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Q: Al Capone's Pallbearers ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   5 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Al Capone's Pallbearers
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: markdraughn-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 18 Aug 2004 23:52 PDT
Expires: 17 Sep 2004 23:52 PDT
Question ID: 389806
When gangster Al Capone was buried in Mount Carmel cemetery in Chicago
in 1947, who carried his coffin?  This article lists some attendees:

http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_122.html

From other sources, I know that one of the people mentioned, Sam "Golf
Bag" Hunt, was a pallbearer.  Who else?

Please provide a source.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 19 Aug 2004 07:37 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello Mark,

Better recheck your sources regarding Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt.  From the
information I uncovered, Capone was buried without the services of
pallbearers:

==========

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe
Wednesday, February 5, 1947

Simple Service For Al Capone

Chicago (AP) -- Al Capone, who during his gangland days buried friend
and enemy alike with all the pomp and ceremony of a Roman holiday, was
buried yesterday in a simple, five-minute graveside service...

...There were no pallbearers.  The workmen who a few hours earlier had
dug his grave in the frozen ground, carried the silver-colored casket
from the cemetery vault to the grave...only a blanket of white
gardenias, topped with orchids, was placed on his casket...

...There were less than two score persons at the grave...

==========

Among those identified in the article as present at the gravesite were:

--a few policemen and curious bystanders

--Capone's mother, Therese, his wife Mae, and his only son, Alfred

--Capone's brothers, Ralph and Matt

--several unidentified members of the old Capone gang

--the mourners indeed arrived in fifteen limousines

--Msgr. William Gorman, chaplain of the Chicago fire department,
conducted the committal rites


--Capone was buried at the family plot, alongside his father, Gabriel,
and his brother, Frank, who was killed in a shoot-out with police in
1924.
  

The article cannot be reproduced in full here due to copyright, but
can be retrieved in full at:

http://www.newspaperarchive.com


The site charges a subscription fee, but they also offer a free trial
that you may wish to take advantage of.

A search on the terms:

[ "al capone" ironwood date:1947 ]

should return the article for you.


Before rating this answer, please let me know if you need any
additional information.

pafalafa-ga
markdraughn-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $1.25
Apparently I asked a trick question.  The answer is great anyway.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
From: probonopublico-ga on 19 Aug 2004 04:14 PDT
 
I'm sorry, I don't know, but I loved the piece that was linked.

I liked the idea of Al's 'coffin draped in orchards' ...

And the Queen's Government in 1942 ???

The only REIGNING British Queenie in the 20th Century (apart from
Queenie Vic) is the current Queenie Liz II and she hadn't got her
promotion in 1942.
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
From: omnivorous-ga on 19 Aug 2004 04:18 PDT
 
Markdraughn --

This may prove to be a toughy.  The Internet doesn't show much about
Capone's funeral.  The Associated Press account on Feb. 4, 1947 is
short -- 2 paragraphs, and says "with less than twoscore looking on." 
Msgr. William Gorman, who was the family priest, presided.

Let's see if other researchers can find more.  If I were in Illinois,
I'd be looking at microfilm of Chicago newspapers of the day.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
From: markdraughn-ga on 19 Aug 2004 06:49 PDT
 
Thanks for checking, folks.  An obsessive friend wants to know for
some reason, and I became obsessed enough trying to find an answer for
her that I decided to spend my own money.  Go figure.  Anyway, Amazon
lists a whole bunch of Capone biographies, so I figure someone out
there has one on their bookshelves and just has to skim the last
chapter.
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
From: pafalafa-ga on 19 Aug 2004 09:32 PDT
 
Thanks, Mark, for your generous feedback.  Glad this info worked for
you.  It was a fun question to look into.

pafalafa-ga
Subject: Re: Al Capone's Pallbearers
From: bowler-ga on 19 Aug 2004 09:47 PDT
 
The book "Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone" by John Kobler
doesn't mention anything about pallbearers but lists the attendees of
the burial:

"besides the immediate family, cousins Charlie and Rocco Fischetti,
Jake Guzik, Sam Hunt, Murray Humphreys, Red Rudensky..."

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