Willis Todhunter Ballard (December 13, 1903 – December 27, 1980) was an American writer, known for his

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

and mystery novels.

Pseudonyms

Ballard was a prolific pulp writer, most notably for the legendary mystery magazine '' Black Mask'' under the name W.T. Ballard. He also authored several mystery and crime novels under that name. Ballard wrote western novels as Todhunter Ballard and the following pseudonyms: Jack Slade, Hunter D'Allard, Clay Turner, John Hunter, Sam Bowie, Parker Bonner, Brian Fox, and Clint Reno. He wrote numerous teleplays for shows such as ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'' and ''Shannon''.

Personal

Ballard was born on December 13, 1903, in Cleveland, Ohio. Ballard attended schools in Cleveland and

Westtown, Pennsylvania Westtown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,827 at the 2010 census. History County Bridge No. 148 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Geography Accordin ...

. In 1926 he graduated from Wilmington College,

Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,660 at the 2020 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is ...

. He was married to Phoebe Dwiggins, daughter of

Clare Victor Dwiggins Clare Victor Dwiggins (June 16, 1874 – October 26, 1958) was an American cartoonist who signed his work Dwig. Dwiggins created a number of comic strips and single-panel cartoons for various American newspapers and newspaper syndicates from 18 ...

, the popular American cartoonist known as "Dwig." He died December 27, 1980.

Work

Ballard wrote thousands of magazine stories and over fifty television scripts.Guide to the Todhunter Ballard Papers 1926-1975
/ref> Almost all of these stories were in the mystery or western genre. Ballard died on December 27, 1980, in Mount Dora, Florida.

Partial bibliography

Mysteries/Crime * ''Say Yes to Murder'' (1942) * ''Murder Can't Stop'' (1947) * ''Murder in Hollywood'' (1951) * ''Walk in Fear'' (1952) * ''Chance Elson'' (1958) * ''Murder Las Vegas Style'' (1958) * ''Fury in the Heart'' (1959) * ''Pretty Miss Murder'' (1961) * ''The Seven Sisters'' (1962) * ''Mexican Slay Ride'' (1962) * ''Three for the Money'' (1963) Westerns * ''Two-Edged Vengeance'' (1951) aka ''The Circle C Feud'' (1952) * ''Incident at Sun Mountain'' (1952) * ''West of Quarantine'' (1953) * ''High Iron'' (1953) * ''Oulaw Brand'' (1954) as Parker Bonner * ''Trigger Trail'' (1955) * ''Guns of the Lawless'' (1956) * ''Trail Town Marshall'' (1957) * ''The Marshall from Deadwood'' (1958) as John Hunter * ''Trouble on the Massacre'' (1959) * ''The Night Riders'' (1961) * ''The Long Sword'' (1962) as Hunter D'Allard * ''Gopher Gold'' (1962) * ''Desperation Valley'' (1964) * ''Gold in California!'' (1965) * ''Lassiter'' (1968) as Jack Slade * ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) as Brian Fox * ''Sabata'' (1969) as Brian Fox * ''A Western Bonanza: Eight Short Novels of the West'' (1969) * ''Chisum'' (1970) as Sam Bowie * ''The Californian'' (1971) * ''Nowhere Left to Run'' (1972) * ''Loco and the Wolf'' (1973) * ''Home to Texas'' (1974) * ''Sierra Massacre'' (1974) as Clint Reno * ''Trails of Rage'' (1975) * ''The Sheriff of Tombstone'' (1977) * ''Lost Gold: A Western Duo''

Awards

Spur Award Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...

, 1965 for ‘’Gold in California!’’.

References

External links

* 1903 births 1980 deaths Writers from Cleveland Wilmington College (Ohio) alumni Western (genre) writers 20th-century American novelists American mystery writers American male novelists People from Mount Dora, Florida 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio {{US-novelist-1900s-stub