Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Donovan worked as a press feeder in Covington Kentucky before becoming a newspaperman. Donovan later became a copyreader and journalist for the San Francisco Call-Bulletin and the Vancouver Sun, as well as city editor for the Spokane Chronicle.

In the twenties he was possibly after working in Hollywood. Anecdotally, he was offered the job scripting the 1925 silent version of Ben Hur, but lost the chance by going on a drinking binge.

He briefly wrote for Dell Publications in 1929.

He began to write for pulps in the late twenties. By 1933, he was writing for Street & Smith contributing short stories to the back pages of The Shadow, Doc Savage and others, sometimes under the house name of Walter Wayne. He wrote most of the first issue of Street & Smith’s Movie Action, novelising current film scripts.

In 1935, Nanovic asked him to write Doc Savage novels under the house name of Kenneth Robeson, alternating with originating author, Lester Dent. He wrote nine Doc Savage novels between November 1935 and July 1937. He created nautical character Captain John Fury for Street & Smith’s The Skipper under the house name Wallace Brooker and launched The Whisperer writing as Clifford Goodrich. He continued both characters as backups in The Shadow and Doc Savage, and began ghosting the adventures of Pete Rice in Wild West Weekly as Austin Gridley.

After a liquor-induced falling out with editor John Nanovic in 1938, Donovan moved to rival Thrilling Publications, where he began ghosting the adventures of The Phantom Detective under the house name of Robert Wallace. Donovan ultimately ghosted most of the Thrilling heroes.

Donovan is also believed to have written for radio.

Donovan died in seclusion in Manhattan, New York. His last known published work was the “Pa” Howdy story, “Redheads Kill Easy”, for Popular Publications’ New Detective, February 1952.