Al Capone AKA ScarFace

Al Capone

Capone wasn't born a vicious thug. He came into it much later in life; a product of a violent society rather than of a violent family. Born in New York in 1899, Capone was a member of numerous street gangs, and worked under the tutelage of many reputable mob bosses: most notably Johnny Torrio and Frankie Yale. But at home, his life was always a little slice of heaven. His father, a barber from Italy, never hit any of his nine children, a rarity in those days. His mother was a sweet and doting woman, determined to raise her boys into positions of upstanding citizenship.

But as Capone grew, gained power, and became the king of Chicago in the mid 1920's, he became another person entirely.

Killer Gorilla

The first official record of a Capone murder came in 1923 when Capone's longtime friend Jack Guzik asked Al for some help dealing with an annoyance named Joe Howard. Capone met with Howard in a speakeasy, where he unsheathed his .45, placed it against Howard's head, and pulled the trigger.

Capone was a fierce combatant, weighing in at 225 lbs at only five foot, ten inches tall. During his formative years, Capone picked up his famous scar on the left side of his face. The injury was incurred after Capone made a lewd comment about a lady in one of Yale's bars. Her boyfriend jumped on Capone and used a knife to carve open his thick Italian face. When questioned about the scar, however, Capone usually said he recieved the wound in World War I.

Formativity

New York was Capone's boyhood home, but Chicago was his kingdom. When he moved there in 1921, Johnny Torrio brought Capone in on his newly founded empire of bootlegging, brothels, and numbers. Chicago was a violent and permissive place thanks to Mayor Big Bill Thompson and his police department: It was the mayor's idea to cut the chief of police in on mob profits. The pair were often seen entering Torrio's speakeasies after hours.

Big Jim Colosimo was in charge of the city's whore houses. He was a celebrity in Chicago, the world's first big pimp. Colosimo dressed in expensive fur coats adorned with diamond studded cufflinks, rings, belt buckles, and necklaces. Soon after Torrio and Capone set up shop in the city, Colosimo brought them into his fold, asking the pair of Italians to help grow his empire. Soon, vagina flowed freely through the streets of Chicago.

But Colosimo was short sighted. He didn't want to move into the bootlegging business as prohibition bared down on America. Torrio was furious to find that he was being hindered by this fat pimp, even if he was the man's nephew. Torrio set Big Jim up to meet with a whiskey truck at a Chicago cafe. When Colosimo arrived, Capone was waiting with a gun. He fired only two shots, and likely got away with $150,000: Big Jim's big wad.

Two things happened after this murder: Chicago saw one if its largest and most elaborate funerals, and Johnny Torrio became the sole controlling parties of Chicago's underworld.

Hail to the King

When civic leaders of Chicago demanded reform in 1923, Mayor Thompson did not run for a third term, allowing judge William Dever to become mayor. The ensuing crackdown on crime within the city forced Torrio and Capone to move their headquarters to Cicero, a nearby suburb. Cicero had it's own city council and, and Capone quickly took over all of these posts with rigged elections.

Dever managed to shut down hundreds of speakeasies, but Capone's bootleg empire still brought in millions of dollars a week. After Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moron botched an assassination attempt on Johnny Torrio in 1925, Torrio decided to retire, leaving his entire empire of brothels, speakeasies, and gambling houses in the hands of Capone.

As his reputation grew, Capone took interest in local affairs, donating money to schools, tipping everyone in sight, and inviting reporters to his house for diner. He even hired a publicist to help him curtail bad press. Capone attempted to respond to public criticism by calling an mob-wide meeting. All the big gangsters of Chicago were in attendance, and Capone admonished them to end the violence. He claimed that Chicago was big enough for them all to live and work in peace. The subsequent cease-fire lasted for two months. The Israelis and the Palestinians have done better than that!

Tommy Can You Hear Me?

Eventually, Al felt that Frankie Yale was hijacking his own trucks of whiskey on their way to Chicago in order to skim extra money off the top. He probably wasn't, but rather than discuss this with his old friend and one time boss, Capone sent John Scalise and Albert Anselmi to New York to off the aging Yale. The drive-by shooting of Yale was the first instance in which a tommy gun was used to off a New York mobster.

In 1927, Chicago's love of speakeasies returned Big Bill Thompson to power for another mayoral term. Capone was able to move from Cicero back to his rightful seat of power, downtown Chicago.

Hallmark, my Ass!

