Author: Willard Huntington Wright
Alternate names: S. S. Van Dine (pseud.); Willard H. Wright; Willard Huntington 1888-1939 Wright
Title: (Van Dine, S. S.)
Born: 15 October 1888
Died: 11 April 1939
Bio: S. S. Van Dine (also styled 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-World War I New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the 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.