Novelist Lloyd C. Douglas was born Doya Cassell Douglas in Columbia City, IN, in 1877. His father was a Lutheran minister. Young Lloyd attended Wittenberg Seminary in Springfield, OH, where he received his education as a minister. After graduating he served as a pastor in a church in Manchester, IN. In 1905--by now married and with two children--he moved to Lancaster, OH, then in 1908 to Washington, DC. From 1911-15 he was chaplain and director of religious work at the University of Illinois. He served as pastor of many churches all over the US over the next 20 years, but in 1933 he retired from the ministry and devoted all his time to writing.

Many of his books, with religious themes, have been turned into successful films, the best example probably being "The Robe", which was published in 1942 and sold six million copies. It was turned into a very successful film, The Robe (1953), a huge success that garnered two Academy Awards. His next most famous work would probably be "Magnificent Obsession", written in 1929 and filmed, with great success, as Magnificent Obsession (1954) in 1954.

His last novel, "The Big Fisherman" (1948), focused in Jesus, Peter and a young couple, Esther and Voldi, in Palestine. He began his autobiography, "Time to Remember", but died before he finished it. His daughters Virginia and Betty finished it, titling the work "The Shape of Sunday".

He died in Los Angeles, CA, in 1951.

See photos of celebrities before they hit the big-time.

Lloyd C. Douglas

Writer