Pseudonym of William Anthony Parker White. He was born in Oakland, California. He graduated from Pasadena High School in 1928. Boucher attended Pasadena Junior College and then the University of Southern California, where he obtained a BA in Spanish in 1932. In 1934, he went to Los Angeles to become a scriptwriter, but was unable to get work. He began reviewing theater and music for a weekly paper, the United Progressive News. In 1938, he married Phyllis Price. In 1942, the couple returned to Berkeley. Boucher began reviewing mysteries and science fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle and published stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. In 1951, he became the mystery reviewer for the New York Times. He also wrote under the pseudonym 'H.H. Holmes'.