Mr Arthur Hackett: 1913-1988 Editor 'Fun with Grit' Magazine

Carl Brando & Mark Pierro

Arthur Hackett: 

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Arthur Hackett, Editor and founder of 'Fun with Grit' Magazine. 

Starting out as a Boy Scout magazine in 1934 it's focus was, amongst other things, outdoor activities, gender adjustment strategies and cat strangling. Hackett based the magazine on a fictitious character quasi-super hero named Heston Grit who frequently solved everyday children's  problems such as how to build a camp fire, how to keep warm in a public latrine and also how to dodge blows from violent and drunken parents whilst on summer holidays in Rhyll, the Lake District and/or Weston-Super-Mare. 


After an branching out internationally in 1936 the magazine encountered financial difficulties after investing heavily in Magnitogorsk, a massive steel production facility in the Soviet Union where the local inhabitants took pride in not only having the coldest latrines in Eastern Europe but also the most violent and drunken holiday parents anywhere in the world. 

Early in 1937 Hackett somewhat naively approached 'Old Dick's Cement and Gravel Extraction Company' based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for financial assistance thinking that the connection between his magazine's fictitious character Heston Grit and a cement and gravel extraction company would prove alluring.

Enormous Fun

Regrettably for Hacket, Old Dick turned out to be none other than Vito 'Brain-Remover' Massotti of the East Grinstead crime family whose stupidity was noted only for its utterness. 'Brain-Remover,' failing to understand almost anything, had different ideas for the magazine and saw it as a good opportunity to promote road grit to boy scouts. 

Ten minutes after Arthur Hackett's resignation, which somewhat coincidently was only ten minutes after the financial deal had been done, Hacket reinstated himself and actually remained as the editor in chief of the magazine for the rest of his life after it had been explained to him by 'Brain-Remover' just how close he would be to losing it if he ever tried to resign again.

Arthur Hackett eventually passed away on the 24th October 1988 due to a water overdose. This was administered by the son of Vito 'Brain-Remover' Massotti, Vincenzo 'Bowel-Remover' Massotti at the bottom of a swimming pool in Baha California the same afternoon as Hackett had handed in his resignation.