Elmer McCurdy
Encyclopedia
Elmer McCurdy was an Oklahoma
outlaw
whose mummified
body was discovered in The Pike
amusement zone in Long Beach, California
in December 1976.
, Western historian Drew Gomber famously said: "As an outlaw, Elmer McCurdy was truly God's own idiot. He had no business being a bandit." After three years in the U.S. Army, McCurdy traveled to Oklahoma and joined a gang of bank and train robbers. It appears that McCurdy was confused about the train, and believed it contained a safe which held thousands of dollars in government tribal payments. The money train was delayed for a few hours, and McCurdy's gang actually robbed a passenger train, getting away with $46 and a few bottles of liquor. Soon afterward he was killed in a gunfight in the Osage Hills
in north-central Oklahoma, shot in the chest by a .32-20
caliber bullet. A contemporary newspaper account gave McCurdy's last words as "You'll never take me alive!"
. When no one claimed the corpse, the undertaker embalmed
it with an arsenic-based preservative and allowed people to see "The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up" for a nickel. People would place nickels in McCurdy's mouth, which the undertaker would collect later. As increasingly large numbers of people came to view his remains (with each leaving a nickel), McCurdy was said to have made more money in death than in life. Many carnival operators asked to buy the mummified body from the undertaker, but he refused.
Almost five years after McCurdy died, a man showed up from a nearby traveling carnival known as the Great Patterson Shows claiming to be McCurdy's long-lost brother. He indicated that he wanted to remove the corpse to give it a proper burial. Within two weeks, however, McCurdy was a featured exhibit with the carnival. For the next 60 years, McCurdy's body was sold to successive wax museums, carnivals, and haunted houses. The owner of a haunted house near Mount Rushmore
, South Dakota
, refused to purchase him because he thought that McCurdy's body was actually a mannequin and was not lifelike enough.
Eventually, McCurdy's corpse wound up at "The Pike
" (1902–1967,NU-PIKE and demolished as Queens Park in 1979) seaside amusement zone in Long Beach, California
, inside the dark-ride attraction "Laff in the Dark" where he hung with other props, many of them painted day-glo yellow.
, of the television show The Six Million Dollar Man
episode Carnival of Spies (#4.17) (1977) "Carnival of Spies"(1979), a crew member was moving what was thought to be a wax mannequin
that was hanging from a gallows
. When the mannequin's arm (some accounts say finger) broke off, it was discovered that it was in fact embalmed and mummified human remains. Later, when medical examiner Thomas Noguchi
opened the mummy's mouth for other clues, he was surprised to find a 1924 penny and a ticket from Sonney Amusement's Museum of Crime in Los Angeles. That ticket and archived newspaper accounts helped police and researchers identify the body as that of Elmer McCurdy.
His remains were examined in 1976 by forensic anthropologists. McCurdy's remains revealed incisions from his original autopsy and embalming, as well as a gunshot wound in the right anterior chest. Additionally, a copper bullet jacket or gas check
from a .32-20
caliber projectile was found embedded in his pelvis (analysis of the projectile showed that the jacket was manufactured between 1905 and the 1930s). Also, video superimposition of the remains with photographs of McCurdy's corpse in the University of Oklahoma
's Western History Collection confirmed McCurdy's identity.
section of the Summit View Cemetery
in Guthrie, Oklahoma
on April 22, 1977. The state medical examiner ordered that two cubic yards of concrete was to be poured over McCurdy's casket, so that his remains would never be disturbed again.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
whose mummified
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
body was discovered in The Pike
The Pike
The Pike became a world famous Long Beach, California amusement zone in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house...
amusement zone in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in December 1976.
Background
On the television series Wild West TechWild West Tech
Wild West Tech was a program that aired on The History Channel in the United States. The show was originally hosted by Keith Carradine , but his brother, David Carradine took over hosting duties for season 2 and subsequent seasons...
, Western historian Drew Gomber famously said: "As an outlaw, Elmer McCurdy was truly God's own idiot. He had no business being a bandit." After three years in the U.S. Army, McCurdy traveled to Oklahoma and joined a gang of bank and train robbers. It appears that McCurdy was confused about the train, and believed it contained a safe which held thousands of dollars in government tribal payments. The money train was delayed for a few hours, and McCurdy's gang actually robbed a passenger train, getting away with $46 and a few bottles of liquor. Soon afterward he was killed in a gunfight in the Osage Hills
Osage Hills
The Osage Hills are a small range of hills in Oklahoma, commonly known as The Osage, refers to the broad rolling hills and rolling tallgrass prairie and Cross Timbers encompassing Osage County and surrounding areas, including portions of Mayes, Tulsa and Washington Counties.-The Osage:The Osage...
in north-central Oklahoma, shot in the chest by a .32-20
.32-20 Winchester
The .32-20 Winchester, also known as the .32 WCF , was the first small-game lever-action cartridge thatWinchester produced. It was initially introduced as a blackpowder cartridge in 1882 for small-game, varmint hunting, and deer. Colt produced a single-action pistol chambered for this cartridge a...
caliber bullet. A contemporary newspaper account gave McCurdy's last words as "You'll never take me alive!"
