S.S. Van Dine

S.S. Van Dine

  • Birthday: 1888-10-15
  • Deathday: 1939-04-11
  • Also know as: Willard Huntington Wright

Biography

S. S. Van Dine is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-WWI New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio. Willard Huntington Wright was born to Archibald Davenport Wright and Annie Van Vranken Wright on October 15, 1888, in Charlottesville, Virginia. His younger brother, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, became a respected painter and one of the first American abstract artists, founder of the school of modern art known as "Synchromism". Willard and Stanton were raised in Santa Monica, California, where their father owned a hotel. Willard, a largely self-taught writer, attended St. Vincent College, Pomona College, andHarvard University without graduating. In 1907, he married Katharine Belle Boynton of Seattle, Washington; they had one child, Beverley. After divorcing Katharine, whom he had abandoned early in their marriage, he married for a second time in October 1930. His second wife was Eleanor Rulapaugh, known professionally as Claire De Lisle, a portrait painter and socialite.

Production

The Kennel Murder Case

1933

As Writer

Calling Philo Vance

1940

As Novel

The Week End Mystery

1931

As Writer

Murder in the Pullman

1932

As Story

Philo Vance Returns

1947

As Characters

The Symphony Murder Mystery

1932

As Characters

Night of Mystery

1937

As Novel

The Clyde Mystery

1931

As Writer

The Side Show Mystery

1932

As Writer

The Campus Mystery

1932

As Writer

The Crane Poison Case

1932

As Writer

The Cole Case

1932

As Writer

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