He also conducted interviews with Hollywood figures. In 2001, Grove hosted luncheon conversations at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills with Steven Soderbergh, Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Wolfgang Petersen, and Michael Bay for AMC’s Behind the Screen. From 1990 to 2008, he produced, wrote, and voiced 90-second sponsored movie previews distributed to airlines including American, United, Delta, Northwest, and TWA.
Born on March 30, 1943, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Grove earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. His majors were art history and journalism, and he worked at WRSU, the campus radio station. He later completed a master’s in screenwriting at NYU’s School of the Arts through night classes. During that period, he handled publicity for ABC, overseeing radio network and television publicity.
In 1967, Grove played a role in keeping WABC on the air during extended talent and engineering strikes. He filled in on the graveyard shift for popular DJs like Bruce Morrow and Dan Ingram. “As the strikes went on,” Grove said, “WABC created new jingles promoting ‘The Strikebound Sound of 77 WABC,’ and I had my own ‘Marty Grove’ jingle to use on the shows I did.”
Before his media career, Grove directed publicity for Foote, Cone & Belding, and later managed corporate communications and investor relations at 20th Century Fox. He also led marketing efforts for Warner Bros. Television in Burbank, including work on the Movietone News library of newsreels.
From 1985 to 1995, Grove served as a consultant for Entertainment Tonight, often projecting box office grosses for a Monday feature. He appeared frequently on ET as a film expert during those years. His television presence also included interviews at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 and anchoring coverage of the NATO and ShoWest conventions in Las Vegas from 1987 to 1991.
Grove hosted a half-hour talk show on Movietime, later E! Entertainment, where he discussed Hollywood and delivered short commentaries on movies. He also produced and hosted For Your Consideration, a series about Oscar and Golden Globe contenders, for Time Warner Cable in New York and Los Angeles. His appearances extended to NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, Today, 20/20, CNBC’s Power Lunch, and Fox News.
His commentary and analysis appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Washington Post, the Sunday Times of London, Rolling Stone, and Agence-France Presse. Since 2008, Grove had been CEO and president of ZAMM.com, creating hundreds of movie preview videos in partnership with Amazon.
Grove also sold screenplay pitches to Paramount and Columbia that he wrote and developed but never produced. He authored a novel set in network television and published six pop-culture paperbacks, including an authorized biography of John Travolta and a rapid-release biography of Elvis Presley following his death in 1977. He also wrote profiles of The Beatles, The Osmonds, Henry Winkler, and Paul McCartney.
His dedication to tracking box office numbers remained a constant. He examined weekly estimates every Sunday and actual grosses every Monday.
Grove’s survivors include his wife of 55 years, Marjorie; son Geoffrey; daughter-in-law Hilary; granddaughter Reesa; and grandson Rogan. His daughter said, “He inspired me to work in the business.”
His legacy stands as a record of deep engagement with Hollywood’s business and craft, but also as a reminder of the enduring influence of someone who could analyze the industry with clarity and warmth.
According to Hollywood Reporter.