Zane Grey (1872 - 1939) was an American author of popular short stories and novels about the American West. Grey attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship. He graduated in 1895 and became a dentist. Upon achieving moderate literary success with the publication of Riders of the Purple Sage in 1912, he abandoned dentistry and became a full-time writer. Grey published dozens of books over the next three decades. Many were adopted into movies. Critics have dismissed much of Grey's later work as portraying a fanciful version of the American West. Despite the criticism, Grey's novels enjoy enduring popularity.
Grey was the inspiration for the CBS 1956-1961 western television series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, hosted by actor Dick Powell (1904-1963), who appeared in fifteen episodes as the title character.