Edgar Wallace Writer | Director | Producer -

Date of Birth 1 April 1875, Greenwich, London, England, UK

Date of Death 10 February 1932, Hollywood, California, USA (double pneumonia)

Birth Name Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace

Mini Bio (1) Edgar Wallace was born on April 1, 1875 in Greenwich, London, England as Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace. He was a writer and director, known for King Kong (2005), King Kong (1933) and King Kong (1976). He was married to Ethel Violet King and Ivy Maude Caldecott. He died on February 10, 1932 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Ethel Violet King (1921 - 10 February 1932) (his death) (1 child)

Ivy Maude Caldecott (1901 - 1918) (divorced) (3 children)

For a 20th-century author he has had the greatest number of novels made into movies.

Father of Bryan Edgar Wallace, who followed in his father's footsteps as a writer of thrillers, some of which were filmed.

Was an early mentor of director Carol Reed.

In his heyday, he was one of the most popular writers in the UK, second only to Charles Dickens.

Almost thirty years after his death, there was a sudden explosion of popularity for his works due to British, and especially German, feature films based on his stories. The were also numerous television adaptations produced in the UK.

He died while in Hollywood working on a film project that would become King Kong (1933). The author had only been in the country for three months before succumbing to double pneumonia in February 1932.

In the movie Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004) his opinion about the disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 is mentioned.

Father of Eleanor Clare Hellier Wallace, Bryan Edgar Wallace, Patricia Marion Caldecott Wallace, Michael Blair Wallace and Penelope Wallace, grandfather of Penelope Wyrd, half-brother of Marriott Edgar, uncle of Hindle Edgar.

Wallave was an inveterate gambler.

Although his estate consisted mostly of debts, the ongoing popularity of his works through continuing royalties soon put it in the black within two years of his death.

Wallace's outlook was prolific. During he 1920s alone he wrote 170 novels, 170 plays and hundreds of short stories, a prodigious output. Excluding the Bible and textbooks a fourth of all the books manufactured in the U.K were written by the author.

After suffering business losses with his experience with British Lion Films, Wallace ran for a seat in Parliament on the Liberal Party ticket for Blackpool but was defeated.

In 1927 Wallace was elected chairman of the board for British Lio Films for 10000 pounds worth of stock, 1000 for each one of is works filmed by the company, 10% of the company's annual profits, and an annual salary of 500 pounds. The deal was not particularly lucrative for the writer although he acted and directed in many of them.

The only contribution of Wallace's that would survive into the finished "King Kong" was idea to give Kong human characteristics.

Personal Quotes (1) An Academic is someone who has found something more interesting than sex..

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908624/