He Performed at the Wrong Club — The Mob Slashed His Throat скачать в хорошем качестве

He Performed at the Wrong Club — The Mob Slashed His Throat

November ninth, nineteen twenty-seven. Three men burst into Joe Lewis's Chicago hotel room. One held a ten-inch hunting knife. "Just one favor, Joe," he said. "Don't yell." Then he slashed Lewis's throat from ear to ear, partially severed his tongue, and left him for dead in a pool of blood. Lewis had committed one unforgivable sin: he'd left the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge to perform at a rival club. And the Green Mill's owner was Machine Gun Jack McGurn, Al Capone's most feared hitman. This is the true story of the comedian who defied the Chicago mob—and survived. What You'll Discover: How Joe E. Lewis became the star attraction at the mob-owned Green Mill Cocktail Lounge Why he rejected Jack McGurn's threats and opened at the rival New Rendezvous Cafe The brutal November ninth attack: fractured skull, twelve knife wounds, throat slashed, tongue partially severed How Lewis survived but lost his singing voice forever The three attackers who turned up dead within months (including Sam Giancana) Why Al Capone gave Lewis ten thousand dollars after the attack How Lewis reinvented himself as one of America's most famous nightclub comedians Frank Sinatra's nineteen fifty-seven film "The Joker Is Wild" based on Lewis's life The Facts: Joseph Klewan was born January twelfth, nineteen oh two, in New York City. He added the middle initial E to distinguish himself from boxer Joe Louis. By the mid-nineteen twenties, Lewis was performing at Chicago's Green Mill Gardens, earning six hundred fifty dollars weekly. When the New Rendezvous Cafe offered him one thousand dollars plus a percentage of cover charges, he informed part-owner Jack McGurn he wouldn't renew his contract. McGurn warned him: "You'll never live to open at the Rendezvous." Lewis opened anyway on November second, nineteen twenty-seven. One week later, three men including future mob boss Sam Giancana attacked him in his Commonwealth Hotel room. They fractured his skull with a revolver, slashed his throat, partially severed his tongue, and inflicted at least twelve knife wounds. Lewis survived but couldn't speak for years. Speech therapy eventually restored limited vocal ability, though his singing voice was destroyed. He reinvented himself as a stand-up comedian, using his raspy voice and survival story as part of his act. He became one of America's most famous nightclub entertainers, performing into the nineteen sixties. Frank Sinatra portrayed Lewis in "The Joker Is Wild" (nineteen fifty-seven), introducing the Oscar-winning song "All the Way." Lewis died June fourth, nineteen seventy-one, at age sixty-nine from a heart attack—outliving Jack McGurn by thirty-five years. McGurn was murdered in a Chicago bowling alley in nineteen thirty-six. Why This Matters: Lewis's story reveals how the mob controlled Chicago's entertainment industry during Prohibition. Nightclub performers worked for gangsters whether they wanted to or not. Refusing mob terms meant brutal consequences. Lewis's survival and reinvention proved the mob could hurt you, but couldn't destroy you if you refused to be broken. Primary Sources: "The Joker Is Wild" - Frank Sinatra biographical film (1957) Chicago historical records and newspaper accounts (November 9-10, 1927) Joe E. Lewis biographical materials and interviews Jack McGurn FBI files and historical documentation 🔔 Subscribe for weekly mob history documentaries. 👇 Comment: Brave or reckless? Should Lewis have defied McGurn? #JoeELewis #ChicagoMob #AlCapone #JackMcGurn #GreenMill #ProhibitionEra #MobViolence #TheJokerIsWild #FrankSinatra #ChicagoHistory #OrganizedCrime #TrueCrime #NightclubHistory #SamGiancana #MobRetaliation