LJ Vance
Louis Joseph Vance was an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. Best known for the popular character Michael Lanyard, a criminal-turned-detective known as The Lone Wolf who featured in eight books and 24 films between 1914 and 1949 and also appeared in radio and television series.
He wrote short stories, verse and many popular novels.
Vance moved to Los Angeles to work with Universal Pictures on films based on his work, including The Trey o' Hearts (1914) and a serial and film series (19141916) 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. 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