Authority control databases
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Ardon Van Buren Powell | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 31, 1886 |
| Died | August 20, 1962 (aged 76) |
| Pen name | Van Powell |
| Genre | Adventure |
Ardon Van Buren Powell was an American screenwriter in the early years of the movies industry and later a writer of adventure books for boys. He wrote as both A. Van Buren Powell and Van Powell.
Ardon Van Buren Powell was born in Macon, Georgia and moved to New York with his family as a child. Despite being visually impaired from birth, he pursued a career as a writer of comedies in the silent film industry. From 1912 to 1921, Powell worked in the film industry in New York City. Some of his credits were screen adaptations of works by other writers including O. Henry and James Oliver Curwood. When the movie industry largely moved to California, Powell remained in New York and began writing adventure novels for boys.[1][2]
In the early 1940s, with his vision almost completely gone, Powell changed careers and became an insurance broker in Vineland, New Jersey. He resided in the town for the last 35 years of his life, the final 17 of them in a home for the handicapped.[3]
Powell died in Vineland on August 20, 1962. According to his obituary, he was the author of 22 books.[4]
Included among Powell's 47 movies credits are:
