Jack Laird was a brilliant, eccentric, and at times reclusive technical mastermind, known for his prolific and versatile writing. Born on May 8, 1923, in a small California town, Laird's career in show business began at a young age when a film company casted him and his family in a silent film.
As a student at Pasadena Junior College, Laird formed his dance band, which included players who would later join the likes of Stan Kenton, Benny Goldman, and Les Brown. However, the group broke up when Laird enlisted in the Army Air Force during World War II, serving as a pilot in the Ninth Air Force and stationed in Manchester, England.
After the war, Laird resumed his civilian life in New York, where he enrolled at the Dramatic Workshop and studied playwrighting under John Gassner. He worked on Broadway and as a staff artist for the New York Times before returning to Hollywood to pursue a career in the performing arts.
Laird began writing and selling scripts for radio and television, working on shows such as "Racket Squad", "Fireside Theatre", "Kraft Theatre", and "Ford Theatre". He eventually became a writer and story editor for the medical show "Ben Casey", earning an Emmy nomination in 1962 for his work on the episode "I Remember a Lemon Tree".
In the 1960s, Laird distinguished himself as a writer and story editor for "Ben Casey", and later became a producer on the show. He turned down a full producer post on "Ben Casey" to write and produce a variety of film and television projects for Universal Studios.
In the 1970s, Laird came into his own as a writer, director, and producer, working on the crime drama series "The Bold Ones: The Protectors", "The Psychiatrist", and "Night Gallery", which he wrote, produced, acted in, and directed. Laird was known for his meticulous attention to detail, spending countless hours drafting and redrafting scripts.
After "Night Gallery" wrapped up, Laird worked on the action crime drama "Kojak" starring Telly Savalas, and also worked on the medical show "Doctors' Hospital" starring George Peppard, and the detective show "Switch" starring Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert.
Throughout his career, Laird was known for giving career breaks to new or established writers, actors, producers, composers, and directors, including Sydney Pollack, Mark Rydell, Steven Spielberg, John Badham, Gil Mellé, Jeannot Szwarc, Diane Keaton, and Leonard Nimoy.
Outside of work, Laird was a passionate fan of jazz music and cinema, collecting hundreds of rare and vintage films as an act of preservation. The 1980s saw Laird's career slow down, but he continued to work on projects such as "Hellinger's Law", "The Gangster Chronicles", and "Whiz Kids".
Laird's final produced credits were on three projects in 1990: two "Kojak" TV movies and a made-for-television movie "The Bride in Black". He died on December 3, 1991, at the age of 68.
