Machine Gun Kelly
Encyclopedia
George Kelley Barnes better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the prohibition
era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun
. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles Urschel in July 1933 for which he, and his gang, earned $200,000 ransom. The FBI investigation eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis, Tennessee
on September 26, 1933. His crimes also included bootlegging
and armed robbery.
, for smuggling liquor onto an Indian Reservation in 1928 and sentenced for three years to Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas
, beginning February 11, 1928. He was reportedly a model inmate and was released early. Shortly thereafter, Kelly married Katherine Thorne, who purchased Kelly’s first machine gun and went to great lengths to familiarize his name in the underground crime circles. She was known to hand out the expended .45cal cartridge casings from his Tommy Gun as souvenirs. Some historians claim that Katherine even went so far as to plot some small bank robberies.
Nonetheless, Kelly’s last criminal activity proved disastrous when he kidnapped a wealthy Oklahoma City
resident, Charles F. Urschel
and his friend Walter R. Jarrett. Urschel, having been blindfolded, made sure to foil his kidnappers by noting all possible evidence of his experience such as background sounds, counting footsteps and leaving fingerprint
s on every surface in reach. This in turn proved invaluable for the FBI
in their investigation, as they learned that Urschel had been held in Paradise, Texas
.
An investigation conducted at Memphis disclosed that after 56 days on the run, the Kellys were staying at the residence of J.C. Tichenor. Special Agents from Birmingham, Alabama, were immediately dispatched to Memphis, where, in the early morning hours of September 26, 1933 a raid was conducted. George and Katherine Kelly were taken into custody by FBI Agents and Memphis police officers Sergeant William Raney and officer Thomas Waterson
. Caught without a weapon, George Kelly supposedly cried, "Don’t shoot, G-Men
! Don’t shoot, G-Men!" as he surrendered to FBI Agents. The term (which had applied to all federal investigators, meaning simply 'Government Men') became synonymous with FBI Agents. Reports of the raid, however, indicate that George Kelly came to the door, dropped his pistol and said, "Okay, boys, I’ve been waiting for you all night." Recent research revealed a 1933 newspaper interview with one of the federal agents at the arrest. He commented that, upon their arrest, Katherine Kelly put her arms around George and said, "These G-men will never leave us alone." The FBI press machine generated the G-Man story to build its own reputation.
In October 1933, George and Katherine Kelly were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial was held at the Post Office, Courthouse and Federal Office Building
in Oklahoma City. Katherine Kelly and her mother had all charges dropped and were released in 1958 from prison in Cincinnati.
The kidnapping of Urschel and the two trials that resulted were historic in several ways: 1) they were the first, last, and only federal criminal trials in the United States in which moving cameras were allowed to film; 2) the first kidnapping trials after the passage of the so-called Lindbergh Law
, which made kidnapping
a federal crime
; 3) the first major case solved by J. Edgar Hoover
’s evolving and powerful FBI. For that, Kelly got sent into Alcatraz; 4) the first crime in which defendants were transported by airplane. At the time, it was the largest ransom ever paid in the United States.
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles Urschel in July 1933 for which he, and his gang, earned $200,000 ransom. The FBI investigation eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
on September 26, 1933. His crimes also included bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
and armed robbery.
Career
As he lived in the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 30s, Kelly was able to find work as a bootlegger for himself as well as a colleague. After a short time, and several run-ins with the local Memphis police, he decided to leave town and head west with a new girlfriend. To protect his family and escape law enforcement officers, he changed his name to George R. Kelly. He continued to commit smaller crimes and bootlegging. He was arrested in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, for smuggling liquor onto an Indian Reservation in 1928 and sentenced for three years to Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
, beginning February 11, 1928. He was reportedly a model inmate and was released early. Shortly thereafter, Kelly married Katherine Thorne, who purchased Kelly’s first machine gun and went to great lengths to familiarize his name in the underground crime circles. She was known to hand out the expended .45cal cartridge casings from his Tommy Gun as souvenirs. Some historians claim that Katherine even went so far as to plot some small bank robberies.