In 1928, on February 14, Capone's gang perpetrated the single most infamous gangland killing in American history. The St. Valentines day massacre was designed to offBugs Moron, a constant thorn in Capone's side. Capone placed Jack McGurn in charge of designing the killing. McGurn arranged to meet members of Moran's gang in an empty warehouse at 10:30 AM in order to negotiate the sale of some top quality whiskey. McGurn hired a team of out of towners for the job: old favorites John Scalise and Albert Anselmi, Detroit brothers Harry and Phil Keywell, and regular old hitmen James Ray and Fred "Killer" Burke. The team of six men dressed in stolen police uniforms and drove a stolen police car to the warehouse. Inside, they found seven men, all members of rival gangs. They played the police bit to the hilt, asking the men to stand, face to the wall, arms behind their backs. The six not-cops then opened fire on the seven, emptying hundreds of rounds from a .45, a shotgun, and two machine-guns.

When the real police arrived on the scene , they found six dead men, and one Frank Gusenburg, still breathing and riddled with 22 gun shot wounds. When asked who had shot him, Frank replied "Nobody. Nobody shot me." A testament to the unspoken rules of the mafia world. Incidentally, Bugs Moran was not amongst the dead. He had arrived late, seen the police car, and left the scene.

Despite all this, Capone didn't think of himself as a bad guy. He considered himself to be a fine, upstanding member of the Italian American community. His rackets employed thousands of hard working people, and his booze whet the whistles of almost everyone in a town that was denied alcohol by its government. He was a loving father, and sincerely cared for his wife, though he cheated on her quite a bit. His son, "Sonny" was born with congenital syphillis, and was constantly sick. Al always remained near his sons side when bouts of the illness took over, and he provided for the best medical care possible for the boy.

As the twenties ended, so did Capone's heyday. President Herbert Hoover had taken notice now, and every facet of the government was after him, none the least of which was the IRS. In 1930, the IRS arrested Al's brother Ralph for tax evasion.

Al was soon after picked up for carrying a concealed weapon, and sent to the Holmesburg County Jail. While he was in the clink, the government used all its forces to find a chink in Capone's armor of paperwork. They were determined to get him for tax evasion. With the discovery of a 1924 ledger that linked Capone financially to the bootlegging operations, the government had all the ammunition it needed to jail Capone. After a lengthy trial and a long war with Eliot Ness and his Untouchables, Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent up the river for 11 years. At first, he went to the Atlanta Federal Prison, but he eventually ended up at Alcatraz

He's Dead Jim

While in prison, Capone developed symptoms of tertiary syphilis, affecting his ability to think, communicate, and analyze. In 1939, he was released from jail on good behavior, and moved to his Palm Island estate in Florida. His wife, Mae, stood by him until he died in 1947 from his disease.

Journalist (a term used loosely here) Geraldo  Rivera opened Capone's supposed "Vault" at Chicago's Lexington Hotel on live national television in April 1986, finding nothing but egg on his face.

Muhammad Ali

Also known as: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., Cassius Clay
(1942- )

Professional boxer

Personal Information

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; name changed to Muhammad Ali, 1963; born January, 17, 1942, in Louisville, KY; son of Cassius (a piano player) and Odessa Clay (both deceased); first wife, Belinda; second wife, Aaisha; third wife, Veronica Porche; fourth (and current) wife, Yolanda Williams, married in 1986; children: nine (one with Yolanda). Religion: Muslim. Addresses: Home--P.O. Box 187, Berrien Springs, MI 59103.

Career

Former world heavyweight boxing champion. Began professional career, 1960; initially became heavyweight champ, 1964; stripped of title and boxing license over refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, 1966; retired from boxing, 1981. Appeared in film The Greatest, 1976, and television film Freedom Road.

Awards

Olympic Gold Medal in boxing, 1960; six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles; National Golden Gloves titles, 1959-60; World Heavyweight Championship, 1964-67, 1974-78, 1978-79; U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, inductee, 1983; named the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, Ring Magazine, 1987; International Boxing Hall of Fame, inductee, 1990; Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Award, Lifetime Achievement, 1992; Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville Galleria, opened 1995; Essence Award, 1997.

Writings

• (With Richard Durham) The Greatest: My Own Story, Random House, 1975.

