Melvin Purvis
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2008) |
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| File:Melvin Purvis.jpg | |
| Born | October 24, 1903 |
| Died | February 29, 1960 (aged 56) |
| Cause of death | Apparent suicide |
| Employer | FBI |
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American lawman and FBI agent. He had the nickname "Little Mel."[1]
Born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, Melvin Purvis joined the fledgling FBI in 1927 after a brief career as a lawyer. He served until 1935 and captured more public enemies than any other agent in FBI history, a record that still stands.[citation needed] In 1934, this young FBI agent was named as one of the most admired men in the United States.[citation needed]
Melvin Purvis led the manhunts that tracked such outlaws as Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd, but he is best remembered for leading the manhunt for John Dillinger, which ended in Chicago on July 22, 1934. Waiting outside the air-conditioned Biograph Theater on a hot summer night, Purvis called out to the famous outlaw, "Stick 'em up, Johnny." Dillinger was shot dead by FBI agents, supposedly going for his gun, though some dispute this since Dillinger did not have a gun and was shot three times in the back as he ran. [citation needed] If true, this would be consistent with the story that Purvis ordered Pretty Boy Floyd shot as he lay wounded. Chester Smith, the sniper who shot Floyd, claimed in a 1979 interview that he only wounded Pretty Boy and that Melvin Purvis ordered him shot after questioning him about the Kansas City Massacre.[2]
Purvis was given great acclaim for his actions[3] and reportedly incurred the wrath of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who had previously praised him. Many have said Hoover was jealous of the attention given to Purvis after Dillinger was killed.
Purvis resigned from the FBI in 1935 and afterward practiced law. In 1937 he became engaged to the actress Janice Jarratt, but the never married.[4][5] He married and had three sons, and bought a radio station in Florence, South Carolina. During World War II he served in the army as a colonel.
On February 29, 1960, while at his home in Florence, South Carolina, Melvin Purvis died from a shot fired from the gun given to him by fellow agents when he resigned from the FBI. The FBI investigated the shooting and labeled it a suicide. His doctor said he had been depressed over his ill health.[6][7] Later determined that Purvis may have shot himself accidentally while trying to extract a tracer bullet jammed in the pistol.[8] He was 56 years old.
Other media
- In the 1973 film Dillinger, Purvis was portrayed by Ben Johnson.
- In the 1974 TV movie, Melvin Purvis, G-man, Purvis was played by Dale Robertson
- In the 1991 TV movie Dillinger, Purvis was portrayed by actor Will Patton.
- In the upcoming 2008 movie Public Enemies directed by Michael Mann he will be played by Christian Bale.
Further Reading
- Purvis, Melvin (1938). American Agent. Garden City Publishing Co.[9]
- Potter, Claire (1998). War on Crime: Bandits, G-Men, and the Politics of Mass Culture. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2487-3.
- Alston Purvis (2005). The Vendetta. Public Affairs. ISBN 1-58648-301-3.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
References
- ^ "The John Dillinger Story: Little Bohemia." Crime Library.
- ^
"Blasting A G-Man Myth". Time (magazine). September 24, 1979.
Then, said Smith, Purvis ran up and ordered: 'Back away from that man. I want to talk to him.' Pretty Boy glared and cursed. At which point, said Smith, Purvis turned to G-Man Herman Hollis and said: 'Fire into him.' Hollis obeyed, said Smith, killing Floyd with a burst from a tommy gun.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Melvin Purvis acting as spokesman for Dodge automobiles, Good Housekeeping magazine, April 1936.
- ^ "Melvin Purvis to Wed Janice Jarratt, Actress". Washington Post. March 18, 1937. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Purvis and Actress Part. Wedding to Miss Jarratt Is Off, Former G-Man Heads for Coast". New York Times. April 28, 1937. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
Janice Jarratt and Melvin Purvis went their separate ways tonight, both noncommittal on the sudden postponement of their marriage only two days before their wedding date.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Purvis Suicide in Carolina Home. F.B.I. Agent Trapped Dillinger; Lawyer, 56, Was in Ill Health -- Led Men in Killing of Pretty Boy Floyd". Associated Press in New York Times. March 1, 1960. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
Melvin Purvis, who was special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation when John Dillinger was trapped and slain, committed suicide today.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Purvis, FBI Gang War Leader, Takes Own Life. Former G-Man Depressed and Suffering Poor Health, Doctor Tells Authorities". Los Angeles Times. March 1, 1960. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
Melvin Purvis, whose FBI teams shot down John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in bloody gangster cleanups of the 1930s. died by his own hand today.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "People & Events: Melvin Purvis, 1903-1960". American Experience. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
In 1960, he died at his home in South Carolina, killed by a shot from the .45 automatic that his fellow agents gave him when he resigned. Although the FBI labeled the death a suicide, it was later determined that Purvis may have been trying to remove a tracer bullet that was stuck in the pistol.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "American Agent. By Melvin Purvis. Illustrated with photographs. 291 pp. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Co. $2.75". New York Times. November 22, 1936. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)