John Maxtone-Graham Papers (2018.07)

Biographical note

John Kurtz Maxtone-Graham was born August 2, 1929 in Orange, New Jersey. His introduction to the sea was at six months old, when he and his family moved to London as a result of the stock market crash. His family frequently traveled by sea between the two continents, where he said he was frequently seasick, but the experiences nonetheless inspired a fascination with ships. He attended schools in Britain and the US before attending Brown University, where he graduated in 1959. He joined the marines and served in Korea as an infantry platoon leader, and was demobilized as a lieutenant. After his service he was a stage manager for theater productions, including “What Every Woman Knows,” with Helen Hayes, in 1955; Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and a production of “King Lear” with Orson Welles in 1956; “Brigadoon” in 1957; and “The Night of the Iguana,” with Bette Davis and Margaret Leighton, in 1961-62. He married Katrina Kanzler in 1955, with whom he had four children: Sarah Francois-Poncet and Emily Maxtone-Graham, and Ian and Guy Maxtone-Graham. He later married Mary Bergeron in 1981, and they were together until his death in 2015.

By 1967 he was writing about maritime subjects in articles, and published his first book in 1972 titled “The Only Way to Cross” a chronicle of the golden age of ocean liners and luxury travel by sea. It became one of his most well-known works, widely considered an essential book for ship enthusiasts and maritime historians alike. He would continue to write prolifically, publishing books about ocean liners in general such as “Liners to the Sun,” and about specific vessels such as the Queen Mary 2, and his favorite liner, the Normandie. He left his career in theater to pursue his passion for maritime history and ocean liners, traveling extensively on ships and giving numerous lectures and talks.

In 1981 he married Mary Bergeron aboard the Rotterdam in New York Harbor. Though he maintained a home in Manhattan, he and his wife were known to spend at least seven months of the year at sea. His son Ian went on to become a writer himself, for the popular show “The Simpsons.” With that connection, Maxtone-Graham appeared on episode 505 in 2012, where he was himself lecturing on a fictional ship called the Royal Valhalla. His lectures were very popular, and he traveled frequently on liners and cruise vessels as part of the entertainment. However, he expressed that “much as I enjoy cabaret -- jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists -- I find production shows over-amplified and often derivative.” He tried to create an “Edwardian-style” entertainment for the modern era, blending scholarship with curiosity. John Maxtone-Graham passed away on July 6, 2015 at 85 years old.