Biographical Information

Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, known for his lyrical charm and boasts as much as for his powerful fists, has moved far beyond the boxing ring in both influence and purpose. Ali won an Olympic gold medal and later tossed it into a river because he was disgusted by racism in America. As a young man he was recruited by Malcolm X to join the Nation of Islam. He refused to serve in Vietnam--a professional fighter willing to serve time in jail for his pacifist ideals. He has contributed to countless, diverse charities and causes. And his later years have found him interested in world politics as he has battled to keep Parkinson's disease at bay.

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on January 17, 1942, and was raised in a clapboard house at 3302 Grand Avenue in middle-class Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at the age of 12. A white Louisville patrolman named Joe Martin, who had an early television show called "Tomorrow's Champions," started Ali working out in Louisville's Columbia Gym, but it was a black trainer named Fred Stoner who taught Ali the science of boxing. Stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer, and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great.

After winning an Olympic gold medal at 18, Ali signed the most lucrative contract--a 50-50 split--negotiated by a beginning professional in the history ofboxing, with a 12-member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsoring Group. Later, he worked his way into contention for the coveted heavyweight title shot by boasting and creating media interest at a time when, by his own admission, he was only ranked number nine on the list of contenders. Even from the beginning, it was clear that Ali was his own man--quick, strong-willed, original, and witty. In 1961 he told Sports Illustrated's Gilbert Rogin, "Boxing is dying because everybody's so quiet.... What boxing needs is more ... Clays." Ali knew that his rhymes and press-grabbing claims would infuse more interest and more money into the sport of boxing, and he was his own best public relations man. In February of 1964 he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of ... heavyweight boxers ... you wouldn't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I'll break the news: you never heard of them. I'm not saying they're not good boxers. Most of them ... can fight almost as good as I can. I'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody."

The following month Ali--then still Cassius Clay--fought Sonny Liston in a match of classic contenders for the heavyweight championship of the world. The Miami fight almost single-handedly restored intelligence and balance to boxing. Cassius Clay had been chanting the war cry "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" for weeks; he beat Liston in a display of beautiful, controlled boxing. Liston could hit with deadly power, but Ali utilized his skills and courage with forethought and aplomb. He won the fight to become heavyweight champion of the world. At the tender age of 22 Ali knew that he was something above and beyond a great boxer: He had marketing sense, political finesse, and a feeling of noble purpose.

Throughout his career and life, Ali has always professed to want to help other black Americans--and he has, time and time again. When he returned from Italy, having just won an Olympic gold medal, he was so proud of his trophy that he wore it day and night and showed it to everyone, whether they wanted to see it or not. In the Philadelphia Inquirer Ali's first wife remembered him saying "I was young, black Cassius Marcellus Clay, who had won a gold medal for his country. I went to downtown Louisville to a five-and-dime store that had a soda fountain. I sat down at the counter to order a burger and soda pop. The waitress looked at me.... 'Sorry, we don't serve coloreds,' she said. I was furious. I went all the way to Italy to represent my country, won a gold medal, and now I come back to America and can't even get served at a five-and-dime store. I went to a bridge, tore the medal off my neck and threw it into the river. That gold medal didn't mean a thing to me if my black brothers and sisters were treated wrong in a country I was supposed to represent."

While in Miami, at the age of 21, Ali was inspired by human rights activist Malcolm X to become a member of the Muslim faith. The following year Malcolm X said of Ali, as was quoted by Houston Horn in Sports Illustrated, "[He] will mean more to his people than any athlete before him. He is more than [first black major-league baseball player] Jackie Robinson was, because Robinson is the white man's hero. But Cassius is the black man's hero. Do you know why? Because the white press wanted him to lose [his heavyweight championship bout] ... because he is a Muslim. You notice nobody cares about the religion of other athletes. But their prejudice against Clay blinded them to his ability." Twelve years later, on Face The Nation, Ali said "We don't have Black Muslims, that's a press word. We have white brothers, we have brown, red, and yellow, all colors can be Muslims.... I'm looking for peace one day with all people." Cassius Clay, Jr., was given the name Muhammad Ali by Muslim patriarch Elijah Muhammad; it was not just a name, but a title meaning "beloved of Allah," deity of the Muslim faith.

Ali retained his world heavyweight champion title in June of 1965 by again knocking out Sonny Liston, this time with a stunning right-hand punch to the side of the head. The knock-out blow was thrown with the astounding speed that separated Ali from other heavyweights; it had sufficient force to lift Liston's left foot-- upon which most of his weight was resting--clear off the canvas.

