James Drought

James William Drought (November 4, 1931 – June 2, 1983) was an American author, magazine editor, speech writer and press officer for the Office of Public Relations. Drought was born in Aurora, Illinois, and grew up near Chicago. From 1952 to 1954 he served in the U.S. Army in the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1960, he moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, with his family, where he was a magazine editor in New York City, New York.

In 1969 one of his books was adapted to the movie The Gypsy Moths (1969) featuring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Gene Hackman in starring roles. A complete collection of his works is preserved at the Mugar Memorial Library in the Special Collections Department at Boston University.

He died on June 2, 1983, in Norwalk Hospital.