Biography

John Monk Saunders was born on November 22, 1895 in Hinckley, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Dawn Patrol (1930), Wings (1927) and Devil Dogs of the Air (1935). He was married to Fay Wray and Avis Bissell (Hughes). He died on March 11, 1940 in Ft. Myers, Florida, USA.

Fay Wray's first husband and father of their daughter, Susan.

American novelist and screenwriter of the 1930s, the son of a prominent federal attorney. He was educated in Seattle at the University of Washington and later became an Oxford Rhodes Scholar. In the early 20's, he worked as a reporter for the New York Tribune. Saunders had a special affinity for aviation, at one time dreamed of becoming a fighter ace. He had served in the Air Service during World War I as a flight instructor in Florida, but to his chagrin never saw action in France. However, he had a successful stint in Hollywood as a writer on aviation themes, beginning with Wings (1927). His life was eventually cut short due to alcohol abuse and dissolution.

[on winning an Academy Award for Cimarron (1931): This is indeed a crazy business where I'm being sued for plagiarism on one hand and given the statuette for originality on the other.