Early Years
Born Henry Earl J. Wojciechowski in Chicago, he grew up on the North Side with his Polish-American family. He was nicknamed "Hymie", "Hymie the Polack" and "Hymie the Pole", later in his career. He was Roman Catholic, despite the "Jewish-sounding" moniker. As a teenager, Weiss became a petty criminal (after he upset a fragrance shelf during a botched burglary as a youth, police dubbed him 'The Perfume Burglar') and ultimately befriended an Irish-American teen named Dean O'Banion. With Weiss and George "Bugs" Moran, O'Banion established the North Side Gang, a criminal organization that eventually controlled bootlegging and other illicit activities in the northern part of Chicago.
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Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)