Handwritten letter from extortionist to Mae West, 1935

Item Overview

Title

Handwritten letter from extortionist to Mae West, 1935

Date Created

1935

Date

1935

Publisher

Los Angeles Times

Language

English

Collection

OpenUCLA Collections
Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection

Notes

Description

Related to Los Angeles Times article, October 8, 1935, Officers Capture Mae West Death Threat Suspect, Six Others Questioned in $1000 Plot After Seizure of Studio Bus Boy as He Assertedly Picks Up Decoy. Suspected as the author of a series of sinister notes to Mae West, motion-picture actress, threatening death or disfiguration by acid unless she paid $1000, George Janios, 38-year-old bus boy at a Western-avenue studio, last night was in the custody of investigators …
Photograph of handwritten note on lined paper, attached to board by tacks
Janios was released from custody two days later.
Text reads: Acid is a horrible thing to throw in one's face so beau tiful in the height s of her career you can lose a $1000 or a 1,000,000 we are determind to get it. We want that money no later than nine oclock Monday nite at the other end of Warner Bros Studio in the last tree palm tree if the extortion squad is there we will by our oth get you and spoil your face for all time you know where the last tree is by the gate on the corner stick it in the tree by the palns and dont try to stop who gets it tie a handkerchief on the wall there opposite the tree if you fail to meet our demands. We will shoot a air gun at you within ten da's and we are good shots OVER

Caption

Text from nitrate negative sleeve: 2475, NBox6, Oct 22 1935, Extortion Letters sent to Mae West, 10-10-35

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Medium

b&w nitrate negative

Keywords

Genre

news photographs
cellulose nitrate film
forensic photographs

Names

West, Mae

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Extortion--California--Los Angeles
People
Crime