Louis Joseph Vance

Terence O'Rourke Louis Joseph Vance

Louis Joseph Vance (September 19, 1879-December 16, 1933) was an American novelist, born in Washington, D. C., and educated in the preparatory department of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He wrote short stories and verse after 1901, then composed many popular novels. His character "Michael Lanyard", also 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 was separated from his wife (whom he had married in 1898 and who had borne him a son in 1899) when he was found dead in 1933. He was in a burnt armchair inside his New York apartment. A cigarette had ignited some benzene (used for cleaning his clothes or for his broken jaw) that he had on his body, and he had been intoxicated at the time of death. He had recently returned from the West Indies, where he had gathered material for a new book. The death was ruled accidental.