l2910 Eight men attacked Big Meech’s driver in broad daylight outside a corner store on Detroit’s 7 Mile. The assault, captured in the memory of the neighborhood, was a public message meant to show that the Black Mafia Family was not untouchable. The driver, a man named Curtis, had stopped for a quick errand. He did … Read more
The Spear family, long celebrated as gospel music’s first family, ended its 75-year run quietly in 1997 when a for-sale sign went up outside their Nashville theater. The dynasty that survived the Great Depression, World War II, and the rock-and-roll revolution had finally faded into history. For the children raised within it, the end marked … Read more
Lee Marvin, one of Hollywood’s most iconic tough guys, died on August 29, 1987, in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 63. The official cause of death was complications from pneumonia. At the time of his passing, Marvin was widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation. His death prompted an outpouring … Read more
When the British Royal Navy abolished its sailors’ daily rum ration on July 31, 1970, the moment had been 315 years in the making. Sailors wept on deck. Some held symbolic funerals for the daily tot, complete with a coffin, black armbands, and a minute of silence. The Navy still remembers the date as Black … Read more
The 1956 historical drama *The Conqueror*, starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan, is widely considered one of the worst films of his career. Wayne was badly miscast as the Mongol conqueror, and critics generally agree the movie was a failure. But decades after its release, the film became the subject of a darker conversation, one … Read more
Wendy Barrie built her Hollywood career on an image of flawless British aristocracy, but her rise to fame became intertwined with one of America’s most dangerous criminals. Behind her polished public persona, she was linked to Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, a founding member of the organized crime syndicate known as Murder, Inc. , who had been … Read more
In October 1974, a renovation crew working on the abandoned Blackwood Plantation in Georgia made a discovery that local officials would never fully explain. While repairing the eastern wing, workers uncovered a sealed limestone cavity containing an iron box. Inside was a leather diary, preserved for more than six decades, with a warning etched into … Read more
Frank Beard was the only member of ZZ Top who didn’t have the band’s famous beard. His name, a playful coincidence given the group’s signature look, made him an easy punchline for decades. But behind that visual joke was a drummer who helped hold together one of rock’s strangest and most successful bands for more … Read more
On the morning of January 26, 1856, a coordinated attack by native warriors on the small settlement of Seattle was exposed when an artillery shell from a U. S. Navy warship exploded on a nearby hillside, scattering the warriors who had been poised to strike. The Battle of Seattle, a largely forgotten conflict of the … Read more
A U. S. -Mexico coordinated operation is not what killed one of the most recognizable figures in Mexico’s drug war. On October 30, 2016, roughly 70 Mexican soldiers surrounded a home in the Los Cintas neighborhood of Culiacán after gunfire was reported nearby. Before the confrontation ended, three senior members of Los Antrax — the … Read more