Louis Joseph Vance

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. 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.{{cite web |url=https://lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/2539 |title=MS 1184 - Vance Family Papers |author= |date=September 17, 2014 |website=Finding Aids |publisher=Bowling Green State University Libraries |access-date=September 21, 2019}}

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 (1914) and a serial and film series (1914–1916) based on his Terence O'Rourke stories.{{cite book |last=Wlaschin |first=Ken |date=2009 |title=Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJYZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 |publisher=McFarland & Co. |page=216 |isbn=9780786454297 }} 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 (1915), 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 (director-general), Gilbert Warrenton (cinematographer) and Bess Meredyth (scenario editor). 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.{{cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |date=1998 |title=The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry |url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoricaldic00slid/page/71 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/newhistoricaldic00slid/page/71 71] |isbn=0-8108-3426-X |author-link=Anthony Slide }}

His book Cynthia of the Minute was adapted into a film with Leah Baird in it.

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.{{cite news |title=Louis Joseph Vance is Victim of Blaze |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19331216&id=3N9XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nugDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1425,4140884 |date=December 16, 1933 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |access-date=September 21, 2019 }} 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.{{cite news |date=December 21, 1933 |title=Simple Rites Held for Louis J. Vance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/12/21/archives/simple-rites-held-for-louis-j-vance-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-i-many-from.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 21, 2019 }} Vance's widow received an estate of less than $10,000.{{cite news |date=January 24, 1934 |title=Widow Gets Vance Residue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/01/24/archives/kochanski-left-estate-of-20000-violinist-made-no-will-louis-joseph.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 21, 2019 }}

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• Terence O'Rourke, Gentleman Adventurer (1905){{cite web |last=Vineyard |first=David L. |date=March 1, 2010 |url=http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1870 |title=Terence O'Rourke, Gentleman Adventurer |website=Mystery*File |access-date=September 21, 2019 }}
  [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Terence%20O%27Rourke%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts at Internet Archive]
• The Private War (1906)
• The Brass Bowl (1907)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8741 at Gutenberg]
  at Wikisource
• The Black Bag (1908)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9779 at Gutenberg]
• The Bronze Bell (1909)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9927 at Gutenberg]
• The Pool of Flame (1909)
  [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28The%20Pool%20of%20Flame%29%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts at Internet Archive]
• Fortune Hunter (1910)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9747 at Gutenberg]
• No Man's Land (1910)
  [https://archive.org/details/nomanslandromanc00vancuoft at Internet Archive]
• Cynthia of the Minute (1911)
• The Bandbox (1912)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31021 at Gutenberg]
• The Destroying Angel (1912)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32302 at Gutenberg]
• The Day of Days (1913)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15873 at Gutenberg]
• Joan Thursday (1913)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36502 at Gutenberg]
• The Trey O' Hearts (1914)
  [https://archive.org/details/cu31924021713320 at Internet Archive]
• The Lone Wolf (LW1) (1914)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9378 at Gutenberg]
  at Wikisource
• Nobody (1915)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29671 at Gutenberg]
• Sheep's Clothing (1915)
• The Last of The Fighting Channings (1916)
• The False Faces (LW2) (1918)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9908 at Gutenberg]
  at Wikisource
• The Dark Mirror (1920)
• Alias the Lone Wolf (LW3) (1921)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10327 at Gutenberg]
• Red Masquerade (LW4) (1921)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10496 at Gutenberg]
• Linda Lee Incorporated (1922)
  [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36445 at Gutenberg]
• Baroque: A Mystery (1923)
• The Lone Wolf Returns (LW5) (1923)
• Mrs. Paramor (1923; basis of the 1924 film Married Flirts)
• Road to En Dor (1925)
• The Dead Ride Hard (1926)
• White Fire (1926)
• They Call It Love (1927)
• Lip-Service (1927)
• Speaking of Women (1930)
• Woman in the Shadow (1930)
• The Lone Wolf's Son (LW6) (1931)
• The Trembling Flame (1931)
• Detective (1932)
• Encore the Lone Wolf (LW7) (1933)
• The Lone Wolf's Last Prowl (LW8) (1934)
• The Street of Strange Faces (1934)

