He suffered from amblyopia and poliomyelitis[2] as a child, but graduated from Hyde Park High School[3] by the age of 16.

He was interested in writing from an early age, and became a police reporter before he went to Wilson Junior College.

Leslie Waller with his co-author Arnold Drake are credited with having written the first graphic novel, It Rhymes with Lust.

Originally published in 1950, the graphic novel was rereleased by Dark Horse Comics in the Spring of 2007.

His trilogy, The Banker, The Family, and The American garnered recognition, landing the last title on The New York Times bestseller list.