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The Birdman of Alcatraz, Robert Franklin Stroud, was a convicted murderer who became interested in birds while in solitary confinement. He wrote books on canary breeding and was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. Although he kept no birds there, a book and film were made about him. He died a year after the film’s release. The film portrayed him as kind and gentle, but accounts suggest he was actually cruel and savage.
The Birdman of Alcatraz was a criminal who became famous for his interest in birds. Although he only served part of his lengthy sentence at Alcatraz, he was intimately associated with the prison, thanks to a 1955 book called The Birdman of Alcatraz, which was adapted into a film in 1962. Today, visitors to Alcatraz can see the cell where he spent 17 years before being transferred to a medical facility in 1959.
Born Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz was convicted of a brutal murder committed at the age of 18 in 1909. He was initially sent to McNeil Island, a prison in Washington state, but proved too undisciplined for prison, attacking other inmates and orderlies, so he was transferred to Leavenworth Jail in Kansas in 1912. While at Leavenworth, Stroud continued to be extremely aggressive, eventually killing a guard and receiving the death sentence.
Stroud’s mother appealed to President Wilson for a life sentence, which was eventually granted, but Leavenworth’s warden decided that he should be kept in solitary confinement. It was during his time in solitary confinement that Stroud first became interested in birds, eventually being allowed to keep an assortment of canaries in his cell and an adjoining cell.
The birdman’s pets came to be a subject of scientific study for the undoubtedly bored prisoner. Stroud wrote two books on canary breeding and sold a variety of substances that were supposed to treat various canary endemic health problems. His birds also proved to be a health problem, as Stroud didn’t clean up after them, and by all accounts, his Leavenworth cells were incredibly filthy. The warden repeatedly attempted to transfer Stroud, finally taking him to Alcatraz in 1942.
Though known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, Stroud actually kept no birds in Alcatraz prison. However, he had become famous, thanks to his books on canaries, and public interest created the demand for a book and later a film about him. Stroud reportedly never saw the film, although petitions calling for his release circulated in theater lobbies. He died a year after the film’s release.
The Alcatraz Birdman’s characterization in the film is that of a kind and gentle man, played by matinee idol Burt Lancaster. However, contemporary accounts suggest that Stroud was actually a rather cruel and savage individual who was described by fellow inmates as a “jerk”. Among the writings he left behind after his death were a number of fantasy stories that featured graphic and rather unpalatable material, suggesting that the Birdman of Alcatraz was far from the friendly man portrayed in the film.
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