of Communist sympathizers, Chinese bookies, call girls, Mafiosi, and homosexuals." It adds that while the book drips with disdain, it's "an underhanded ethnography rich in fascinating period detail." Lait and Mortimer's books inspired the films New York Confidential (1955) and Chicago Confidential (1957) and the television series New York Confidential. Other writing Plays In the summer of 1913 he was persuaded by Wilson Mizner and Paul Armstrong to write his first play, Help Wanted, which was a big success. Films He wrote some silent films for Texas Guinan and Wallace Reid and also worked on a freelance basis on screenplays. Songs He wrote several songs, including in collaboration with Con Conrad. Vaudeville He became an impresario working with William Morris organizing vaudeville shows at the American Music Hall in Chicago, including Harry Lauder's tours of the US and Annette Kellermann's first US appearance. In the early 1920s he became a writer for vaudeville acts, including Sophie Tucker, Emma Carus and Georgie Price, with up to 30 acts playing at the same time. Politics He was a political adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was governor of New York. Personal life and death Lait married Laura Belle Leusch on March 6, 1906. Together they had a daughter, Lois, and two sons, Jack Lait, Jr., who became the radio and television editor at the Los Angeles Examiner, and George Lait, a director of publicity at Columbia Pictures. Lait was bedridden for 18 months from October 1952 and went into a coma before he died April 1, 1954 of a circulatory ailment at his home in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 71. He was survived by his wife and his three children. Works Plays Help Wanted, February 11, 1914 - May 1914 One of Us, September 9, 1918 - Sep 1918 Spice of 1922, [Original, Musical, Revue] July 6, 1922 - Sep 9, 1922 Rufus LeMaire's Affairs, [Original, Musical, Revue] March 28, 1927 - May 1927 The Hook-up, May 7, 1935 - May 1935 Books Beef, Iron, and Wine (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1916) The Broadway Melody (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1929); novelization of the Edmund Goulding film scenario The Broadway Melody The Big House (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930); novelization of the Frances Marion and George Hill film scenario The Big House Gangster Girl (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930) Put on the Spot