Anthony E. Wills

Anthony E. Wills, sometimes given as Anthony E. Willis, (December 1, 1879 – July 25, 1912) was an American playwright, novelist, author of short stories, and theatrical producer. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Wills began his career as an author writing short stories. In 1901 his only novel, Monsieur Paul De Fere, was published by The Abbey Press. From 1902 until his death ten years later he devoted himself to writing plays; producing nearly forty works for the theatre. Several of his plays were performed by the Wills Amusement Company; a professional theatre troupe which Wills founded in 1907. The first play the organization performed was Wills' The Lost Trail which the company brought to Broadway in 1908. After his death in 1912 at the age of 32, Vitagraph Studios purchased the film rights to his entire body of work in 1913. That studio made three silent films based on stories by Wills: A Regiment of Two (1913), Our Wives (1913), and Too Many Husbands (1914).