Mel Gilden

Mel Gilden

          Mel Gilden took over as co-host of Hour 25 shortly after Mitch Harding left the show. Although he'd done several shows as a guest co-host in the past his first show as the official co-host was June 19, 1981. The last show he co-hosted was on June 17, 1986.

          Mel Gilden is the author of many children's books, some of which received rave reviews in such places as School Library Journal and Booklist. His multi-part stories for children appeared frequently in the Los Angeles Times. His popular novels and short stories for grown-ups have also received good reviews in the Washington Post and other publications.

          Licensed properties include adaptations of feature films, and of TV shows such as Star Trek; Beverly Hills, 90210; and NASCAR Racers. He has also written books based on video games and has written original stories based in the Star Trek universe. His short stories have appeared in many original and reprint anthologies.

          He has written cartoons for TV, has developed new shows, and was assistant story editor for the DIC television production of The Real Ghostbusters. He consulted at Disney and Universal, helping develop theme park attractions.

          Gilden lectures to school and library groups, and has been known to teach fiction writing. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where the debris meets the sea, and still hopes to be an astronaut when he grows up.

          Be sure to check out his web site at www.melgilden.com.