Biography
John Trinian was the pen name used by American writer Zekial Marko for his crime novels. He published seven novels between 1959 and 1964, including The Big Grab (1960), which was adapted into the film Any Number Can Win (1963), and Scratch a Thief (1961), filmed as Once a Thief (1965). Under his own name he wrote episodes of television series including Toma (1974), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) and The Rockford Files (1975).
Marko was born Marvin Leroy Schmoker on 21 October 1933 in Monterey County, California. He spent time in San Francisco's Beat scene in the 1950s and later worked as a screenwriter and occasional actor. He died on 9 May 2008 in Centralia, Washington.
