Johnston McCulley

The American Johnston McCulley (Ottawa (Illinois), 1883 - February 2, Los Angeles, 23 november 1958) was the author of hundreds of stories, about fifty books, script writer for dozens of films and television series and the creator of the character Zorro. Many of his books and stories were written under a pseudonym, as Harrison Strong, Raley Brien, George Drayne, Monica Morton, Rowena Raley, Frederic Phelps, Walter Pierson, and John Mack Stone.

McCulley started as a police reporter for The Police Gazette 'and served in the army as information officer during the first world war. As an amateur historian, he went after pulp fiction and write scripts, which he often used a Southern California location for his stories. Outdoor Zorro he devised various other characters such as Black Star, The Mongoose and Thubway Tham. Many of McCulley's characters, such as the Green Ghost, the Thunderbolt, and the Crimson Clown were sources of inspiration for the masked heroes who since the days of McCulley entrance do in popular culture to this day.