Will M. Ritchey
actor, miscellaneous, writer
- Born:
- 1879-09-24, Evansville, Indiana, USA
- Died:
- 1937-01-14, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Professions:
- actor, miscellaneous, writer
Biography
September 24, 1879, Evansville, Indiana, welcomed Will M. Ritchey into the world, and from that river-town cradle he set out to spin stories that flickered to life on the silver screen. Between the clack of typewriter keys and the glare of studio kliegs, he conjured the snow-blasted frontier of *The Flame of the Yukon* (1926), the tropical camaraderie of *Pals in Paradise* (1926), and the tempest-tossed drama of *After the Storm* (1928). Though he occasionally stepped before the camera, his true haunt was the page, where plots snapped shut like bear traps and dialogue cracked like bullwhips. Forty years after his first breath, on January 14, 1937, the Los Angeles sun set on his final scene, leaving the reels of early Hollywood to spin his legend forward.
