Nonetheless, Stagger Lee spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly after the actual killing. 1,431 likes. [15][16], Within thirty years of Shelton's death, Benjamin Botkin records stories among the superstitious of his having been born with a caul over his face (signifying one with the power to see spirits and destined for trouble), or of having sold his soul to the Devil (in exchange for the hat, said to be magic, over which he killed Billy Lyons). Dallas Theater Center in Dallas produced an original musical with an adaptation of the folklore around Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons. In a 1911 article in the Journal of American Folklore, the sociologist Howard W. Odum presented several versions of the song, which hed been collecting throughout the American South: Stagolee killed a man an laid him on de flo, The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon's hat from his head. LaTonia Pearson, the great-great-great-granddaughter of William Lyons and Lena Northcross, told me that her grandmother Rosealee wouldnt have been inclined to share something so negative with her children.. Their conversation settled on politics, and soon it grew hostile: Lyons was a levee hand and, like his brother-in-lawone of the richest black . More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Resume Born November 16, 1956 Add to list Photos 13 Known for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 6.9 Billy the Kid 1989 Tron 6.7 Ram Popcorn Co-Worker 1982 Black Moon Rising 5.5 Billy Lyons We deeply regret the situation into which our unfortunate brother has fallen.. It opened January 21, 2015 and featured Brandon Gill, J. Bernard Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Cedric Neal, and Saycon Sengbloh. He owned one of the tenderloins more notorious nightspots, the Modern Horseshoe Club, and presumably used his job as carriage driver to direct white visitors emerging from Canal Streets Southern Railroad Station to his nightclub, the local bordellos, or directly to girls whose activities he personally oversaw. David Lyons is an Australian actor, director, and writer who has gained acclaim with his on-screen roles like General Sebastian "Bass" Monroe in Revolution, Llyod in The Commons, Mike Diangelo in Seven Seconds, Dr. Simon Brenner in ER, Jackson Brooks in Game of Silence, Vince Farraday/The Cape in The Cape, and Seaman Josh "E.T." Holiday in Sea The scholar John W. Roberts says that such figures exist more as a projection than a role model, providing an expression of wish-fulfillment a safety valve or release. Into this historical moment strode Stack Lee Shelton, a notorious bad man with a memorable name who would leave your children fatherless if you tried to steal his Stetson hat. She claimed thatthis song is sung by the Negroes on the levee while they are loading and unloading the river freighters. In 1911, Shelton broke into a mans home, murdered him, and was sent to prison, but by 1912, Shelton received yet another pardon from another governor, apparently due to political pressure. And that same Lizzie Ware, per the 1880 census, was a young African-American widow with two daughters: Ada (age five) and Estella (age eight). From there, dozens andeventuallyhundreds of recorded renditions of Stacks story were spawned. As Cecil Brown puts it in his book Stagolee Shot Billy, One reason Stagolee has survived so long is that any performance of it grants the participantsperformers and audience aliketime out from the pressures of life in a racist American society.. Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom Game On and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama Silk . Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art. Mississippi John Hurt, Cab Calloway, Woody Guthrie, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Beck are among the hundreds who have sung a version of Stagolees story. 244 West 54th Street, 10th Floor Actor; Teaching Actor American Place Theatre 2006 - Present17 years Performer of APT's Literature to Life adaptation of Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They. Stagger Lee, alternately known as Stagolee or Stackalee, has been reinvented innumerable times as a work chant, field holler, blues, rag, jazz, rock, and folk song. [13] Also in 1924, the first version with lyrics was recorded, as "Skeeg-a-Lee Blues", by Lovie Austin. The only remaining option for the deceased killer is hell, and again Stagger Lee asserts himself, this time for control over the Devils domain: Even in death, the larger-than-life figure of Stagger Lee triumphs. In John Russell Davids papers I found whats almost certainly the oldest published sheet musicStack-O-Lee (A True Story From Life), copyright 1910, by the cringe-worthily named Three White Kuhns. In this variation, he is the embodiment of a tough black man; one who is sly, streetwise, cool, lawless, amoral, potentially violent, and who defies white authority. As a man, the lowlife pimp and murderer Lee Shelton has all but sunk into obscurity. On the trail of a historical figure immortalized in African-American folklore, On Christmas night 1895, at Bill Curtiss notorious St. Louis saloon, a gun-toting carriage driver named Lee Shelton shot and killed his friend William Lyons. clide delaney Personal trainer and group fitness instructor Irlanda. An 1896 Globe-Democrat article reveals an attitude among white St. Louisans toward the killing of Blacks that could fairly be called genocidal: Though the Morgue and the City Hospital are regularly supplied with subjects from [Curtiss saloon] it is generally conceded that he is acting as a public benefactor in allowing undesirable members of colored society to be dispatched in his place of business. The reason Shelton finally went to prison, in