The famous TV show Game of Thrones may be a gory and violent fare to watch but its creator George RR Martin is a portly, softly spoken figure who can be mistaken for Father Christmas with his silver-colored beards. He was referred to in 2005 as “the American Tolkien” and is on the list of the most influential people in the world. Raymond adopted a second R (Richmond) at his confirmation when he was 13.
Date of Birth: September 20, 1948
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Growing up in a poor Bayonne family, young George used to write and perform ‘little monster stories’ so he could scrimp money together to buy his favourite comic books and tickets to the cinemas. He sold these composed handwritten stories to the other kids for just around a nickel. He was an ardent reader and gradually started to develop a deep longing to see the real images of things he read only in books.
The poor writer would not have made it big as an author if not for chess. He fell in love with the board game while in school and in his early 20s worked chess tournaments to pay his bills. The chess generated enough money for him to live on and gave him enough time to develop and hone his skills as a professional writer. He wrote his first novel in 1991, The Song of Ice and Fire and it was adapted in 1996 under the name Game of Thrones (2011 till present). Read on to know about the family of the award-wining man behind the critically acclaimed show GOT.
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Raymond “Smokey” Collins Martin (father)
He was nicknamed Smokey by his close friends and was the loving father to the successful RR. By the time his first son was born, Raymond so poor that they were still living with great grandmother Jones in an old house in Bayonne. He spent about two years without a job until he found an inconsistent job as a longshoreman. He continued living in Bayonne until he passed away before his son made it big as a novelist. Raymond was never into literature, he most likely never read a book after he ‘prematurely’ got out of high school. He was however proud that his son made it through as a college graduate.
Margaret Brady Martin (mother)
Margaret is the proud mother to the author of the highly successful fantasy writer.
Darleen Lapinski (nee Martin) (younger sister from same parents)
(L-R) Janet, George, Darleen
Year of Birth: 1950
She is a creative herself and has authored a book titled ‘Understanding Biblical Financial Freedom’. Darleen is a certified Financial Planner and has been in the finance sector for over two decades.
Janet Patten (nee Martin) (younger sister from same parents)
Year of Birth: 1955
When the New-Jersey born writer was seven, there came another female addition to the Martin family. She is married to Gerard Patten.
Gale Burnick (former spouse)
Duration of Marriage: 1975 – 1979 (4 years)
Gale was the first wife to fantasy and fiction writer RR. Their union lasted four years and it ended with them having no child. It is interesting to note that he had feelings for Parris before ever getting married but he went ahead with Gale as he had just met McBride some months before his due wedding date.
Parris McBride (spouse)
Date of birth: July 18
Duration of Marriage: February 15, 2011 till present
After been a divorcee for over three decades, Martin finally decided to marry his long time partner Parris at small ceremony in their Santa Fe home. Martin and McBride had met in 1975 at the Kublakhan in Nashville. He was in the women’s sauna with a bund of friends when she walked in and he was immediately drawn to her.
He went on to marry Burnick and they lost contact for a while. In the 80s, he was divorced and she was a waiter at a lesbian feminist restaurant. They got together and he was able to convince her to move to his home in New Mexico. She did and they soon had their first born named Mulligan who lived to be their oldest cat. Parris keeps a low profile and runs her own live journal. She is also an active humanitarian who supports writing students. They live happily together without any child; apparently the lovers are content with themselves and the success of their respective careers.
George RR Martin has no kids
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