Dan Ross

1912-1995

William Edward Daniel Ross (actor, writer, soldier, entrepreneur, and playwright) was born in Saint John 16 November 1912. Ross attended high school at Saint John High and went on to study at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York (1934), which led to further studies at the University of Chicago. He then pursued creative writing at the University of Oklahoma and Columbia University. Ross’ primary residence was Saint John, New Brunswick in 1959. He started his own theatre company in 1948 to 1957. During the Second World War, Ross served with British Entertainment Services. With the advent of television and economic decline in theatre, he decided to enter the field of creative writing and became a full-time writer for the latter half of his career (1957-1995). His second wife, Marilyn Ann Clark (m. 1960), served as Ross’ assistant throughout the years of their marriage, proofreading and editing his work. Ross is the author of 358 novels, 12 plays, and over 600 short stories. Ross wrote under several pseudonyms, including Leslie Ames, Rose Dana, Ruth Dorset, Ann Gilmer, Ellen Randolph, Dan Roberts, Clarissa Ross, Dana Ross, Marilyn Ross, Jane Rossiter, Tex Steel, and Rose Williams. Under the name “Marilyn Ross,” Ross published 35 novels based on the TV series Dark Shadows from 1966 to 1972. He was recognized for best first novel in Canada with the Gibson National Literary award. His other achievements include recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records, an honorary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick (1988), and The Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal (1978). Ross died in Saint John on 1 November 1995.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Saint John

Archival Material

• W.E. Dan Ross Collection
  ⌄
  Location

  Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University

  Retrieval Number

  Accession 394

  Date Range of Material

  1930-2015

  Extent

  69 boxes of textual material and other material

  Scope and Content Note

  Collection consists of correspondence (personal, with publishers, and from fans).  Includes manuscripts and carbon typescripts of W.E. Dan Ross's books, stage plays and articles by Ross, including outlines, holograph corrections and editorial work. Includes royalty statements, legal materials, photographs, magazine articles and newspaper clippings. Also includes a videocassettes of an appearance on the Bea Ramsay Show (1975), cassette tapes and personal memorabilia. Includes typescripts related to the Dark Shadows book series.