Talk:Joe E. Lewis

Ownership of "Green Mill Cocktail Lounge"
Regarding the first sentence: "In 1927, Lewis refused the request of Jack 'Machine Gun' McGurn (an Al Capone lieutenant) to renew a contract that would have bound him to sing and perform at the 'Green Mill Cocktail Lounge', which was partly owned by Capone." I read different information on a non-Wikipedia site, "My Al Capone Museum". According to that site, Al Capone frequented [the Green Mill Gardens], but there is no mention of Capone being an owner. Instead it says, "At the moment Lewis was appearing there, the club was partly owned by Machinegun Jack McGurn, one of Al Capone's favorite hitmen and bodyguard". Capone's later generosity to Lewis may mean that the attack was ordered by McGurn without Capone's approval. Btm1 (talk) 15:54, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Before 1927?
The article just seems to jump in with the Capone thing. Is anything known about what he did before that? AdventurousMe (talk) 06:45, 15 June 2014 (UTC)


 * I agree. I made an attempt at a description of his early life based on what few resources I could find. BlueIris2 (talk) 02:36, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

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External links modified
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Ars lim
You only once 58.69.79.114 (talk) 11:03, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

early career

 * He got into third‐rate burlesque and vaudeville in 1923.

Does "third-rate" have an objective or standard meaning in this context? If so, perhaps it ought to be defined somehow.


 * As portrayed in his 1957 biographic film, The Joker Is Wild, Lewis started out as a popular crooner in a gang-owned speakeasy during the prohibition years of the 1920s.

If the film is the only support for this sentence, better to mention it later. Does the "As" clause mean to suggest that the film took liberties? —Tamfang (talk) 22:04, 18 March 2024 (UTC)