Daniel Pratt Mannix IV (October 27, 1911 – January 29, 1997) was an American writer, journalist, photographer, sideshow performer, stage magician, animal trainer, and filmmaker. His best-known works are the 1958 book Those About to Die, which remained in continuous print for three decades and became the basis for the Ridley Scott movie Gladiator; and the 1967 novel The Fox and the Hound which in 1981 was adapted into an animated film by Walt Disney Productions.
Source: Daniel P. Mannix on Wikipedia.