As a Muslim and thus, a conscientious objector, Muhammad Ali refused to even consider going to Vietnam in 1966; a tremendous public outcry erupted against him. According to Jack Olsen in Sports Illustrated, "The governor of Illinois found Clay 'disgusting,' and the governor of Maine said Clay 'should be held in utter contempt by every patriotic American.' An American Legion post in Miami asked people to 'join in condemnation of this unpatriotic, loudmouthed, bombastic individual.' The Chicago Tribune waged a choleric campaign against holding the next Clay fight in Chicago.... The noise became a din, the drumbeats of a holy war. TV and radio commentators, little old ladies ... bookmakers, and parish priests, armchair strategists at the Pentagon and politicians all over the place joined in a crescendo of get-Cassius clamor."

Although Ali had not been charged or arrested for violating the Selective Service Act--much less convicted--the New York State Athletic Commission and World Boxing Association suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his heavyweight title in May of 1967, minutes after he officially announced that he would not submit to induction. Ali said to Sports Illustrated contributor Edwin Shrake, "I'm giving up my title, my wealth, maybe my future. Many great men have been tested for their religious beliefs. If I pass this test, I'll come out stronger than ever." Eventually Ali was sentenced to five years in prison, released on appeal, and his conviction overturned three years later.

In November of 1970 Ali fought Jerry Quarry in Atlanta. His victory was a symbol of release and freedom to the 5,000 people watching the fight; Ali had personally survived his vilification by much of the American public, but more, he had reclaimed his professional reputation and prominence. Four months later Ali had the world as his audience when he went up against Joe Frazier in New York. There he fell from invincibility; suddenly Frazier reigned as heavyweight champ. "Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city," Frazier said to Mark Kram in Sports Illustrated. Ali responded, "It was like death. Closest thing to dyin' that I know of." Ali regained his title as world heavyweight champion in 1974 after defeating George Foreman in a bout staged in Zaire. Ali fought Frazier twice more, once in 1974 and again in 1975. Ali won both matches and secured his title. Taking time to reflect on the tumult of his fifteen-year boxing career, Ali co-wrote his autobiography--characteristically titled The Greatest--My Own Story--in 1975.

In 1982 Dr. Dennis Cope, director of the Medical Ambulatory Care Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, began treating Ali for Parkinson's syndrome; Cope and colleague Dr. Stanley Fahn later theorized in the Chicago Tribune that Ali was suffering, more precisely, from Pugilistic Parkinsonism, brought on by repetitive trauma to the head--and that only an autopsy could confirm their suspicions. After losing a 1980 title bout to Larry Holmes, Ali had exhibited sluggishness and was misdiagnosed as having a thyroid condition; he was given a thyroid hormone. When Dr. Cope made the connection between Ali's decreasing motor skills and Parkinson's disease, he prescribed Sinemet (L-dopa). Ali was shortly restored to his previous level of energy and awareness; as long as he took his medication regularly, he was able to keep the disease in check. In 1988 Ali told New York Times Magazine contributor Peter Tauber: "I've got Parkinson's syndrome. I'm in no pain.... If I was in perfect health--if I had won my last two fights--if I had no problem, people would be afraid of me. Now they feel sorry for me. They thought I was Superman. Now they can say 'He's human, like us. He has problems.'"

In 1984 another of Ali's medical confidantes, Dr. Martin D. Ecker, ventured in the Boston Globe that Ali should have quit boxing long before he finally did--for the second and final time--in 1981 after losing to Trevor Berbick. His bout with Berbick was his 61st and final fight. By then Ali had been showing signs of neurological damage for over a year. Ali's former doctor, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, told the fighter to quit in 1977 when he first saw signs of Ali's reflexes slowing down. Seven years later, Pacheco, a consultant and boxing commentator for NBC-TV, explained to Betsy Lehman in the Boston Globe why he feels Ali didn't quit boxing in 1977: "The most virulent infection in the human race is the standing ovation. Once you've seen that, you can't get off the stage. Once you feel that recognition ... the roar of 50,000 people, you just don't want to give it up." When Ali initially surrendered his title in 1979, he was paid $250,000 to quit, but he eventually returned to his sport, perhaps as Pacheco suggested, because the recognition had become habit-forming.

Toward the end of Ali's boxing career, and afterward, his ambitions took a decided turn toward statesmanship. In 1980 he cast his lot with the Democratic Party, supporting then-Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. In August of that year, while in intense training for the Holmes fight, he found time to work the floor of the Democratic National Convention in New York City. He also functioned as something of a diplomat in February of 1985 when he attempted to secure the release of four kidnapped Americans in Lebanon; unfortunately, he and his three advisers were not successful.

