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Al Capone (film)
''Al Capone'' is a 1959 biographical crime drama film directed by Richard Wilson, written by Malvin Wald and Henry F. Greenberg and released by Allied Artists. It stars Rod Steiger as Al Capone. The finished film was noted for its deglamorized portrayal of Capone. Plot Chicago, 1919: A young Al Capone arrives to work for mob boss Johnny Torrio. He meets Torrio's top man, "Big Jim" Colosimo, who runs business and politics in the First Ward while secretly on Torrio's payroll. Prohibition is enacted a year later, causing Torrio and other gangsters like Dean O'Banion, George "Bugs" Moran and Earl "Hymie" Weiss to compete for profits in bootleg liquor and beer. Colosimo is too old and comfortable to desire the new liquor racket, so Capone convinces Torrio to allow Colosimo's assassination, making Torrio kingpin. A reform mayor is elected, so Torrio and Capone change their base of operations to Cicero, a few miles away. Capone also has O'Banion killed and makes a play for Mau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reynold Brown
William Reynold Brown (October 18, 1917 – August 24, 1991) was an American Realism (arts), realist artist who painted many Hollywood film posters. He was also briefly active as a comics artist. Biography He attended Alhambra High School (Alhambra, California), Alhambra High School and refined his drawing under his teacher Lester Bonar. A talented artist, Brown met cartoonist Hal Forrest around 1936-37. Forrest hired Brown to ink (uncredited) Forrest's comic strip ''Tailspin Tommy''. Extensive discussion of the comic strip. Norman Rockwell's sister was a teacher at Alhambra High, and Brown later met Rockwell who advised him to leave cartooning if he wanted to be an illustrator. Brown subsequently won a scholarship to the Otis Art Institute. During World War II he worked as a technical artist at North American Aviation. There he met his wife, fellow artist Mary Louise Tejeda. Following the war Brown drew numerous advertisements and illustrations for magazines such as ''Argosy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean O'Banion
Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. The newspapers of his day made him better known as Dion O'Banion, although he never went by that first name. He led the North Side Gang until 1924, when he was shot and killed, reportedly by Frankie Yale, John Scalise and Albert Anselmi. Early life O'Banion was born to Irish Catholic parents in the small town of Maroa in Central Illinois. In 1901, after his mother's death, he moved to Chicago with his father and older brother (a sister, Ruth, remained in Maroa). The family settled in Kilgubbin, otherwise known as, "Little Hell," a heavily Irish area on the North Side of Chicago that was notorious citywide for its crime. As a youngster, "Deanie," as he became known, sang in the church choir at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. However, neither music nor religion held O'Banion's inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bugs Moran
George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; born Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned down and killed in a warehouse in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of February 14, 1929, supposedly on the orders of his rival Al Capone. Early life and career Moran was born Adelard Cunin to a French immigrant father, Jules Adelard Cunin, and a mother of Canadian descent, Marie Diana Gobeil, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended Cretin High School, a private Catholic school in Saint Paul, but he also joined a local juvenile gang and left school at age 18. He was later caught robbing a store and was sent to the state juvenile correctional facility, and was put in jail three times before he turned 21. He then fled to Chicago where he was caught trying to rob a warehouse, taking part in a horse-stealing ring, taking part in robbery inv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murvyn Vye
Marvin Wesley Vye Jr. (July 15, 1913 – August 17, 1976) was an American character actor. He is best known for portraying Prince Ken Arok in the comedy film ''Road to Bali''. Early years Vye was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educated at Yale University. Career Vye's first film was '' Golden Earrings'' (1947). He appeared in numerous films in the 1940s and 1950s, often in exotic roles. He portrayed a villainous Merlin the Magician in the 1949 Bing Crosby musical comedy, ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'', and the scheming Prince Arok in 1952's ''Road to Bali'', a comedy co-starring Crosby and Bob Hope. On Broadway, Vye debuted in ''Hamlet'' (1936). He also created the role of Jigger Cragin in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel''. Vye was also set to appear as the Kralaholme in the original production of ''The King and I'', but as rehearsals went on he lost his only two musical numbers and left the show. In 1958 Vye appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jake Lingle
Alfred "Jake" Lingle (July 2, 1891 – June 9, 1930) was an American reporter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was shot dead gangland-style in the underpass leading to the Randolph Street Terminal, Illinois Central Randolph Street station on the afternoon on June 9, 1930, as dozens of people watched. The man convicted of the murder was Leo Vincent Brothers. Lingle was initially lionized as a martyred journalist, but it was eventually revealed that he was involved in racketeering with the Al Capone, Capone organization and that his death had more to do with his own criminal activities than his journalism. Early life Jake Lingle was born on July 2, 1891, and raised on the West Side, Chicago, West Side of Chicago. When he was eight years old, his parents converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism. He received an education up to the eighth grade at John Calhoun North Elementary. His longtime friend, William F. Russell, later became the police commissioner in Chicago. Before becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Balsam
Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New York stage, winning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Robert Anderson's '' You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running'' (1968). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' A Thousand Clowns'' (1965). His other notable film roles include Juror #1 in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957), private detective Milton Arbogast in '' Psycho'' (1960), Hollywood agent O.J. Berman in '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), Bernard B. Norman in '' The Carpetbaggers'' (1964), Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, the ship doctor, in '' The Bedford Incident'' (1965), Colonel Cathcart in '' Catch-22'' (1970), Admiral Husband E. Kimmel in '' Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970), Mr. Green in '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Jim Colosimo
Vincenzo Colosimo (; February 16, 1878 – May 11, 1920), known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling and racketeering. He gained power through petty crime and heading a chain of brothels. From 1902 until his death in 1920, he led a gang known after his death as the Chicago Outfit. Colosimo was assassinated on May 11, 1920, and no one was ever charged with his murder. Johnny Torrio, an enforcer whom Colosimo imported in 1909 from New York, seized control of Colosimo's businesses after his death. Al Capone, a close associate of Torrio, has been accused of involvement in Colosimo's murder but was not yet in Chicago at the time. Early years Colosimo was born on February 16, 1878, to Luigi Colosimo and his second wife Giuseppina Mascaro in the town of Colosimi, Province of Cosenza, Italy. He emigrated from Italy to Chic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe De Santis
Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis (June 15, 1909 – August 30, 1989), known as Joe De Santis, was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor. Biography Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis was born to Italian immigrant parents in New York City on June 15, 1909. His father, Pasquale De Santis, was a tailor from San Pietro Apostolo in Catanzaro, Italy; his mother, Maria Paoli, emigrated from Lucca in Tuscany and worked in a paper flower factory. He worked his way through New York University studying sculpture and drama, his first performances being in Italian. In 1931, he debuted as a broadcaster on an Italian-language radio station. In the 1930s, when professional acting opportunities became scarce, he worked as an instructor with the Works Progress Administration. In the era of old-time radio, he was heard on '' Pepper Young's Family'', ''Mr. District Attorney'', ''The March of Time'', '' Gang Busters'', and ''The Kate Smith Show''. One of his most important contribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fay Spain
Lona Fay Spain (October 6, 1932 – May 8, 1983) was an American actress in motion pictures and television. Early years Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Fay Spain was the younger of two daughters born to Robert C. Spain and Arminta Frances "Mickie" Cochran. When she was 17 years old, Spain worked as a dealer in a casino in Reno, Nevada. Years later, she said, "I lied about my age and got a job as a dealer – and made big money, much more than my husband, who was a shill." Theater apprentice Within two months, she found work with a stock company in the Catskill Mountains. She obtained an Equity card, which enabled her to continue working as an actress. Spain eschewed a college scholarship after attending high school in White Salmon, Washington. She chose instead to pursue a stock company apprenticeship. Film actress Spain pursued acting, unimpeded by rejection. She accepted any parts that came along, learning the techniques of the acting trade. In 1955, Spain was one of 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Torrio
John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian-born mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Syndicate in the 1930s and later became an adviser to Lucky Luciano and his Luciano crime family. Torrio had several nicknames, primarily "The Fox" for his cunning and finesse. The US Treasury official Elmer Irey considered him "the biggest gangster in America" and wrote, "He was the smartest and, I dare say, the best of all the hoodlums. 'Best' referring to talent, not morals." Virgil W. Peterson of the Chicago Crime Commission stated that his "talents as an organizational genius were widely respected by the major gang bosses in the New York City area". Crime journalist Herbert Asbury affirmed: "As an organizer and administrator of underworld affairs, Johnny Torrio is unsurpassed in the annals of American crime; he was probably the nearest thing to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff (; August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions, and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years. His first acting role was as an extra in '' The Naked City'' (1948). Persoff is best known for roles as Leo in '' The Harder They Fall'' (1956), as Little Bonaparte in ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959), as Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik in '' The Untouchables'' (1959–1963), as Rebbe Mendel in '' Yentl'' (1983), and as the voice of Papa Mousekewitz in the animated film ''An American Tail'' (1986) and its sequels. He also made appearances on episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'', ''Gilligan's Island'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', ''Adam-12'', and ''Law & Order''. Early life and education Persoff was born to Shmuel Persoff and Puah Holman in the city of Jerusalem in 1919. His father, Shmuel, was a silversmith, jeweler, and art teacher born in Chernihiv, Russian Empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison. In 1934, the island was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong tidal currents around the island and ice-cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, giving the prison one of the most notorious reputations of its kind in American history. The prison closed on March 21, 1963, leaving the island a major tourist attraction today. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Native Americans, initially primarily from San Francisco, who were later joined by the American Indian Movement and other urban Native Americans from other parts of the country, who were part of a wave of Native American activists organizing pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
