Disappearance of John Lake (journalist)
John Eric Lake | |
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Born | February 18, 1930 |
Disappeared | December 10, 1967 (aged 37) New York |
Died | 1975 |
Nationality | United States |
Education | Syracuse University |
Occupation | Sports journalist and editor |
Employer | New York Herald Tribune & Newsweek |
Height | 6' 0 |
Weight | 180 |
Spouse(s) | Alice Conlon |
Children | Daughter & son |
Website | johnlake |
John Eric Lake (born February 18, 1930 in Albany, New York - disappeared December 10, 1967) was the sports editor of Newsweek until his mysterious disappearance.[1]
Personal background
John Eric Lake was born February 18, 1930 in Albany, New York.[citation needed] He graduated in 1951 with a B.A. degree in journalism from Syracuse University, where he met his wife Alice Conlin.[1] The couple married in 1952 while Lake was serving in the U.S. Navy in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1] He returned to graduate school at Syracuse after he was discharged from the U.S. Navy.[1] The couple had a daughter and a son.[1][2] His wife and children later moved to New Jersey and then to Islesford, Cranberry Island, Maine.[1] John Lake was declared missing in December 1967 and deceased by a court in New Jersey in 1975.[1][3]
Career
The Binghamgton News Press hired both of John Lake and his wife in 1952, and he worked in sports while she wrote features.[1] In 1959 Lake became a staff writer at the New York Herald Tribune.[1][3] Lake worked with Red Smith while at the Tribune.[citation needed] In February 1964, he moved to Newsweek to become it sports editor.[1][2][3] He succeeded Dick Schaap in this role.[citation needed] In his last year at the magazine, Lake authored three cover stories (nine in four years) on such varied topics as "The Black Athlete", the Indy 500 and the World Series.[citation needed] Lake was hired as a ghost writer for Bob Gibson's autobiography and had all but submitted the work.[4][5] Lake's last issue for Newsweek was the December 11, 1967 issue with a cover featuring a dark-haired, bespectacled Robert McNamara, asked, "Why is He Leaving?"[citation needed] After Lake's disappearance in 1967, he was replaced as sports editor six months later by Pete Axthelm, a writer for Sports Illustrated.[citation needed]
Disappearance
John Lake was last seen in midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Sunday, December 10, 1967, after he got done hanging out with a female friend. At that time, he was walking toward the subway to go home.[3][6][7] A missing persons report was filed by his wife, Alice, at the 6th Precinct of the NYPD on December 14, 1967.[3] His disappearance was investigated by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which was hired by Newsweek.[3] Years after, a police officer from missing persons showed his son a February 1968 photo of a corpse who closely resembled Lake but could not be positively identified.[3]
Missing Person documents:
- New York Police Agency Case Number: 29273
- NCIC Number: M-563761275
- NamUs MO#4386
Reactions
Lake was admired by other journalists and athletes. Peter Benchley, author and screenwriter, who edited the Radio/TV section at Newsweek at the time, admitted to being intimidated by him.[citation needed] Mario Andretti, auto race driver, called him the most prepared journalist from the national media that ever interviewed him.[citation needed] Bert Sugar, boxing raconteur, recalls it was John Lake that moved press conferences from showmanship to seriousness with a single question.[citation needed]
References
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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