---
name: "John Trinian"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/zekial-marko"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "21 October 1933"
died: "9 May 2008"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:52:19.577414+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Trinian

Writer. Born 21 October 1933 in Monterey, California, USA. Died 9 May 2008.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 21 October 1933, Monterey, California, USA
- **Died:** 9 May 2008
- **Also known as:** Zekial Marko

## 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.

*Sources: starkhousepress.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Rockford Files* (1974), Fi1m 83, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-rockford-files.md)

## Also known for

- *Any Number Can Win* (1963), Novel
- *Kolchak: The Night Stalker* (1974), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/zekial-marko