In California, he met his future wife Frances Reed, also a gifted writer. They lived in her family home in Sausalito where they raised their three children. There were a number of Rideout cousins in California, among them the playwright Ransom Rideout (1899–1975), whose play "Goin' Home" was performed on Broadway in 1928 and staged by Antoinette Perry and Brock Pemberton, and who wrote dialogue for the film "Hallelujah!", directed by King Vidor. As Rideout's work gained renown, readers in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain were eager for his stories. His eminence became such that the "San Francisco Chronicle" ran a banner headline announcing his sudden death from pneumonia while on a family trip to Europe.