Post mortem commercialization
His body was subsequently taken to a funeral home in Pawhuska, OklahomaPawhuska, Oklahoma
Pawhuska is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States, and the capital of the Osage Nation. The population was 3,589 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1.2 percent from 3,629 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Code for the city is 74056...
. When no one claimed the corpse, the undertaker embalmed
Embalming
Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this...
it with an arsenic-based preservative and allowed people to see "The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up" for a nickel. People would place nickels in McCurdy's mouth, which the undertaker would collect later. As increasingly large numbers of people came to view his remains (with each leaving a nickel), McCurdy was said to have made more money in death than in life. Many carnival operators asked to buy the mummified body from the undertaker, but he refused.
Almost five years after McCurdy died, a man showed up from a nearby traveling carnival known as the Great Patterson Shows claiming to be McCurdy's long-lost brother. He indicated that he wanted to remove the corpse to give it a proper burial. Within two weeks, however, McCurdy was a featured exhibit with the carnival. For the next 60 years, McCurdy's body was sold to successive wax museums, carnivals, and haunted houses. The owner of a haunted house near Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, refused to purchase him because he thought that McCurdy's body was actually a mannequin and was not lifelike enough.
Eventually, McCurdy's corpse wound up at "The Pike
The Pike
The Pike became a world famous Long Beach, California amusement zone in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house...
" (1902–1967,NU-PIKE and demolished as Queens Park in 1979) seaside amusement zone in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, inside the dark-ride attraction "Laff in the Dark" where he hung with other props, many of them painted day-glo yellow.
Rediscovered
In December 1976, during filming at Queens Park (A.K.A. The Pike)The Pike
The Pike became a world famous Long Beach, California amusement zone in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house...
, of the television show The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
episode Carnival of Spies (#4.17) (1977) "Carnival of Spies"(1979), a crew member was moving what was thought to be a wax mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
that was hanging from a gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
. When the mannequin's arm (some accounts say finger) broke off, it was discovered that it was in fact embalmed and mummified human remains. Later, when medical examiner Thomas Noguchi
Thomas Noguchi
is a former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, who served in that position from 1967 to 1982. Known as the "coroner to the stars", he determined the cause of death in many high profile cases. He is most famous for performing autopsies on Marilyn Monroe, Robert F...
opened the mummy's mouth for other clues, he was surprised to find a 1924 penny and a ticket from Sonney Amusement's Museum of Crime in Los Angeles. That ticket and archived newspaper accounts helped police and researchers identify the body as that of Elmer McCurdy.
His remains were examined in 1976 by forensic anthropologists. McCurdy's remains revealed incisions from his original autopsy and embalming, as well as a gunshot wound in the right anterior chest. Additionally, a copper bullet jacket or gas check
Gas check
A gas check is a device used in some types of firearms ammunition. Gas checks are used when non-jacketed bullets are used in high pressure cartridges, to prevent the buildup of lead in the barrel and aid in accuracy.-Construction:...
from a .32-20
.32-20 Winchester
The .32-20 Winchester, also known as the .32 WCF , was the first small-game lever-action cartridge thatWinchester produced. It was initially introduced as a blackpowder cartridge in 1882 for small-game, varmint hunting, and deer. Colt produced a single-action pistol chambered for this cartridge a...
caliber projectile was found embedded in his pelvis (analysis of the projectile showed that the jacket was manufactured between 1905 and the 1930s). Also, video superimposition of the remains with photographs of McCurdy's corpse in the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
's Western History Collection confirmed McCurdy's identity.
Final interment
He was finally buried in the Boot HillBoot Hill
Boot Hill is the name for any number of cemeteries, chiefly in the American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who "died with their boots on" ....
section of the Summit View Cemetery
Summit View Cemetery
Summit View Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Guthrie, Oklahoma.Operated by the city of Guthrie since 1915, the cemetery is the final resting place for many prominent Oklahoma pioneers, including at least two territorial governors and Frank Dale, the Chief Justice of the Territorial...
in Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
on April 22, 1977. The state medical examiner ordered that two cubic yards of concrete was to be poured over McCurdy's casket, so that his remains would never be disturbed again.
See also
- Jeremy BenthamJeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
(who provided in his will that his mummified remains be put on display) - Jonah HexJonah HexJonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
(whose post-demise exploits in "The Last Jonah Hex Story" by Michael Fleischer and Russ Heath echo McCurdy's posthumous fate)
External links
- Urban Legends Reference Page: Elmer McCurdy
- The Straight Dope: Was a dead body found inside an amusement park "mummy"?
- Grave of Elmer McCurdy the Sideshow Mummy
- Sideshow World: Elmer McCurdy
- HBO: Autopsy 2: Voices From The Dead
- Elmer McCurdy at Findagrave
- The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up Post made to SensibleErection.com by krop on Friday June 17 2011 @ 2:31pm EST.