Career
He was a syndicated travel columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times, and editor of the Los Angeles Magazine. He also wrote advertisements for See"s Candies, screenplays, short fiction such as the "Father Anton Dymek" mysteries and was a host of a radio program in the Los Angeles area. From Frank Riley"s obituary in the Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1996:
In 1976, the couple walked and biked the 800 miles of the 1776 De Anza expedition from Mexico to San Francisco and wrote the resulting book, "De Anza"s Trail Today."
Born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Riley grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin, and attended college in Ripon, Wisconsin
He began his career as a reporter for the New York Daily News, eventually covering the White House.
He served in the Merchant Marine during World World War II and after the war moved his family to Manhattan Beach.