The son of Robert J. and Emma E. (Derr) Biggers, Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio, and graduated from Harvard University in 1907, where he was a member of The Lampoon. He worked briefly as a journalist for The Plain Dealer in 1907,[2] and then for the Boston Traveller until 1912, before turning to fiction. Many of his plays and novels were made into movies.