During his career in the ring Ali made more than $50 million, two thirds of wwent to managerial expenses and taxes. He said to New York Times Magazine contributor Tauber in 1988, "I never talk about boxing. It just served its purpose. I was only about 11 or 12 years old when I said 'I'm gonna get famous so I can help my people.'" Indicating his continuing desire to help people, in 1990 Ali visited Our Children's Foundation, Inc., on Manhattan's 125th Street. According to Bill Gallo in the New York Daily News, he addressed the children there, saying, "The sun has a purpose. The moon has a purpose. The snow has a purpose. Cows have a purpose. You were born for a purpose. You have to find your purpose. Go to school. Learn to read and write.... What is your purpose, your occupation? Find your purpose.... What do you have to find?" "Purpose!," they shouted gleefully in unison. True to form, one of Ali's favored inscriptions when signing autographs is "Love is the net where hearts are caught like fish."

Although Parkinson's syndrome has slowed Ali down, he still remain active--raising money for the Muhammad Ali Foundation and frequently appearing at sports tributes and fund-raisers. Muhammad's wife Lonnie believes "Muhammad knows he has this illness for a reason. It's not by chance. Parkinson's disease has made him a more spiritual person. Muhammad believes God gave it to him to bring him to another level, to create another destiny." she stated in People.

During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, 3.5 billion people watched on television as three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali slowly ascended the stadium steps with trembling hands to ignite the Olympic Flame. Everyone was deeply touched, however, No one was more moved than Ali himself. "He kept turning it [the torch] in his hands and looking at it. He knows now that people won't slight his message because of his impairment." said his wife Lonnie in People.

Muhammad has been blessed to meet with important dignitaries, including with President Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, and Pope John Paul II. His travels are his main source of income--charging as much as $200,000 for appearances. He usually travels 275 days out of the year. Although he enjoys his missionary work and public appearances, Ali's greatest pleasure is when he is at home in Berrien Springs, Michigan with his family--wife Yolanda and his adopted son Asaad Amin.

In Berrien Springs, he lives a modest life in a house at the end of the road on an old farm. He has a pool and a pond and a security gate with an intercom. According to Kim Forburger, Ali's assistant, "He's the only man I know where the kids come to the gate and say 'Can Muhammad come out and play?'

When asked if he has any regrets, Ali responds, "My children, I never got to raise them because I was always boxing and because of divorce," he said in People. When asked whether he is sorry he ever got into the ring, he responded, "If I wasn't a boxer, I wouldn't be famous. If I wasn't famous, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now." 

LEATHERFACE MASS MURDER AND CANNIBAL ACTIVITIES Additional Information Vital Statistics Real Name: Bubba Sawyer   Place of birth: Backwoods of Texas Race: Caucasian Sex: Male Height: 6' 3" Weight: 300lbs Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue

Scars or marks: Numerous wounds from chainsaw mishaps.  Remarks: Leatherface has been known to wears three masks "Killing Mask", "Old Lady" mask, and his favorite, the "Pretty Woman" mask. Although, he wears the flesh of women and sometimes dresses in their clothing, there is no evidence that Leatherface is a homosexual. Rather, the mask serve to give the perpetrator an escape from his more violence side. Further reports have verified that Leatherface and his family members (Drayton Sawyer (father), Hitchiker (brother, presumed dead), ChopTop (brother, Vietnam Vet) do practice cannibalism and did in fact use human meat as an ingredient in their world class chili during their running of the now defunct,  Last Roundup Rolling Grill Catering. Whereabouts unknown.

Masked Men  Gunnar Hansen TEXAS CHAINSAW  MASSACRE        Bill Johnson     TEXAS      CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2   R.A. Mihailoff    LEATHERFACE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III Robert Jacks TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE THE NEXT GENERATION

