Ray Morton: Author and Film Historian

Ray will be at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 7pm to discuss and sign his new book KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON -- REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION. If you're in the Los Angeles area on that day, please join us.

This new, extensively expanded, revised, and updated edition of Ray's 2005 tome King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon has just been published by Bloomsbury. It features all new information, all-new interviews, and all-new chapters to present the most complete account ever of the entire King Kong phenomenon. Now available in bookstores and from online retailers, including Bloomsbury.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Bookshop.org.

Ray was a guest on Oliver Harper's Retrospectives and Reviews Youtube channel discussing the history of King Kong and Ray's new book KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON -- REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION.

Ray was a guest on the Inglorious Treksperts podcast, discussing both King Kong (and Ray's new King Kong book) and the legendary unmade Star Trek feature film PLANET OF THE TITANS with hosts Mark A. Altman and Daren Dochterman.

Ray was a guest on the Adam's Corner podcast discussing his new book KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON -- REVISED AND UPDATED EDITIONS with host Adam Long

Ray returned to the Kaiju Transmissions podcast to discuss the revised and updated edition of his book KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON.

Ray spoke with FILM THREAT host Chris Gore about the history of King Kong.

Ray joined host Jonathan Ytreberg to discuss Kong and his new book.

The commentary track Ray recorded for Shout Factory's 2021 Collector's Edition blu-ray of King Kong (1976) has been included (along with many of that disc's other special features) on this brand new 2022 4K restoration of the film from Studio Canal.

Ray is one of the primary on-camera contributors to this exciting 6-part television series from Nacelle that chronicles the making of the first six Star Wars movies. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Ray is a contributor to this first installment of this two-part oral history of Planet of the Apes film series.

"Along with the James Bond series, Apes actually pioneered the concept of the cinematic franchise as it is now understood...like all of the best science fiction film and television, the series spoke to the issues and anxieties of the day...in an entertaining, action-adventure format that audiences could and did eagerly embrace."

Ray is a contributor to this epic new oral history of Superman by Edward Gross

"Superman...connects directly with one of the most basic of human desires: to know that there is more to us than what appears to be on the surface -- that beneath our seemingly ordinay exteriors lies something great and powerful and wonderful. No other superhero character addresses this dream more exactly or directly."