Ballard, Todhunter, 1903-1980

Willis Todhunter Ballard was born on December 13, 1903 in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio in 1926. Following graduation he began working for his father's company, F.W. Ballard Company, as an engineer constructing power plants and transmission lines. His transition to a career as a professional writer began with the editorship of an electrical trade magazine. His first published story, "Gambler's luck," appeared in Brief stories in 1927. Ballard was a prolific writer and wrote over a thousand stories for magazines such as Saturday evening post, Collier's, Argosy, McCall's, Esquire, and Liberty. He also wrote stories for pulp magazines. Ballard wrote about fifty television and movie scripts, including The outcast for Republic Pictures. His television series included Cowboy G-Men, Death Valley days, Shotgun Slade, Shannon, and Alias Smith and Jones. Ballard's main writing interests were in the mystery and western genres. He wrote over seventy books under pseudonyms Brian Agar, P.D. Ballard, Todhunter Ballard, W.T. Ballard, Parker Bonner, Hunter D'Allard, Harrison Hunt, Tod Hunt, John Hunter, Neil MacNeil, John Shepherd, and others. Ballard was an active member of the Western Writers of America and won their "Spur Award" in 1965 for Gold in California as "best historical novel." Ballard died on December 27, 1980 in Mount Dora, Florida at the age of 77.

From the description of Willis Todhunter Ballard papers, 1926-1975. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 53194039