Block, Martin F., 1919-1995

Biography

Martin Fiddler Block was born on July 27, 1919. As a teenager he delivered merchandise for a bookstore in New York City. After graduating from high school he found employment as a buttonhole maker. He later worked for Doubleday, Doran Book Shops becoming, upon completion of military service, night manager for the firm's shop in Grand Central Terminal. He then obtained employment in the publishing business. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1940s, and in the early 1950s became one of the owners of the Studio Book Store, Hollywood, California. In late 1949 or early 1950, Block was invited by Rudi Gernreich to join the nascent Mattachine Society. By late 1952, an increasing number of members believed the Mattachine should consider a more public role. On October 15, 1952, at a regular meeting chaired by Block, the publishing of a periodical for homosexuals was first proposed. The concept was developed in a succession of weekly meetings, and on November 15, Block, Dale Jennings, and Antonio Sanchez under the pseudonym Anthony Ryceman signed the articles of incorporation for ONE. On November 29, at the first meeting of the new organization, held in his Hollywood bookstore, Block was elected Chairman of ONE, Incorporated. Block also served as the first editor of ONE Magazine, the inaugural issue of which was published in January 1953. However, the demands of his bookstore and family matters compelled him to resign from his position as editor in June 1953. Block remained active in the organization, although with increasing infrequency, through the 1950s. Throughout his professional life Block reviewed books for the Los Angeles Daily News, the Saturday Review, and the New York Times Book Review . In the late 1950s, after his own store closed, he managed the book department of Robinson's Department Store, in Pasadena. He also served as chairman of the Celebration Theater during the early 1980s. He died in West Hollywood, California, on March 4, 1995.

Sources:

Martin F. Block Papers, Coll2006-001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Feinberg, Leslie. "Headwaters of First Mass Political Gay Movement Rise." Workers World, August 23, 2005. Accessible at http://www.workers.org/2005/us/lavender-red-45/ (accessed September 26, 2006).

Hansen, Joseph. A Few Doors West of Hope: The Life and Times of Dauntless Don Slater . Universal City, CA: Homosexual Information Center, 1998.

Marcus, Eric. "The Editor: Martin Block." In Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Right, 1945-1990; An Oral History . New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

White, Todd C. "Timeline, 1960 and Before." Tangent Group, November 12, 2005. Accessible at http://www.tangentgroup.org/history/Timeline/Timeline1959.html (accessed September 26, 2006).

From the guide to the Martin F. Block papers, 1935-1995, (bulk 1950-1955), (ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.)