Richard Orson Lockridge was born on September 26, 1898 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was a writer of detective fiction. Along with his wife Francis, Richard Lockridge created the famous American mystery series, Mr. and Mrs, North. Lockridge was educated at the University of Missouri. He began working as a reporter on the Kansas City Kansan and the Kansas City Star. In 1932, Lockridge published his first book, Darling of Misfortune: Edwin Booth: 1833-1893. In 1937, Frances Lockridge conceived the plot for a detective novel, but had problems with her characters. Richard Lockridge collaborated with his wife, using her plot and the characters he had created earlier for a series of comic sketches… in The New Yorker, Mr. and Mrs. North. The book was published in 1940 as The Norths Meet Murder, launching a series of twenty-six novels, which was adapted for the stage, film, radio, and television. The Lockridge's went on to write several mystery series including Lt. Heimrich series, Nathan Shapiro series and Paul Lane series. Richard Lockridge died in 1982 after s series of strokes.