Maurice R. Coons (July 18, 1902 – October 10, 1930), known by the pen name Armitage Trail, was an American pulp fiction author, known best for his 1929 novel Scarface.
During this time, he visited New York City, eventually quitting home to live in the vicinity of Chicago, where he wrote Scarface.
He lived in Oak Park, Illinois, a town adjacent to the west side of Chicago, where he worked on composing Scarface daily in his sun-room.
Trail lived flamboyantly in Hollywood, rapidly gaining weight, wearing wide-brimmed Borsalino hats, and hiring a black chauffeur and a servant named Elijah Ford.
[6] Trail's first novel, published in 1929, was named The Thirteenth Guest, and concerned the investigation of the murder of fictional character Marie Morgan.
[citation needed] Trail's most famous novel, published in 1930, details the life of Tony "Scarface" Camonte, a character based on gangster Al Capone.