Held a wide variety of jobs over his life--Merchant Marine sailor, electrician, bellhop, rigger, surveyor, ceramicist and carpenter.
Started writing in his early 20s.
Did not become established as a writer until he was in his late 50s.
(11/03) For many years he and wife Norma (married in 1946) have
lived in the hills of Oakland, California. Though now blind, he
continues to work with a talking computer; he finished a
novel, "Lurulu".
A specific kind of magic system commonly used in role-playing games such as D&D has been named after him: "Vancian magic" is the one where the wizard has to memorize and prepare spells in advance before using them.
He is a lifelong jazz buff; his earliest known published writing is a
jazz review in "The Daily Californian" (UC-Berkeley student newspaper).