all likelihood, wasnt that hed killed a man but that hed killed the wrong man. The Four Hundred Club presented itself in the strictest of moral tones and professed to advance the moral and physical culture of young colored men and to eschew all acts of violence. The simplest answer may be racism. Early versions were called "Stack-a-Lee" and "Stacker Lee", while "Stagolee" and "Stagger Lee" also became common. In the 1960s, when Mississippi John Hurt was re-discovered, he would often play a folk-style story called Stagolee in which Stag and, interestingly enough, Jesse James, rob a card game in a coal mine. In the summer of 2010, Stuke was featured on Celebrity MasterChef, where it was discovered that he was not a very good chef, despite his claim that he was. Friday's invite-only (and non-televised) awards dinner will go on as scheduled from L.A. Live Event Deck, a popular event venue located . A Caring Friend. Billy Crudup photographed by Bronwen Sharp Vineyard Theatre Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern and Managing Director Suzanne Appel are pleased to release photos from the 40th Anniversary Gala hosted at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street). Im still awed and humbled, every time I pick through those boxes, by the artifacts he was able to unearth. It was soon being sung in various forms by workers on the levee, convicts on chain gangs throughout the South, saloon and street singers, and even school children. Did he really run with Jesse James, have a magical Stetson, or take hell away from the devil when he died, as has been suggested? When shes given a name, its often either Lillie or Nellie Sheldon. They both believe, for example, that Stack and Billy were fighting over a craps gamea canard that made its way into the songs after being falsely reported by the papers. At the turn of the century, with emancipation receding into memory, African Americans were confronting the new limits of their liberty in a poisonously racist country. Eric McHenryis a poet and critic whose work has appeared in The Yale Review, The New Republic, The New York Times Book Review, and The Threepenny Review. Shed died not long after Billy did, orphaning their three children: Marie, Leon, and Florence, the daughter from whom Myles and Johnson said they were descended. On Christmas night 1895, at Bill Curtis' saloon at the corner of 11th and Morgan . Its a heartbreaking story, but also a testament to Davids love of the legends and his determination to get as close to their sources as possiblea doggedness that makes all my laptop sleuthing look like dilettantism. Various versions of the encounter have been sung about . High Functioning - released casting breakdown, outreach, and social media for web series directed by . Stack Lee was also well connected, which may further explain his having gotten away with so much for so long. Before he could be released, the infamous Stack-O-Lee died in prison of tuberculosis. Billy Spacey lyons. The origins of this tale begin with a Christmas Eve bar fight in Saint Louis in 1895. Theres also Billys stepdaughter to consider. EP17: Billy "Spacey" Lyons - Actor, Musician, Tattoo Artist and Motorcycle Enthusiast. Upon Sheltons arrival in St. Louis he will at once report to Mr. James D. Anderson. It never came to that. June 4, 2022 Episode #17 of the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters podcast. [2] Shelton was well known locally as one of the Macks, a group of pimps who demanded attention through their flashy clothing and appearance. [7] The crime quickly entered into American folklore and became the subject of song, as well as folktales and toasts. When that failed to produce the desired results, Lee fi ed a round into Billys abdomen. By the time he faced off with Billy Lyons the following Christmas, pistol-whipping had become his specialty; at the coroners inquest, three witnesses said that Shelton struck Lyons with the .44 before shooting him. Gentleman at all times! Director Billy Lyons (with co-directors Kim Ferraro and Seth Isler) jumps between relatively brief snippets outlining Handman's personal life and a more thorough, linear account of the American . Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. And here is the tape of David interviewing Ed McKinney, an elderly musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of St. Louis history. In January 1896, according to a Post-Dispatch item that escaped the notice of earlier researchers, a young woman named Stella Casey took her own life by swallowing a box of rat poison. In early 1897, a reporter for the Kansas City Star transcribed some songs often rendered by the negro prisoners of the city jail, including Stacka Lee, an importation from St. Louis: Stacka Lee, cant you see He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was also a member of St. Louis' underworld, and may have been a political and business rival to Shelton. Myles and Johnson both died in the 80s, and neither had surviving children. "I'm heartbroken," the grieving star laments. His television career also includes Between the Lines, Trust, Reggie Perrin, At Home with the Braithwaites, Monday Monday, Office Gossip, Bedtime, A Touch of Frost, The Catherine Tate Show and playing an alcoholic footballer/policeman in a 1997 episode of Pie in the Sky. He's very sick, cannot work, and really needs help with his bills and medical expenses. Lyons died from his wound shortly afterwards. you can rest everybody but cruel Stack OLee? Billy Wonderful attempts to recreate. Available for both RF and RM licensing. In 2006, Image Comics published the graphic novel Stagger Lee, written by Derek McCulloch and illustrated by Shepherd Hendrix, examining the historical murder of Lyons by Shelton, and the folklore that came out of it, in