(April 1, 1875-February 10, 1932)
Born in London, United Kingdom
Birth name was Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace
Wrote 175 novels and 24 plays
Notable novels included the Four Just Men series, the Sanders of the River series, the J. G. Reeder series and the Inspector Elk series
Wrote the original screenplay for King Kong

He made up quotes for an article in the Daily Mail about Lever Brothers soap, causing the newspaper to lose a 50,000-pound libel suit.
To hype interest in his first Four Just Men book, he offered a 250-pound prize for figuring out the mystery; unfortunately, he forgot to limit the payment of the prize to a single winner, so he shelled out 5,000 pounds and lost money on the best-seller.
He ran unsuccessfully for Parliament.
He attributed his prolific output to his daily consumption of 30 cups of tea and four packs of cigarettes, which he called 'sufficient inspiration for anyone.'
He consistently lived beyond his means and left 140,000 pounds in debts when he died.

His daughter Eleanor died of meningitis at age two.
Over 160 films were made from his novels, a record for a 20th-century author.
In the 1920s, his publisher claimed that a quarter of all books read in Britain had been written by him.

Credit: C. Fishel

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For 2009, as of last week, Out of 38 Votes: 50.0% Annoying

• Born on April Fool's Day [April 1st] (Ranked: 1875)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 19]
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• I Write Pulp Fiction
• I'm a Bastard
• King Kong [1933, 1976, 2005]
• Known By a Middle Name
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• Profiles 25251-25500 (Ranked: 25383)