The mob’s early Hollywood involvement included Bugsy Siegel extorting money from studios. Mafia life was portrayed in films like “Scarface,” which Al Capone loved and gave the director a miniature machine gun as a thank you. Capone’s nickname was Scarface, but he preferred “Big Fellow” or “Snorky.”
One of the mob’s first significant roles in Hollywood came in the mid-1930s, when Bugsy Siegel took over the extras’ union and began extorting money from studios. Moviegoers also began to see life in the Mafia portrayed on the big screen in films like 1932’s “Scarface,” which focused on the violent gang war in Chicago and starred Paul Muni as murderous criminal Al Capone. Capone reportedly loved the gangster classic and gave director Howard Hawks a miniature machine gun as a thank you.
Capone’s man on the Depression-era set was Puggy White, who proudly gave Hawks advice on how to make the film more realistic, perhaps even portraying the Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Read more about Al Capone:
Capone allegedly insulted a woman in a Brooklyn nightclub in 1917. His brother took no exception, slashing the gangster’s face three times.
Capone tried to hide the scarred side of his face when photographed, often calling the scars “war wounds.” After he rose to prominence as a gangster, the press called him Scarface, a nickname he didn’t like much.
Criminal associates referred to Capone as the “Big Fellow.” His friends knew him as “Snorky,” a term that meant “spiffy” in those days.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
