“Machine Gun Kelly” might refer to a musician today but for those with a sense of history, it will always refer to the notorious gangster of the 1920s. Born George Kelly Barnes in 1895, the gangster, bootlegger, and eventual kidnapper came from a well-to-do family. His parents were insurance executives but despite the stable upbringings, Kelly chose a life of crime.
Along his wayward road, he met Kathryn Thorne who helped turn him from a petty criminal to one of the first guests of the infamous Alcatraz Prison. Here’s how Machine Gun Kelly went from a failed college student to one of America’s most high-profile criminals.
Kelly's failure to capitalize on his prosperous upbringing led him down a dangerous path.
A Terrible Student
Although Kelly attended Mississippi A&M which later became Mississippi State University, his matriculation did not go well. In his first semester, he received 31 demerits. In the opening weeks of the second, he racked up another 24. His highest grade during his short-lived tenure at the university was a C+, for good physical hygiene. To make matters worse, he fell in love with a woman named Geneva Ramsey, had two kids, and promptly dropped out of school.
Kathryn Thorne, wife of George “Machine Gun†Kelly. 1933. SMUCentralUniversity
From Bad To Worse
At first, Kelly took up work as a cab driver in Memphis, working long hours for little pay. Quickly, the strain of financial distress took its toll. Geneva divorced him “because he was running in bad company.” In the ‘20s prohibition was in full swing and bootlegging offered an easy path for quick cash.
Unfortunately, for Kelly, his lack of intelligence also led to arrests. Between 1927 and 1928 he was arrested three times, twice for bootlegging, which cost him 3 months in a New Mexico State Penitentiary. The string of crimes also led him to meet his criminal muse, Kathryn Thorne.
Before he met Thorne, Kelly was just another mediocre bootlegger.
Kelly’s Black Widow
While working with rum runner “Little Steve” Anderson, Kelly fell in love with his partner’s mistress, Miss Thorne. Thorne already owned a long rap sheet and was known as a “tough” woman who could “drink liquor like water.” Supposedly, the pair absconded with Anderson’s Cadillac and began a partnership that would take Kelly from a small-time criminal to "Public Enemy Number One."
Machine Gun Kelly with his wife Kathryn during their trial for the kidnapping of businessman Charles F. Urschel. Getty
The Birth Of Machine Gun Kelly
Allegedly, Thorne bought Kelly his first Thompson submachine gun and urged him to practice with it. It was said that Kelly could write his name using gunfire from his weapon of choice and take walnuts off a fence from 25 feet.
More likely, these tales came from the infamous Miss Thorne who would hand out
Kelly’s empty shell casings to help spread his legend. Historians and Kelly’s fellow criminal associates believed Thorne was the mastermind behind their successful string of bank robberies. Looking at Kelly’s lack of success prior to meeting Thorne, it’s not hard to believe.
Kelly received a life sentence while Thorne eventually returned to society.
From Bootlegger To Bank Robber
While serving time in Leavenworth Prison, Kelly made connections with more hardened criminals: Charlie Harmon, Frank “Jelly” Nash, Francis Keating, and Thomas Holden. Together, along with other bandits, they went on a string of successful bank robberies.
In Minnesota they absconded with $70,000; in Nebraska, their haul totaled $4,000,000. They continued their crime spree, hitting banks in the Midwest. In 1931, Harmon was killed while Keating and Holden were arrested. The dissolution of that crime enterprise pushed Kelly from bank robbing to kidnapping.
Kelly earned a transfer to America most notorious prison: Alcatraz. alcatrazhistory
A Terrible Kidnapper
While Kelly’s most famous crime was the kidnapping of Oklahoma oilman Charles F. Urschel, his first try at a new type of crime remains much more amusing. As the story goes, Kelly and another crook forced Howard Woolverton, a local banker’s son, off the road in South Bend, Indiana. After commandeering their victim's vehicle, they eventually forced Woolverton’s wife out of the car with a note demanding $50,000.
After two days of driving a blindfolded Woolverton around, the banker’s son convinced the pair that he couldn't pay their exorbitant ransom. So they released him after making him promise to pay them later. Much to their dismay, Woolverton refused to pay even after they sent him threatening letters and abusive phone calls.
Eventually, thanks to good behavior he was returned to Leavenworth where he died of a heart attack.
Alcatraz Bound
Obviously, Kelly was no criminal mastermind and probably no Rambo with a machine gun either. Inevitably, he aimed too high and kidnapped the wealthy oil tycoon, Charles F. Urschel. That caught the attention of the FBI, who paid the ransom with traceable money, thanks to serial numbers. Kelly and crew never considered the possibility of traceable money and also failed to properly sequester Urschel, who passed on crucial details that led to their arrest.
Initially, Kelly was sentenced to life in Leavenworth Prison but his loud bragging of how he planned to escape earned him a transfer to Alcatraz. He became AZ#117, earning the reputation of telling “tall tales”, surrounded by a who’s who of heavy hitters. Eventually, he grew sullen, lamenting "How the hell did I ever get myself into this fix? I should've stayed with what I knew how to do best — robbing banks. "