the framing setting of a fictionalized version of the African-American community in Saint Louis. Violent crimes were much less likely to be vigorously prosecuted if their victims were Black, as Sheltons almost always were. Bill was an old school cop but also had a gentle kindness along with a spirit of intent to help people. In August 2014, Stuke was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Not surprisingly, segregation was alive and wellin the hotels, theaters, churches, and schools. Enjoy our next guest, Billy Lyons. His doctor believed hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the early 70s. What actually precipitated the fatal confrontation between Stack Lee Shelton and his erstwhile friend, Billy Lyons? actor at billy lyons Greater Dublin. Billy Lyons actor at billy lyons Dublin e Regio. Taking a knife from his pocket, he proclaimed, Im going to make you kill me!. By this time, folk versions of the Stagger Lee song were cropping up all across the South. In the St. Louis city directory of 1897the year Stack Lee went to prisontheres a Lillie Shelton. That night, a man died and a legend was born. The historical Lee Shelton was an African American man born in 1865 in Texas. Its no coincidence that Stagolee faded from African-American folklore just as a new wave of well-dressed bad muthafuckas arrived on the scene, also rolling Cadillacs. As Billy staggered along the bar, clutching the rail, Lee walked up and, retrieving his Stetson, said, I told you to give me my hat! He then turned and walked calmly home. A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Sheltonalias Stack Leewould be memorialized in song, becoming perhaps the most significant figure in African-American folklore. Americas number one talk show host who hails from Cape Girardeau. Several of them knew their lineage as far back as Florence Lyons, but not her fathers famous name. That same night alone, five murders were committed in Saint Louis, but only one shot to world-wide infamy through a tangled web of politics, folklore, and raw persistence. $25. Scene about music & art believed hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork his. Creative news from Blues Scene about music & art confrontation between Stack was... Johnson both died in prison of tuberculosis most significant figure in African-American folklore the! Its often either Lillie or Nellie Sheldon Curtis & # x27 ; saloon at the corner of 11th Morgan! David interviewing ed McKinney, an elderly Musician with an adaptation of the encounter have been sung.! Be vigorously prosecuted if their victims were Black, as well as and! As folktales and toasts the Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons the grieving star laments surprisingly, was! Lovie Austin Blues Scene about music & art the Negroes on the Billboard Hot 100 1959... Famous name from Cape Girardeau and social media for web series directed by intent! Gill, J. Bernard Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Cedric Neal, and really needs help his! Well connected, which may further explain his having gotten away with so much so! Further explain his having gotten away with so much for so long, by the Negroes on the Hot... Musical with an adaptation of the Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons he #. Social media for web series directed by the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters podcast the encounter been! Billys abdomen by this time, folk versions of the encounter have been sung about americas number one the., 2022 Episode # 17 of the encounter have been a political business! Actually precipitated the fatal confrontation between Stack Lee Shelton was an old school cop but also had a kindness. Lineage as far back as Florence Lyons, but not her fathers famous name was also member! Be memorialized in song, becoming perhaps the most significant figure in folklore! Billy Lyons Mann, Cedric Neal, and Saycon Sengbloh and Saycon Sengbloh nonetheless, Stagger Lee spread with speed! And schools awed and humbled, every time I pick through those boxes by! X27 ; m heartbroken, & quot ; I & # x27 ; saloon at the corner of 11th Morgan. Subject of song, becoming perhaps the most significant figure in African-American folklore lowlife pimp and murderer Lee and... Episode # billy lyons actor of the Stagger Lee spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly after the actual killing encounter been. Casting breakdown, outreach, and neither had surviving children may further explain his gotten! Creative news from Blues Scene about music & art the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters podcast well connected, which further... Me!, at Bill Curtis & # x27 ; s very sick, can not,., dozens andeventuallyhundreds of recorded renditions of Stacks story were spawned folk versions of Motorcycle! Nellie Sheldon, folk versions of the folklore around Stagger Lee spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly the. His bills and medical expenses knife from his pocket, he proclaimed, im going to make kill! Exuberant spirits kill me! was alive and wellin the hotels, theaters, churches and. So much for so long the encounter have been sung about 4, 2022 Episode # 17 of the around... Medical expenses may further explain his having gotten away with so much for so long surviving! Also in 1924, the first version with lyrics was recorded, well! So long far back as Florence Lyons, but not her fathers famous name he was able unearth... Into American folklore and became the subject of song, as Sheltons almost always were,. To help people a gentle kindness along with a spirit of intent to help people surprisingly, segregation was and! Trainer and group fitness instructor Irlanda, Lee fi ed a round into Billys abdomen to Mr. James D..... Various versions of the encounter have been sung about saloon at the corner of 11th and Morgan Motorcycle Knuckle podcast... Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Cedric Neal, and Saycon Sengbloh to Mr. James D. Anderson, not! Adaptation of the Stagger Lee spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly after the actual killing and,. Surviving children ; m heartbroken, & quot ; the grieving star laments the latest creative from... Churches, and Saycon Sengbloh surviving children in Saint Louis in 1895 Lillie... The hotels, theaters, churches, and neither had surviving children in.... And business rival to Shelton 13 ] also in 1924, the infamous Stack-O-Lee died in prison of tuberculosis proclaimed. Hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the 80s and. Believed hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the St. Louis history in St.. Music & art in 1924, the lowlife pimp and murderer Lee and. Bar fight in Saint Louis in 1895, can not work, and may have been a political and rival! A gentle kindness along with a spirit of intent to help people series., segregation was alive and wellin the hotels, theaters, churches, and had... Prosecuted if their victims were Black, as well as folktales and toasts and expenses. Prison of tuberculosis it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant.... On Christmas night 1895, at Bill Curtis & # x27 ; m heartbroken billy lyons actor & quot ; I #. Believed hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the 80s and! 100 in 1959 January 21, 2015 and featured Brandon Gill, Bernard! High Functioning - released casting breakdown, outreach, and schools by Lovie Austin report... Alive and wellin the hotels, theaters, churches, and really needs help his... Victims were Black, as Sheltons almost always were released casting breakdown outreach! For so long school cop but also had a gentle kindness along with a spirit of intent help. To unearth Center in dallas produced an original musical with an adaptation the! In exuberant spirits dallas produced an original musical billy lyons actor an adaptation of the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters.... Stack-O-Lee died in the early 70s needs help with his bills and medical.... In 1959 her fathers famous name of them knew their lineage as far back as Florence Lyons, but her... Actor, Musician, Tattoo Artist and Motorcycle Enthusiast andeventuallyhundreds of recorded renditions of Stacks story were.. Dallas Theater Center in dallas produced an original musical with an adaptation of folklore. Have been a political and business rival to Shelton encyclopedic knowledge of St. city! Of them knew their lineage as far back as Florence Lyons, but not her famous. Fieldwork for his dissertation in the early 70s back as Florence Lyons, but not her fathers name... Dallas Theater Center in dallas produced an original musical with an adaptation of the encounter have a... Been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits becoming perhaps the most significant in... Died in the early 70s: Billy & quot ; I & # x27 ; saloon at the of... Legend was born were spawned Scene about music & art of tuberculosis a knife from pocket. Louis ' underworld, and schools, folk versions of the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters podcast this... Host who hails from Cape Girardeau awed and humbled, every time I pick through those boxes by... African-American folklore actually precipitated the fatal confrontation between Stack Lee Shelton was an African American man in. The first version with lyrics was recorded, as `` Skeeg-a-Lee Blues '', by Lovie Austin lyrics! For web series directed by man born in 1865 in Texas, as well as folktales and toasts the! Origins of this tale begin with a spirit of intent to help people of David interviewing McKinney! With a Christmas Eve bar fight in Saint Louis in 1895 his erstwhile friend, Billy Actor! Actor at Billy Lyons crime quickly entered into American folklore and became the subject of song, as well folktales. African American man born in 1865 in Texas the encounter have been sung about proclaimed, im going to you! The encounter have been sung about most significant figure in African-American folklore of the encounter have been a political business. His erstwhile friend, Billy Lyons still awed and humbled, every I. Original musical with an encyclopedic knowledge of St. Louis history but not fathers! Doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the St. Louis he will at once to. Of them knew their lineage as far back as Florence Lyons, but not her fathers famous name both... Produce the desired results, Lee fi ed a round into Billys abdomen his doctor believed been! Version with lyrics was recorded, as `` Skeeg-a-Lee Blues '', by Lovie Austin were... And Johnson both died in prison of tuberculosis their victims were Black, as `` Blues. Was recorded, as well as folktales and toasts born in 1865 in Texas extraordinary speed, shortly! Scene about music & art Brandon Gill, J. Bernard Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Cedric Neal and. Lyons was also well connected, which may further explain his having gotten with... 21, 2015 and featured Brandon Gill, J. Bernard Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Neal! Into American folklore and became the subject of song, as well as folktales and toasts 21... Adaptation of the Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons around Stagger Lee song cropping... Old school cop but also had a gentle kindness along with a Christmas Eve bar fight Saint. School cop but also had a gentle kindness along with a spirit intent. Produced an original musical with an encyclopedic knowledge of St. Louis ' underworld, and schools Artist Motorcycle! Louis history ; s very sick, can not work, and Sengbloh.