Consider Leatherface and his Family  ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS [This is a parody of the FBI Most Wanted List, information is completely fictional]  Leatherface Name/Alias(es): Bubba "Junior", "B.S." and "Leatherface" Sawyer Date of Birth: 1940 (month and day unknown) Place of birth: Travis County, TX Race: Caucasian Sex: Male Height: 6' 3" - 6'5" Weight: 350 lbs. (est) Hair: Brown Eyes: Brownish Green Number of known Victims: 50+ bodies/remains recovered from residence in 1986. Hundreds of murders are suspected to be the result of this man alone. --Family:-- Grandfather- "Grampa" Sawyer Grandmother- "Gramma" Sawyer Father- Unknown Mother- "Mama" Sawyer Brother- Drayton "the Cook" Sawyer Brother- W. "Chop-top" Sawyer Brother- E. "Hitchhiker" / "Nubbins" Sawyer Brother- Tinker Sawyer Brother- Tex Sawyer Brother- W.E. Sawyer Brother- Vilmer Sawyer Daughter- Sweetie Sawyer --Masks:-- "the Killing Mask" - Worn while slaying or hunting his victims. "the Old Lady" - Worn while doing chors and housework. "the Pretty Woman"- Worn on special occasions (i.e. dinner or parties for "guests") Status: UNAPPREHENDED, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS Diagnosis: Leatherface is indefinately subject to most and possibly subject to some of the following disorders. Until he is apprehended and clinicly tested, no conclusive diagnosis will be available. Dissociative identity disorder, Dissociative amnesia (aka psychogenic amnesia), Insanity, Schizophrenia, Catatonic schizophrenia, Hallucinations, Psychosis, Bipolar disorder (aka manic depression), Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD), Post-traumatic stress disorder, Malingering, Depersonalization disorder, Major depression, Psychomotor retardation, Stupor, Delusions, Mutism, Autism, Personality disorder, Schizoid personality disorder, Antisocial personality disorder Most of his disorders or "conditions" are being directed into a homicidal and/or extremely violent act. Although I personally believe that his somewhat "child-like" mentality, could somehow be coaxed into not commiting a crime, this is a matter in which I also believe that he absolutely, under NO circumstances whatsoever, could he be changed permanantly or completely trusted. He has sadly had a life of constant physical, verbal, emotional and mental abuse and neglect from his family and all those close to him. Suicide it seems is an option for some, and others would seek help through therapy or counceling for these problems. But there are the few, and yet at the same time many, who become completely detached from reality and the concept of right and wrong. In the case of Leatherface, he was born retarded, so, therapy or counceling of any kind is completely out of the question. It seems a life of solitary confinement inside a maximum security prison for the criminally insane, or the death penalty is the only way to stop the madness that lies within this man.  The preceding Biography was completely fictional. The character of "Leatherface" does not exist. The biography was not written by a medical professional or a law inforcement official. The biography was written by the webmaster of this web site. Any likeness to person or event is pure coincedence. In other words, none of it is real, purely fictional. Bob Marley MARLEY FAMILY "RECLAIM THE NAME" LATEST: Reggae great BOB MARLEY's kids are reclaiming the family name with a series of new products - because they're sick of being ripped off with "bad quality gimmicks." After years of watching others profit from licensing deals, the Marleys are determined to go it alone in 2005 with a "new vintage" clothing line. Among the items available include hemp and woven shirts, T-shirts and denim jackets. Marley's son ROHAN, who is heading up the new venture from Los Angeles and New York, says, "These people have been bootlegging me to death with cheap lines. "We licensed a footwear deal a few years back and that was OK, but the product wasn't up to my standard. It's time to reclaim the Marley name and put quality products out there again. We've sat back for too long and let others represent the family name. "The first samples should be ready in January (05). We're working with designers now, but we know what we want. It'll all be inspired by the old man. And we'll launch the product in Los Angeles, New York and London later next year." And the Marleys plan to create a wealth of jobs with their new venture. Rohan adds, "There will be no robots out there. Everything will be manmade."

Biography

Born in Nine Miles, ST. an to a white father, Norval Marley (who never really knew his son because of white upper classes' disdain for Norval's affair with Marley's mother), and a black mother, Cedella Booker, on February 6,1945, Marley started in ska and gravitated towards reggae, playing, teaching and singing for a long period in the1970s and 1980's ; Marley is perhaps best-known for work with his reggae group "The Wailers", the backbone of which were two other celebrated reggae musicians, bunny livingstin and Peter Tosh. Bunny and Peter then left the group and became successful solo artists. Much of his early work was produced by Lee Perry, although the pair split in acrimony over the assignment of recording rights.

Marley's work was largely responsible for the mainstream cultural acceptance of reggae music outside of Jamaica. He signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Record's label in 1971, at the time a highly influential and innovative label. Island Records boasted a stable of both successful and diverse artists including, amongst others, such nascent luminaries of the music scene as Genisis, John Martyn and Nick Drake.