Nonetheless, Kelly’s last criminal activity proved disastrous when he kidnapped a wealthy Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
resident, Charles F. Urschel
Charles F. Urschel
Charles F. Urschel was a Texas oilmen and kidnap victim of George “Machine Gun” Kelly.- Early years :Charles Urschel was born in Washington Township, Hancock County, Ohio in 1890 to Daniel Urschel and Emma M Bangert....
and his friend Walter R. Jarrett. Urschel, having been blindfolded, made sure to foil his kidnappers by noting all possible evidence of his experience such as background sounds, counting footsteps and leaving fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s on every surface in reach. This in turn proved invaluable for the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
in their investigation, as they learned that Urschel had been held in Paradise, Texas
Paradise, Texas
Paradise is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 459 at the 2000 census. The majority of the population that claims Paradise as its home lives outside of the city limits. Surrounding areas are flat with rolling hills. Native trees that can be seen in the area are Oak,...
.
An investigation conducted at Memphis disclosed that after 56 days on the run, the Kellys were staying at the residence of J.C. Tichenor. Special Agents from Birmingham, Alabama, were immediately dispatched to Memphis, where, in the early morning hours of September 26, 1933 a raid was conducted. George and Katherine Kelly were taken into custody by FBI Agents and Memphis police officers Sergeant William Raney and officer Thomas Waterson
Thomas Waterson
Thomas Waterson, born Seth Thomas Waterson in 1895 was an American police officer and member of the Memphis Police Department in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Detective Sergeant William Raney of the Memphis police, Waterson was a member of the team who captured notorious "Public Enemy Number...
. Caught without a weapon, George Kelly supposedly cried, "Don’t shoot, G-Men
G-Man (slang)
G-Man is a slang term for Special agents of the United States Government. It is specifically used as a term for a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent....
! Don’t shoot, G-Men!" as he surrendered to FBI Agents. The term (which had applied to all federal investigators, meaning simply 'Government Men') became synonymous with FBI Agents. Reports of the raid, however, indicate that George Kelly came to the door, dropped his pistol and said, "Okay, boys, I’ve been waiting for you all night." Recent research revealed a 1933 newspaper interview with one of the federal agents at the arrest. He commented that, upon their arrest, Katherine Kelly put her arms around George and said, "These G-men will never leave us alone." The FBI press machine generated the G-Man story to build its own reputation.
In October 1933, George and Katherine Kelly were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial was held at the Post Office, Courthouse and Federal Office Building
United States Post Office, Courthouse, and Federal Office Building (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
The United States Post Office and Courthouse, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is a historic post office, courthouse, and Federal office building built in 1912 and located at Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma...
in Oklahoma City. Katherine Kelly and her mother had all charges dropped and were released in 1958 from prison in Cincinnati.
The kidnapping of Urschel and the two trials that resulted were historic in several ways: 1) they were the first, last, and only federal criminal trials in the United States in which moving cameras were allowed to film; 2) the first kidnapping trials after the passage of the so-called Lindbergh Law
Federal Kidnapping Act
Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping , the United States Congress adopted a federal kidnapping statute—popularly known as the Federal Kidnapping Act — which was intended to let federal authorities step in and pursue kidnappers once they had...
, which made kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
a federal crime
Federal crime
In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is a crime that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation. In the United States, criminal law and prosecution happen at both the federal and the state levels; thus a “federal crime” is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law, and...
; 3) the first major case solved by J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
’s evolving and powerful FBI. For that, Kelly got sent into Alcatraz; 4) the first crime in which defendants were transported by airplane. At the time, it was the largest ransom ever paid in the United States.
