Jack Lait (March 13, 1883 – April 1, 1954) was an American journalist, author and playwright. During a 50-year career he wrote prolifically and became renowned as one of the leading newspapermen of the first half of the 20th century. He is perhaps best known as co-author, with Lee Mortimer, of the controversial "Confidential" books, written in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Early years Jacquin Leonard Lait was born March 13, 1883 in New York City. His family then moved to Chicago, where Lait grew up. He went to grammar school but skipped high school and took a number of jobs before entering the Lewis Institute, where he graduated. Soon afterwards he began his journalistic career, working as a picture messenger for Chicago newspapers. Journalistic career Lait first reporting job was for the Chicago American. He readily adapted to the newspaper world of gangland-era Chicago, quickly learning the ins and outs of the police beat. Developing a knack for sensational reportage, he moved rapidly through the Hearst newspaper ranks from reporter to columnist and from editor to executive. He left Hearst for a couple of years and wrote a daily column for the Chicago Tribune. In 1921, Lait became an editor of King Features Syndicate in New York. He wrote a syndicated column called All in the Family, which ran for two decades in Hearst papers. He also had a comic strip, Gus and Gussie, illustrated by Paul Fung, which ran from April 13, 1925 to February 24, 1930. In 1934 he became managing editor of the New York American and immediately fired his son George to avoid accusations of nepotism. In 1936, Lait was appointed editor of the New York Daily Mirror, succeeding Walter Howey. He remained editor until he went on sick leave in 1952. For 50 years, Lait was associated with the Hearst newspaper organization in one capacity or another. He covered every heavyweight championship fight for 35 years until his illness. During his tenure as editor of the New York Daily Mirror, the tabloid doubled its circulation and claimed the second highest circulation of any U.S. newspaper. In 1963, nine years after Lait's death, it ceased publication following a strike and was absorbed into the then top-selling paper the New York Daily News. Lait was known as a taciturn, tireless digger of news stories. In July 1934, as the FBI was closing in on John