Saunders, a Rhodes Scholar, served in the Air Service during WWI as a flight instructor. His experiences would come in handy later in life when he penned novels and screenplays about flyers. He wrote Wings, which was the first film to win an Academy Award for best picture. He married Avis Hughes in 1922 and their marriage lasted until 1927. The next year he married actress Fay Wray of King Kong fame, and they were together until 1939. The following year Saunders ended his life by hanging himself.