Death
Machine Gun Kelly spent his remaining 21 years in prison. During his time at Alcatraz he got the nickname "Pop Gun Kelly." This was in reference, according to a former prisoner, to the fact that Kelly was a model prisoner and was nowhere near the tough, brutal gangster his wife made him out to be. He spent 17 years on Alcatraz, working in the prison industries, and was quietly transferred back to Leavenworth in 1951. He died of a heart attack at Leavenworth Federal Prison, Kansas on July 18, 1954, his 59th birthday. He is buried at Cottondale Texas Cemetery with a small headstone marked "George B. Kelley 1954".In popular culture
- Crime novelist Ace AtkinsAce AtkinsAce Atkins is an American journalist and author. Atkins worked as a crime reporter in the newsroom of The Tampa Tribune before he published his first novel, Crossroad Blues, in 1998...
' 2010 book Infamous is based on the Urschel kidnapping and subsequent multi-state misadventures of George and Katherine Kelly as they attempted to flee both the FBI and other gangsters eager to claim the Urschel ransom money. - Machine Gun Kelly and Katherine Kelly were the inspiration for "Machine Gun Kelly" (1970), a song written by Danny "Kootch" KortchmarDanny KortchmarDanny "Kootch" Kortchmar is a guitarist, session musician, and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as David Crosby, Carole King, Graham Nash, Carly Simon and James Taylor helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s...
and recorded by James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
on his 1971 Album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue HorizonMud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon-Track listing:All songs by James Taylor unless otherwise noted.#"Love Has Brought Me Around" – 2:41#"You've Got a Friend" – 4:28#"Places in My Past" – 2:01#"Riding on a Railroad" – 2:41#"Soldiers" – 1:13#"Mud Slide Slim" – 5:20...
. - Machine Gun Kelly and his crimes were (loosely) portrayed in the 1958 film Machine-Gun KellyMachine-Gun Kelly (film)Machine-Gun Kelly is a film directed by Roger Corman, chronicling the criminal activities of the real-life George "Machine Gun" Kelly. The film was considered low budget, but received good critical reviews...
starring Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
. - Machine Gun Kelly is a central character in the 1974 TV film Melvin Purvis: G-Man.
- Kelly is (along with Pretty Boy FloydPretty Boy FloydCharles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
and Baby Face NelsonBaby Face NelsonLester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s. Gillis was known as Baby Face Nelson, a name given to him due to his youthful appearance and small stature...
) one of the main characters of the comic book series Pretty, Baby, MachinePretty, Baby, MachinePretty, Baby, Machine is a three-issue comic book limited series written by Clark Westerman with art by Kody Chamberlain, and released by Image Comics through their ShadowLine studio in 2008....
. - Punk band the Angelic Upstarts released a single in 1984 titled Machine Gun Kelly.
- Machine Gun Kelly is referenced in the film So I Married an Axe MurdererSo I Married an Axe MurdererSo I Married an Axe Murderer is a 1993 American comedy-horror film starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. Myers plays Charlie McKenzie, a man afraid of commitment until he meets Harriet , who works at a butcher shop and may be a serial killer...
by Phil HartmanPhil HartmanPhilip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
's character while touring Alcatraz. - In the song "MVP" by the late Harlem rapper Big L, he says: "I run up like Machine Gun Kelly, with a black skully, put one in your belly, leave you smelly, then take your Pelle Pelle."
- In the song "Bluesman" by Harry ChapinHarry ChapinHarry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
, there's a line that goes "No! A fool plays the blues like Machine Gun Kelly, Five hundred notes to the bar...". - Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK)
- Female Rapper Foxy BrownFoxy BrownInga DeCarlo Fung Marchand , better known as Foxy Brown, is an American rapper known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations with other artists and her brief stint as part of hip hop music group The Firm. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, her father Keith Stahler abandoned the family at a...
refers to "Machine Gun Kelly" in her song "Massacre" - Mentioned in These Animal Men's "I'm Not Your Babylon "Machine Gun Kelly was the first to crack"