Marley was very devoted to his faith inRastafarianism. Toward the end of his life he was also baptised into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with the name Berhane Selassie.

 Bob Marley was shot in 1976 inside his home. It is generally believed he was shot for political motives, with Jamaican politics being somewhat violent at the time. He was scheduled to perform at a concert that was perceived to be in support of the progressive prime minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley, and had been receiving death threats after it was announced he was going to perform there. It is generally believed he was shot by a supporter of the conservative political party of Jamaica, the Jamica Labour Party. However, there is little evidence for this, and Marley devotees emphasize that no one knows which side was responsible. Rita Marley was also shot in the head at the time, and recovered.

In July 1977 Marley was told to get his toe amputated to treat a cancerous lesion. He wouldn't because Rastas believe that doctors are samfai, confidence men who cheat the gullible by pretending to have the power of witchcraft. Marley based this refusal on his Rastafarian beliefs, saying, "Rasta no abide amputation. I and I don't allow a mon ta be dismantled." [Catch a Fire, Timothy White] He did have surgery to try to excise the cancer cells.

Because of this, the cancer spread to his brain and his lungs. In the summer of 1980, he collapsed during a series of shows at Madison Square Garden. He sought help, mostly from the controversial cancer specialist Josef Issels, but it was too late. A month before his death, he was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit. He wanted to spend his final days in Jamaica but he became too ill on the flight home and had to deplane in Miami. Sadly, he passed away at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on May 11, 1981. His near-royal funeral in Jamaica combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafarianism. He is buried in a crypt at Nine Miles, near his birthplace. He was recently rewarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys. 

David "Ziggy" Marley

Much of his work deals with the struggles of the impoverished and/or powerless.

His children, who seem to have been blessed with their father's talent, formed the group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers and they have already won a few Grammys.

Biography for
Jesse James (VII)

Mini biography

At first glance, Jesse James is the consummate biker rebel. Tattoos, knives, goatee, black t-shirts, and skulls all around him and his world help create that image. That image, in turn, reflects a mere fraction of the man that is West Coast Choppers. The rest of his life reflects his passion as an artist, his love for his children, and the success that naturally flows from a love of custom motorcycles, hard work and a job done well.

Originally from Long Beach, California, Jesse grew up around his father's antiques business. His dad's small shop was quartered in a shared warehouse with a large aftermarket parts manufacturer for Harley-Davidson's and sport bikes. Those childhood influences set the stage for his path in life.

Jesse got his first mini-bike at age 7, and with that thrill his passion for two-wheeled machines was kindled. He made his first crude motorcycle exhaust system during his freshman year of high school in his mother's garage. His perfectionist attitude, however, prevented him from keeping it; he threw it away before anyone saw it.

He played college football, but a knee injury ended his athletic career early. The injury forced him to find a new job that would allow him to establish himself. He trained intensely to become a bodyguard, and worked for years protecting such notable bands as Soundgarden, Danzig, and Slayer, touring the world with them. During this period of his life he met his former wife, with whom he has two children: 5-year-old (as of Feb.2003) son Jesse Jr. and 7-year-old daughter Chandler. Another career-threatening injury, on the job at a concert, forced him to again reevaluate his professional life. It was then he decided to make a career out of his number one passion: custom motorcycles. Learning his trade from legendary custom hot rodder Boyd Coddington, Jesse immersed himself in the world of hand-crafting bikes.

West Coast Choppers was born in the early 1990s, and quickly established its, and his, reputation as a celebrity motorcycle manufacturing facility. He started the shop in a small dusty corner in a friend's garage, with no loan, no partners, and only a glimmer of the future. Slowly, painstakingly, and with great sacrifice, Jesse built his future empire, and continues to build his bikes the same way. By hand, from the ground up. West Coast Choppers now employs over 50 people, and builds bikes ranging from $50,000-$150,000, for such clients as Shaquille O'Neal and Kid Rock. In 2002, "Monster Garage" (2002) debuted on The Discovery Channel, bringing Jesse squarely to the forefront of reality television. With him as the host and team leader of the show that features custom hot-rodding at its absolute most bizarre, Jesse's West Coast Choppers has become an integral part of the program, as the Monster Garage team often utilizes Jesse's shop and machinery to help them meet the challenges of the weekly show. Conveniently, the warehouse that serves as Monster Garage's set is located mere blocks from West Coast Choppers' Long Beach location.

