Anecdotes

Adopted his pseudonym based on Van Dyne, an old family name, and the abbreviation of "steamship."

His younger brother was renowned abstract artist, Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973). His works are on exhibit in the Smithsonian, Kemper, Hirshhorn and Walker Art Museums, amongst others.

The murder of playboy and bridge expert Joseph B. Elwell at his home, 244 West 70th Street, in Manhattan, New York, in a locked (from the inside) parlor, no murder weapon found within it, was the inspiration for his Philo Vance detective series.