[3] Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Richard Wheeler was raised in the suburb of Wauwatosa in a family descended from New England Puritans.
At first intending to be a playwright, he studied at the Pasadena Playhouse,[4] later taking acting lessons and trying his hand at being a screenwriter.
Inspired by both the westerns he was editing and the frequent layoffs in the industry which left him with free time,[4] Wheeler penned his first novel, Bushwhack, published by Doubleday in 1978.
Two years later he won the first of five Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America with his 1989 book, Fool's Coach.
Wheeler was married to Sue Hart, a professor at Montana State University Billings, who died in the summer of 2014.