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• The Day of Days (1914){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16327 | title=The Day of Days | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• {{Ill|The Brass Bowl (1914 film)|it|3=The Brass Bowl (film 1914)|lt=The Brass Bowl}} (short, 1914)
• The Trey o' Hearts (serial, 1914)
• {{Ill|Sheep's Clothing|it|Sheep's Clothing (flm 1914)}} (short, 1914)
• Terence O'Rourke, Gentleman Adventurer (serial, 1914)
• {{Ill|The New Adventures of Terence O'Rourke|it}} (serial, 1914){{cite book |last=Wlaschin |first=Ken |date=2009 |title=Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJYZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |publisher=McFarland & Co. |page=163 |isbn=9780786454297 }}
• The Further Adventures of Terence O'Rourke (serial, 1915){{cite book |last=Wlaschin |first=Ken |date=2009 |title=Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJYZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 |publisher=McFarland & Co. |page=90 |isbn=9780786454297 }}
• The Spanish Jade (1915), Vance's film adaptation of his 1908 play; the first film produced by his company Fiction Pictures, Inc.{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/16609-THE-SPANISH-JADE |title=The Spanish Jade |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |accessdate=September 16, 2019}}
• {{Ill|The Destroying Angel (1915 film)|it|3=The Destroying Angel|lt=The Destroying Angel}} (1915),{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16465 | title=The Destroying Angel | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}(see also The Destroying Angel (1923) below)
• {{Ill|The Footlights of Fate|it}} (1916), from Joan Thursday,{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16715| title=The Footlights of Fate | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see also Greater Than Marriage (1924) below)
• The Pool of Flame (last film in the Terence O'Rourke series, 1916){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16788 | title=The Pool of Flame | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• Patria (serial based on The Last of the Fighting Channings, 1917){{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/P/Patria1917.html |title=Patria |publisher=Silent Era |access-date=September 21, 2019 }}
• The Lone Wolf (1917),{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16983 | title=The Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see also The Lone Wolf (1924) above)
• The Mainspring (1917), from Vance's short story, "The Mainspring" originally published in Popular Magazine (Apr 1905), (see Lost at Sea (1926) below){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16986 | title=The Mainspring | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Outsider (1917), from Nobody{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/16992 | title=The Outsider | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• No Man's Land (1918){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/17204| title=No Man's Land | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The False Faces (1919){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/17345 | title=The False Faces | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Bandbox (1919){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/17361 | title=The Bandbox | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Dark Mirror (1920){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/2052 | title=The Dark Mirror | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• Cynthia-of-the-Minute (1920){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/17712| title=Cynthia-of-the-Minute | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Bronze Bell (1921){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/3095| title=The Bronze Bell | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Black Bag (1922){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/2877 | title=The Black Bag | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Spanish Jade (1922), based on Vance's 1908 play The Spanish Jade, co-written with Maurice Henry Hewlett{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/12322 | title=The Spanish Jade | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Brass Bowl (1924){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/3011 | title=The Brass Bowl | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see Masquerade (1927) below)
• The Destroying Angel (1923){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/3720| title=The Destroying Angel | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see also The Destroying Angel (1916) above)
• Greater Than Marriage (1924), from Joan Thursday,{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/9503 | title=Greater Than Marriage | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see also The Footlights of Fate (1916) above)
• The Lone Wolf (1924),{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10349 | title=The Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see also The Lone Wolf (1917) above)
• Married Flirts (1924), based on the novel Mrs. Paramor{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10665 | title=Married Flirts | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Returns (1926),{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10350| title=The Lone Wolf Returns | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see The Lone Wolf Returns (1935) below)
• Lost at Sea (1926), from Vance's short story, "The Mainspring" originally published in Popular Magazine (Apr 1905), (see The Mainspring (1917) above){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10373 | title=Lost at Sea | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• Alias the Lone Wolf (1927){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/2548 | title=Alias the Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• Masquerade (1929), based on The Brass Bowl{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10686 | title=Masquerade | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see The Brass Bowl (1924) above)
• The Last of the Lone Wolf (1930), based on Vance's short story "The Last of the Lone Wolf"{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10175 | title=The Last of the Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• Cheaters at Play (1932), based on Vance's short story "The Lone Wolf's Son" published in Red Book Magazine (1931){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/4991 | title=Cheaters at Play | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Returns (1935),{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/6542 | title=Cheaters at Play | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 24, 2018}} (see The Lone Wolf Returns (1926) above)
• The Lone Wolf In Paris (1938), based on The Lone Wolf Returns, (see The Lone Wolf Returns (1926) and The Lone Wolf Returns (1935) above)

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:

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• The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1929){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/10351 | title=The Lone Wolf's Daughter | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/5138 | title=The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1940){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/6108 | title=The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/6447 | title=The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/6772 | title=The Lone Wolf Strikes | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/26788 | title=The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/27043 | title=Secrets of the Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• Counter-Espionage (1942){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/27183 | title=Counter-Espionage | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• One Dangerous Night (1943){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/601 | title=One Dangerous Night | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• Passport to Suez (1943){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/610 | title=Passport to Suez | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/24901 | title=The Notorious Lone Wolf | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf in London (1947){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/25252 | title=The Lone Wolf in London | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/25253 | title=The Lone Wolf in Mexico | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}
• The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949){{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/26005| title=The Lone Wolf and His Lady | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=August 25, 2018}}

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• {{Ill|The Secret Kingdom (serial)|it|3=The Secret Kingdom|lt=The Secret Kingdom}} (1916)
• The Inn of the Blue Moon (1918)
• Wild Honey (1918)
• Twilight (1919)
• The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1919)
• Love (1920)
• Beau Revel (1921)
• The King of the Turf (1926)

• Lone Wolf (fictional detective)

{{Reflist}}

{{wikisource|works=or|Louis Joseph Vance}}

{{Commons category|Louis Joseph Vance}}

• {{Gutenberg author |id=2870| name=Louis Joseph Vance}}
• {{FadedPage|id=Vance, Louis Joseph|name=Louis Joseph Vance|author=yes}}
• {{Internet Archive author |sname=Louis Joseph Vance}}
• {{Librivox author |id=2775}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Louis Joseph}}

Category:20th-century American novelists

Category:American male novelists

Category:1879 births

Category:1933 deaths

Category:Accidental deaths in New York (state)

Category:Deaths from fire in the United States

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:Writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction