Biography
Born as Zelig Harry Lefkowitz, by the time he was six years old Zelig was a well-known pickpocket and thief while growing up on New York's Lower East Side as a member of Crazy Butch's pickpocket gang before joining the Eastman Gang in the late 1890s. Rising up the ranks, Zelig became leader of the Eastman Gang after "Kid Twist" (Max Zwerbach)'s death in 1908. With lieutenants Jack Sirocco and Chick Tricker, the gang had over seventy-five members, including satellite gangs such as the Lenox Avenue Gang, led by "Gyp the Blood" (aka Harry Horowitz). During this period, Zelig was also known as "The Big Yid."
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Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
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