Martin Olson

In 2016, Olson was staff writer for Disney's Milo Murphy's Law, and in 2017 co-wrote the story for Nickelodeon's one-hour TV movie "Static Cling," a highly anticipated revival of Nickelodeon's cult-classic series Rocko's Modern Life.

2016 Emmy Nomination for Primetime Animation "Phineas and Ferb," 2010 Emmy Nomination for Songwriting, 2009 Emmy Nomination for Primetime Songwriting,

Olson's latest CD was written and recorded with his daughter Olivia Olson (July 2013) and called The Father-Daughter Album of Unspeakable Beauty, released at Comicon SD 2013, and their new album, Hey I'm Not Dead Yet, has a release date at Comicon NYC 2020.

Olson's encyclopedic satire Encyclopedia of Hell is published by Feral House (July 2011); the film rights were bought by Warner Bros. through producer Andrew Lazar for Mad Chance. The French edition was published in 2016 by Les Editions Lapin, Paris. His notorious children's book The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia (July 2013), published by Abrams Books, reached #5 on the New York Times Best-Seller List. His latest Abrams book, The Enchiridion/Marcy's Super-Secret Scrapbook, was cowritten with his daughter Olivia Olson, and released at Comicon NYC 2015. Olson also wrote two collections of poems, Hitler's Dog and Imaginary History of Reality, which are available for free DL.

Martin Olson is from Boston, Massachusetts. His brother, Thomas Olson, is a film and stage actor. His adopted daughter Olivia Olson is a singer-songwriter, actress, and author. Olson decided to be a comedy writer as a boy when he saw comedian Brother Theodore ranting and raving on The Merv Griffin Show. Before his death in 2001, Theodore became a fan of Olson's first book, Encyclopaedia of Hell (Feral House, 2011), and wrote a quote for the book cover.

In 1992 Olson became staff writer and occasional songwriter for Nickelodeon's animated series Rocko's Modern Life. His office was next to that of animator Stephen Hillenburg, his friend who years later would create SpongeBob SquarePants. Olson read a comic book Hillenburg drew in college called "The Intertidal Zone" and enthusiastically encouraged Hillenburg to create an underwater television series like the comic, hosted by its narrator, a sponge. Hillenburg has stated that his idea for the Spongebob series hatched during this conversation with Olson about the comic.

Olson and comedian Lenny Clarke became roommates in Harvard Square; comedians from all over the country stayed with them while performing in Boston comedy clubs. Olson wrote for Clarke, who was the most popular comedian in Boston. Their apartment became known as The Barracks, a legendary hub of comedy and depravity that was the subject of a television special on Boston comedy in the 1980s, and also of the award-winning documentary on the Boston comedy scene When Standup Stood Out (2006) directed by filmmaker-comedian Fran Solomita.

Olson took his tapes from the show and drove cross-country to San Francisco with comedian Don Gavin. There, by coincidence, the 1980 San Francisco Comedy Competition was starting up, which offered a first prize of $10,000. Olson helped Gavin audition and make it into the finals. There Olson met his future wife Kay Furtado, a writer who had been flown to San Francisco to coach another comedian in the competition. A year later they were married in a ceremony in San Francisco by comedian Michael Pritchard, attended by all of the local comedians. Olson and his wife moved to Los Angeles where they raised two children, Casey Olson and Olivia Olson.

Olson's friends Paul Barclay and Bil Downes started the first comedy club in Boston in 1977. There Olson became house piano player and performed as a comedian with an absurdist deadpan act, playing the guitar and hosting other comedians as his eccentric guests. Olson worked for and wrote with the comedians who became his friends – Sean Morey, Lenny Clarke, Bobcat Goldthwait, Joe Alaskey, Don Gavin, Barry Crimmins, Steven Wright, Jimmy Tingle, Denis Leary, Steve Sweeney, Kevin Meaney, Kevin Nealon, Kevin Rooney, and many other Kevins.

Olson first collaborated with songwriter Jeff Root on four home studio albums in the 1970s.

Olson wrote, co-wrote or directed a number of off-beat stage plays in Los Angeles, including "The Head", "The Idiots", "I Never Knew My Father", "1958", "Torn", "The Ron Lynch Show", "The Bob Rubin Experience" and "Cold Black Heart" at various theaters, including the Comedy Central Stage, the HBO Theater and the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood. Olson was also producer of Penn & Teller's FX variety series Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular.

Martin Olson (born April 2, 1956) is an American comedy writer, television producer, author and composer. He is known for his unusual subject matter, and is an original member of the Boston Comedy Scene. He is the father of actress Olivia Olson.