Forrest Tucker (criminal)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Forrest Tucker
Born
Forrest Silva Tucker

(1920-06-23)June 23, 1920
FMC Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeSkyvue Memorial Gardens, Mansfield, Texas
Other namesWoody Tucker
Known forMultiple escapes from prison detention
AllegianceThe Over-the-Hill Gang
Conviction(s)
  • Armed bank robbery
  • Resisting arrest
  • Escape from federal detention
Criminal charge
Penalty
  • Reform school (as a juvenile)
  • Multiple federal and state prison sentences
Partner(s)
  • Richard Bellew
  • Theodore Green
  • William McGirk
  • John Waller
Escaped18+ incidents

Forrest Silva "Woody" Tucker (June 23, 1920 – May 29, 2004) was an American career criminal first imprisoned at age 15 who spent the rest of his life in and out of jail.

escape artist, having escaped from prison "18 times successfully and 12 times unsuccessfully", by his own reckoning.[3] The 2018 film The Old Man & the Gun, starring Robert Redford
as Tucker, is based on his life.

Early life

Forrest Silva Tucker was born June 23, 1920, in

née Silva; 1898–1964).[1] Leroy Tucker, a heavy-equipment operator, left the family when Forrest was six years old. Forrest was raised in Stuart, Florida by his grandmother Ellen Silva (née Morgan).[1] His first escape from detention happened in the spring of 1936, after he was incarcerated for car theft.[3][4]

Personal life

Tucker married three times and had two children, a boy and a girl; none of his wives knew of his criminal career until they were informed by police.[3][5]

Prison escapes

A former inmate of

San Quentin State Prison in California, when he and two confederates built a kayak and paddled away in full view of the guards. He was not apprehended for four years, during which time he and a gang went on a crime spree.[3]

Tucker's crimes of choice were bank robberies. Law enforcement estimates Tucker stole over $4 million from banks during his career.[3] Tucker wrote a number of books about his life, including Alcatraz: The True Story, and The Can Opener,[3] although it is unclear if they were ever published.[6]

While living in a retirement community in

Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth).[5] Tucker did not live out his sentence, he died in prison less than 4 years later, on May 29, 2004, at the age of 83. He is buried in Mansfield, TX.[5]

In 2003, David Grann in The New Yorker profiled Tucker in a piece titled "The Old Man and the Gun", which described Tucker's most recent bank robbery.[3]

Film

Main article: The Old Man & the Gun

In 2010, a film version of Tucker's life, The Old Man & the Gun was optioned by Anthony Mastromauro of Identity Films. It had previously been in development at Warner Bros. Pictures.[7] Robert Redford starred in and produced the film, while David Lowery wrote and directed it.[8] The film was released on September 28, 2018.[9] Redford announced his intent to retire from acting after the film.[10]

References

  1. ^
    TC Palm
    . Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  2. ^ Wallace, Bill (28 April 1999). "Last of 'Rub-a-Dub-Dub' Fugitives: Florida cops arrest robber who escaped from San Quentin 20 years ago in a kayak". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, California. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Grann, David (January 27, 2003). "The Old Man and the Gun" (abstract)". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2023-12-30. Collected in The Devil and Sherlock Holmes (2010).
  4. TC Palm
    . Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  5. ^
    TC Palm
    . Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Zimmer frame bank robber jailed". BBC News. 23 October 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2014. In his unpublished memoir The Can Opener, Tucker recalls his jailbreaks
  7. ^ McNary, Dave (February 15, 2010). "Mastromauro finds Identity". Variety. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (April 11, 2013). "Robert Redford Teams With 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' Filmmaker for Crime Drama (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  9. ^ Perez, Rodrigo (June 5, 2018). "'The Old Man And The Gun' Trailer: Robert Redford Will Act One Last Time For Director David Lowery". The Playlist. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Murthi, Vikram (11 November 2016). "Robert Redford Announces Retirement From Acting". IndieWire. Retrieved July 29, 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forrest_Tucker_(criminal)&oldid=1198127547"