Martin Joseph Quigley Sr. (May 6, 1890 – May 4, 1964)[1] was an American publisher, editor, and film magazine journalist. He foundedExhibitors Herald, which became a prominent national trade paper for the film industry.[2] Quigley was also the founder of Quigley Publishing.
Martin Joseph Quigley Sr. was born inCleveland, Ohio,[3]
Martin Quigley began his career as a police reporter in Chicago in 1910.[4]
In 1915, he purchased the film trade journalExhibitors Herald. Two years later, he acquired and merged it withMotography.[2] In 1927, Quigley acquiredThe Moving Picture World and combined it withExhibitors Herald, publishing it asExhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World, which was later shortened toExhibitors Herald World.
" In 1930, Martin Quigley, publisher of Exhibitors Herald, conspired with Hollywood studios to eliminate all competing trade papers,..."[5]
In 1930, he acquiredMotion Picture News[6] and merged it with his existing publications to create theMotion Picture Herald.[7][8][9]
Shortly after, Quigley merged his remaining three publications —Exhibitors Trade Review,Exhibitors Daily Review, andMotion Pictures Today — to formMotion Picture Daily.[10]
In 1929, the first edition ofThe Motion Picture Almanac was published and subsequently became an annual publication.[11]
Quigley Publishing Co., started in 1915 by Martin Joseph Quigley Sr., was later run by his son, Martin Quigley Jr. until 2001. In 2005, William Quigley, a grandson of Martin Joseph Quigley Sr., was running Quigley Publishing Co.[12]
Quigley was an active proponent and co-author of theMotion Picture Production Code, which governed the content of Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the 1960s. A devout Catholic, he began lobbying in the 1920s for a more comprehensive code that not only listed material deemed inappropriate for movies but also established a moral framework that films could help promote — specifically, a system rooted in Catholic theology.[6]
To achieve this, Quigley recruited FatherDaniel A. Lord, a Jesuit priest and instructor at Saint Louis University, to draft the code. On March 31, 1930, the board of directors of theMotion Picture Producers and Distributors Association formally adopted it. While the original version was popularly known as the Hays Code, both it and its later revisions are now more commonly referred to as the Production Code.[6]
Quigley held staunch conservative views, particularly regarding the film industry. His son,Martin Quigley Jr., who shared his father's views, became involved in editing and publishing the various periodicals established by Quigley Sr. However, he had far less influence due to the changing cultural landscape and the gradual decline of the Production Code.[6]
Quigley Sr. died atSaint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center inManhattan on May 4, 1964, two days before his 74th birthday.[6]
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