If you were to imagine what your average comedy fan might’ve looked like during the first half of the 20th century, you probably wouldn’t immediately think of a notorious gangster like Al Capone. But Capone appreciated the comedians of his time just as much as the next guy. In fact, one night in Chicago, he even forced the famous Ritz Brothers comedy trio to perform a private show for him. They were escorted to the impromptu gig by two large men armed with machine guns; fellow comics George Jessel and Al Jolson were in attendance that evening, as well, having apparently been requested by Capone.
Capone was also very fond of a popular nightclub comedian named Joe E. Lewis, who was a regular at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge—one of Capone’s favorite hangouts in Chicago. Despite being in Capone’s good graces, Lewis made the mistake of working at a club owned by a rival gang, much to the chagrin of Capone’s associate “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn. On top of that, Lewis reportedly refused to renew his contract at the Green Mill. The decision nearly cost the comedian his life.
In November 1927, three men assaulted Lewis in his hotel room, stabbing him multiple times and leaving him for dead. Mobster Sam Giancana (who was depicted by Al Linea in The Irishman) later admitted to being involved, saying, “[McGurn] sent me, Needles [Gianola] and another punk over to pay him a visit. We beat him to a pulp and pistol-whipped him real good. S–t, we cut his f—–g throat from stern to stern. His goddamned tongue was hanging by a string out of his mouth when we got done with him. It’s a f—–g wonder the guy lived.”
It took Lewis three years to learn how to speak again following the attack. He resumed his career without ever telling the police who was responsible. Interestingly enough, adhering to the code of the streets earned him the respect of every mobster in the country, assuring him steady work for the rest of his life. Capone evidently wasn’t happy about what happened to Lewis, though, and was said to have given the comedian $10,000 to aid in his recovery, which would amount to over $180,000 today.
Lewis died in 1971 at the age of 69, outliving both Capone and McGurn by many years.
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