Louis Joseph Vance was an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. He created the popular character Michael Lanyard, a criminal-turned-detective known as The Lone Wolf.
Biography
Louis Joseph Vance was born September 19, 1879, in Washington, D. C., the only child of Wilson J. Vance, a Medal of Honor recipient, and Lillian Beall Vance. He was educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Vance was married to Anne Elizabeth Hodges on February 19, 1898. Their son, Wilson Beall Vance, was born in 1900. He wrote short stories and verse after 1901, then composed many popular novels. His character Michael Lanyard, known as The Lone Wolf, was featured in eight books and 24 films between 1914 and 1949 and also appeared in radio and television series. Vance moved to Los Angeles to work with Universal Pictures on films based on his work, including The Trey o' Hearts and a serial and film series based on his Terence O'Rourke stories. In 1915, he founded Fiction Pictures, Inc., a motion picture production company whose films were distributed by Paramount Pictures. Its first release was The Spanish Jade, with a screenplay by Vance based on his stage adaptation of a novel by Maurice Hewlett. Vance was president and general manager of the company; other principals were Wilfred Lucas, Gilbert Warrenton and Bess Meredyth. Fiction Pictures operated in Glendale until a new studio in Hollywood was completed in April 1915. The studio was sold to Famous Players in June, when Fiction Pictures went out of business. Vance died alone in his New York City apartment on December 16, 1933, in a fire that resulted from his falling asleep with a lighted cigarette. His death was ruled accidental. A simple funeral took place December 20, 1933, at St. George's Protestant Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, with honorary pallbearers including Marc Connelly, Will Irwin and Samuel Merwin. Vance's widow received an estate of less than $10,000.
Lost at Sea, from Vance's short story, "The Mainspring" originally published in Popular Magazine,
Alias the Lone Wolf
Masquerade, based on The Brass Bowl
The Last of the Lone Wolf, based on Vance's short story "The Last of the Lone Wolf"
Cheaters at Play, based on Vance's short story "The Lone Wolf's Son" published in Red Book Magazine
The Lone Wolf Returns,
The Lone Wolf In Paris, based on The Lone Wolf Returns, and The Lone Wolf Returns
In addition to adaptations of his novels, the following films, while not straight adaptations, were based on the characters from Vance's Lone Wolf series:
