(From the original cast recording)
JOHN WILKES BOOTH (1838-1865)
Actor; in the words of one critic, "a star of the first magnitude,"
especially in the South ... Brother Edwin, however, was preeminent actor
of the day ... Passionate supporter of the Confederate cause ...
Concocted a plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln and exchange his freedom for
that of thousands of Confederate prisoners of war ... Assassinated
Lincoln at Ford's Theater, April 14,1865, during a performance of Our
American Cousin ... Broke his leg as he escaped ... Finally run to earth
in a Virginia tobacco barn, where he either was killed or killed himself
to avoid capture ... Sent a letter to the newspapers the day of the
assassination explaining his motives; letter never published.
CHARLES GUITEAU (1841-1882)
Pursued various careers, from the law to evangelism, failing at all of
them ... Published a volume of theology, "The Truth," which was almost
entirely a plagiarism ... Composed an unsolicited and barely coherent
campaign speech for Republican Presidential candidate James Garfield,
which he felt was responsible for Garfield's election; expected as a
reward to be appointed Ambassador to France ... Rebuffed, shot Garfield
twice in the back, July 2,1881, as the President prepared to board a
train at the Baltimore and Potomac railroad station, Washington, D.C.
... On the morning of his execution, composed a poem, I Am Going to the
Lordy, which he recited from the gallows immediately before he was
hanged.
LEON CZOLGOSZ (1873-1901)
Son of recently arrived Polish immigrants ... Full-time laborer by age
12, first in a glass factory, later in a wire mill ... Attended a number
of Anarchist rallies and had a brief meeting with Anarchist agitator
Emma Goldman ... Assassinated President William McKinley, September
6,1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo ... "I killed the
President because he was the enemy of the good people, the good working
people," he said. "I done my duty."
GIUSEPPE ZANGARA (1900-1933)
Immigrant bricklayer from Calabria ... Barely five feet tall ...
Suffered burning pains in stomach, which he blamed on capitalist system
which forced his father to put him to work at age 6 ... Attempted to
assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 15,1933, as
Roosevelt spoke to crowd of supporters in Miami's Bayfront Park ... Too
small to see over the crowd, he stood on a chair, which wobbled, causing
him to miss Roosevelt, and instead kill Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago.
LEE HARVEY OSWALD (1931-1963)
Assassinated President John F Kennedy from the sixth floor of the Texas
School Book Depository in Dallas, Texas, November 22,1963.
SAMUEL BYCK (1930-1974)
Unemployed tire salesman ... Sent long, rambling tape recordings to
various celebrities, among them Jonas Salk, Senator Abraham Ribicoff and
Leonard Bernstein ... Convinced that the American political system was
fundamentally corrupt, he picketed the White House, Christmas Eve 1973,
dressed in a Santa Claus suit ... Attempted to assassinate President
Richard Nixon, February 22,1974, by hijacking a commercial jetliner that
he intended to crash dive into the White House ... Killed two before he
himself was killed.
LYNETTE "SQUEAKY" FROMME (b. 1948)
Middle-class childhood in Los Angeles suburbs- cheerleader in high
school ... Met Charles Manson on the beach in Venice, California, 1967,
and became one of his disciples; believed Manson was the Messiah whose
teachings could save mankind ... Planned to commit a crime for which she
would be arrested and put on trial; Manson would appear as a witness at
the trial and preach to the world ... Attempted to assassinate President
Gerald Ford, September 5,1975, as he left the Senator Hotel in
Sacramento.
SARA JANE MOORE (b. 1930)
Married five times, four children, entered and dropped out of nursing
school, joined the Women's Army Corps, became a C.P.A. ... At age 42,
abandoned marriage and career to immerse herself in counter-culture
lifestyle and revolutionary politics of the day ... Recruited as
informant by the F.B.I. ... In effort to reestablish her radical
credentials, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford, September
22,1975, as he left the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.
JOHN W. HINCKLEY, JR. (b. 1955)
Son of a successful oil company executive; mother, a self-styled model
homemaker ... Attended college for seven years without graduating, moved
back in with his parents ... Developed an obsessive infatuation with
movie actress Jodie Foster ... After several failed attempts to make
contact with her, determined to attract her attention by killing a
prominent public figure ... Attempted to assassinate President Ronald
Reagan as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel, March 30,1981, seriously
wounding four people, including the President.
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