Paul James Mooney (November 4, 1904 – presumed dead after March 24, 1939) was a freelance journalist and photojournalist today best known for his collaborative work with adventurer and travel writer Richard Halliburton.
Returning to the United States, Mooney considered school at Catholic University before seeking his fortune in New York City where he wrote advertising copy for a travel agency.
In 1937, when Halliburton decided to settle down in Laguna Beach, California, Mooney suggested to him that he contract William Alexander Levy, a recent graduate of the New York University School of Architecture, to design and build a house for him.
In 1938, Mooney, as his mimeograph operator, accompanied Halliburton to China on his final expedition: they planned to sail a Wenchow-styled Chinese junk christened the Sea Dragon across the Pacific from Hong Kong to the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco.
Mooney also assisted Halliburton in preparing for the San Francisco News and the Bell Syndicate the more generally circulated articles, a projected fifteen in number, which were called collectively The Log of the Sea Dragon.