Spouse

Janine Lindemulder	(2002 - 2003) (divorced) 1 child
Carla James	(? - ?)

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Trade mark

Stylized "Pay Up Sucker" tattoo on his palm.

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Trivia

Became an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church during the Chevy Suburban/wedding chapel conversion, specifically so that he could be the one to perform the marriage ceremony which signaled the completion of that episode's challenge.

Established his celebrity status with "West Coast Choppers," the custom motorcycle fabrication shop he established in 1992. Clients for his bikes, which range from $60,000 to $150,000, include basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, model Tyson Beckford, musician Kid Rock, NASCAR start Kyle Petty, and NFL wide receiver Shawn Jefferson.

Named on People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" list for 2003.

Tailors each of his special-order motorcycle to the specific buyer, a process so specific that James actually takes numerous measurements of the rider and factors those into the design of each bike.

Is dating Sandra Bullock as of 2004.

Two children with first wife Carla, daughter Chandler and son Jesse James Jr. One daughter with second wife Janine, Sunny James, (b. January 1, 2004).

His great-great-great grandfather is suppose to be 1st cousins with outlaw Jesse James, thus the carried down moniker.

The Outlaw Jesse James

 

At seventeen, James left his native Missouri to fight as a Confederate guerilla in the American Civil War as part of Quantrill's Raiders, participating in raids in Kansas. He once killed eight men in a single day. After the war, he returned to his home state and lead one of history's most notorious outlaw gangs. He was wounded while surrendering at the end of the war, and later claimed to have been forced into outlawry because his family had been persecuted in the war.

With his brother Frank James and several other ex-Confederates, including Cole Younger and his brothers, the James gang robbed their way across the Western frontier targeting banks, trains, stagecoaches, and stores from Iowa to Texas. Eluding even the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the gang escaped with thousands of dollars. James is believed to have carried out the first daylight bank robbery in peacetime, stealing $60,000 from a bank in Liberty, Missouri.

Then on July 21, 1873 the James-Younger gang pulled off the first successful train robbery in the American West by taking US$3,000 from the Rock Island Express in Adair, Iowa.

Despite their criminal and often violent acts, James and his partners were much adored. Journalists, eager to entertain Easterners with tales of a wild West, exaggerated and romanticized the gang's heists, often casting James as a contemporary Robin Hood. While James did harass railroad executives who unjustly seized private land for the railways, modern biographers note that he did so for personal gain--his humanitarian acts were more fiction than fact.

On September 7, 1876, the James gang attempted to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. The townspeople returned fire, and all of the members of the gang except for Frank and Jesse James were killed, wounded or captured.

Jesse James had married his own first cousin, named Zerelda after his mother, after a nine-year courtship. They had two children, Jesse Edwards and Mary. She and Frank James' wife tried to get the brothers to take on a more normal life, and with a $10,000 reward on his head, Jesse and his wife moved to Saint Joseph, Missouri to hide out, where he lived under the assumed name of Tom Howard and rented a house for $14 a month In April 1882, Jesse James recruited Robert and Charles Ford to help him rob the Platte City bank. While James stood on a chair in his home in St. Joseph to straighten and dust a picture, the Ford brothers drew their guns. Robert Ford's shot hit James in the back of the head, ending his outlaw days for good. Ford hoped to claim the $10,000 offered for James's capture but received only a fraction of the reward and was charged with murder. He did, however, secure himself a place in Western outlaw lore which lives on in literature, song, and film.   James' epitaph, selected by his mother, read: IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY BELOVED SON, MURDERED BY A TRAITOR AND COWARD WHOSE NAME IS NOT WORTHY TO APPEAR HERE.   The Ford brothers were sentenced to hang but were pardoned by the governor of Missouri. Charles Ford committed suicide two years later, and Robert Ford was killed in a bar room brawl in Creede, Colorado, in 1892.   Rumors have persisted that Ford did not kill James, but someone else. Some stories say he lived in Guthrie, Oklahoma as late as 1948, and a man named J. Frank Dalton, who claimed to be Jesse James, died in Granbury, Texas in 1951 at the age of 103. Some stories claim the real recipient of Ford's bullet was a man named Charles Bigelow, reported to have been living with James' wife at the time.   The body buried in Missouri as Jesse James was exhumed in 1995 and DNA analysis gave a 99.7% probability that it was Jesse James. A court order was granted in 2000 to exhume and test Dalton's body, but the wrong body was exhumed.