Jimmy Breslin (born October 17, 1930) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He has written numerous novels, and columns of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004, and still has occasional pieces there.
Born in Jamaica, New York, he ran an unsuccessful campaign as an independent for the position of president of the New York City Council in 1969. He allied himself with the late writer Norman Mailer, who was running for the position of mayor at the same time, on a platform which proposed the secession of New York City from the rest of New York state. Both were soundly defeated.
His career as an investigative journalist led him to cultivate ties with various Mafia and criminal elements in the city, not always with positive results. In 1970, he was viciously attacked and beaten at The Suite, a restaurant then owned by Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill. The attack was carried out by mobster Jimmy Burke, who objected to an article Breslin had written involving another member of the Lucchese family, Paul Vario. Though Breslin suffered an epistaxis and a major concussion, he survived the ordeal without any permanent injury. In 1977, at the height of the Son of Sam scare in New York City, the killer, who was later identified as David Berkowitz, addressed letters to Breslin. Excerpts from these were published.
Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."
Breslin has received numerous accolades throughout his career. In 1985, he received a George Polk Award for Metropolitan Reporting, while in 1986, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
He has been married twice. His first marriage, to Rosemary Dattolico, ended with her death in 1981. They had six children together: sons Kevin, James, Patrick and Christopher, and daughters Rosemary and Kelly. His daughter Rosemary died June 14, 2004 from a rare blood disease. Since 1982, he has been married to former New York City Council member Ronnie Eldridge.
