Rita Lakin

Rita Lakin (1930–2023) was a pioneering American screenwriter, producer, and novelist, recognized as one of the first female showrunners in television history. Born in New York, she established herself as a skilled writer of various television series, including various “soap operas”. In her later years, Lakin became a successful novelist, authoring the 9-volume Gladdy Gold Mystery series, which focuses on a group of “zany” Jewish senior women in Fort Lauderdale who become private investigators. Her Jewish identity, which was not given expression (or even consciously suppressed) when she was writing for mainstream American television, was fully evident in this series. The books are noted for their Jewish humor and heavy use of Yiddish, so much so that Lakin included a glossary in the first novel, Getting Old Is Murder, to translate terms for non-Jewish readers. She based the characters on her mother, aunts, and their friends who moved from the Bronx to Florida condominiums where approximately 90% of the residents were Jewish.

In addition: She contributed the story “The Nazi in the Basement” to the anthology Jewish Noir II (2022 – see Kenneth Wishnia in this Bibliography), which explores themes of Jewish identity and antisemitism. She co-authored the theatrical play Saturday Night at Grossinger’s, set at the famous Jewish resort in the Catskills. In her personal memoir, she reflects on her career as a Jewish woman navigating a male-dominated industry where she was often “the only woman in the room”.  [Note: A number of the series books are also out in large-print Thorndike editions. Later re-issues of some are in the CreatSpace Independent format.] [Google/AI]

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #1], (Getting Old Is Murder [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2005]) 978-0440242581

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #2], (Getting Old Is The Best Revenge [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2006]) 978- 0440242598

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #3], (Getting Old Is Criminal [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2007] 978-0440243861

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #4], (Getting Old Is To Die For [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2007] 978-0440243878

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #5], (Getting Old Is A Disaster [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2008]) 978-0440243885

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #6], (Getting Old Is Tres Dangereux [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2010]) 978-0440245421

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #7], (Getting Old Can Kill You [mass mkt pb, Dell, 2011]) 9780440245605

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #8], (Getting Old Can Hurt You [hc, Severn House, 2018] 978-0727888068

Lakin, Rita, [Gladdy Gold #9], (Getting Old Will Haunt You [hc, Severn House, 2019] 978-0727888563