Joseph LaFauci author page

Joseph LaFauci, a lifelong resident of Boston's North End neighborhood, was a prolific constructor in the Times and elsewhere. He was published in the Times at least 70 times in the 1950s through the 70s.

"I used to work the crossword puzzle in the New York Times when I was a kid," he said in a 1980 interview. "I thought some of them were terrible puzzles. So I sent in my own, and the Times published it."

He earned a living as a constructor for over 30 years. Starting in the 1970s, he authored the daily 11x13 crossword for King Features Syndicate, which ran in nearly 400 newspapers.

"I just love words, and I was always interested in etymology," he said in a 1990 profile. "I did it almost as a hobby. Then I tried to do it permanently. Now it's a fairly well-paying position."

His King Features puzzles appeared under the pseudonym "Thomas Joseph," a combination of the first names of LaFauci and his editor, Thomas Sheehan. Today, King Features continues to use the Thomas Joseph name in its puzzle branding.

In the Times, LaFauci used a pseudonym at least once and maybe more. He published a 1970 Times puzzle under his mother's maiden name, Jennie Lemmo.

He also may have authored other Times puzzles using a pseudonym. For example, in the 1990 profile, he noted that he once used the entry THE MERCHANT OF VENICE in an oversized 23x23 grid in the Times. XWord Info's database reveals there is one puzzle fitting that description — from February 13, 1977 — but it is under the name Elmer Toro. (Five other Times puzzles are also attributed to Elmer Toro.) While there is no definitive proof that Elmer Toro was a LaFauci pseudonym, it is possible.

In constructing his King Features puzzles, LaFauci explained that he would start with 1-Across and 1-Down and go from there. He rarely consulted a dictionary. "It's what you have up in your squash," he said. "If you had to look everything up, you'd be out of your mind."

In the 1990 profile, he recounted a crossword prank he would play. In a public place like a subway, he'd leave behind a crossword from a newspaper for someone to find. He would partially fill the grid. But the words he'd write in, while real, had no relation to the puzzle's clues.

"When the person looks at it, the words don't make any sense at all. The words fill in perfectly, but they don't match the definitions," he explained. "I guess that's the Puck in me."

LaFauci was also a trivia enthusiast. He was a frequent winner on a local radio station's "stump the staff" contest. His prize each time was a canned ham. Using various names, he won so many hams that they stacked up in his apartment faster than he could give them away to neighbors. Eventually, the show caught on and banned him.

He also loved opera. On Sunday mornings, he'd sing opera out his North End window. The local church complained that his booming voice was distracting the parish organist.

Joseph J. LaFauci was born in Boston in 1924, the son of Antonio LaFauci, a fruit seller, and Nunciata "Jennie" (Lemmo) LaFauci, a homemaker. Both of his parents had emigrated from Italy. Joseph graduated from Boston College High School in 1942 and attended Boston University. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 73.

Sources for this bio include "Remembering Joe LaFauci," by Joseph Sarno, NorthEndWaterfront.com; interview of Joseph Sarno (January 2023); 1942 BC High yearbook photo, provided by Lance Hutchinson, school archivist; "1 Down: Man Who Makes Crosswords," by Daria Labinsky, Peoria Journal Star, March 15, 1990; "Direct Line," by Jim Zofkie, Dayton Journal Herald, June 19, 1982; various other genealogy sources and newspaper archives.

This research is courtesy of Flip Koski, who also made this discovery: It's safe to attribute the one 1970 Times puzzle by Jennie Lemmo to LaFauci himself. His mother was known as Jennie, and her maiden name was Lemmo. And, remarkably, a tribute written years ago by a neighborhood friend recalled that LaFauci used his mother's name as a crossword pseudonym.