Ball was born in
Schenectady, New York, grew up in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended
Carroll College in
Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote for a number of magazines and newspapers, including the
Brooklyn Eagle. For a time he worked as a part-time
reserve deputy for the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, was trained in martial arts, and was a
nudist. In the mid-1980s, he was the book review columnist for
Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Ball lived in
Encino, California, and died there in 1988. He was a member of the exclusive
The Baker Street Irregulars, a society of ardent Sherlock Holmes fans. He was invested in the BSI in 1960 as "The Oxford Flier." Ball's
Last Plane Out consists of two stories which share characters and then meld together. The first involves a group of travelers in a troubled
Third World country, waiting for the last plane out, which they hope will carry them to safety. The second story is shared by an aviation buff who is given his chance to increase his flying skills by the airline that has been built by the pilot of the first story. He died in 1988 and was buried at the
Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. == Magic ==