Louis King was born Oscar Lewis King on June 28, 1898 in Christiansburg, Virginia. He became a film director but started his career in 1919 as a character actor specializing in villains and bullies. Sometimes credited as Lewis King, he began directing westerns and adventures films during the silent era. He had a flair for outdoors pictures, Powder River and The Lion and the Horse being two good examples. In the 1950s, King began directing westerns for TV including episodes of Gunsmoke, Zane Grey Theater and The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. Cornered is his only novel. King died as the result of injuries sustained from a car accident on September 7, 1962 in Los Angeles.