The Gem Theater circa 1878. The man in the buggy at left is thought to be Al Swearengen.

Ian McShane as Al Swearengen in HBO's Deadwood.

Ellis Alfred Swearengen, known as Al Swearengen, (b. Oskaloosa, Iowa, July 8, 1845 – d. Colorado, 1904) was a pimp and early entertainment entrepreneur in Deadwood, South Dakota, running the Gem Theater, a notorious brothel, for 22 years, and combining a reputation for brutality with an uncanny instinct for forging political alliances. Swearengen is the basis for a major character of the same name in the HBO television series, Deadwood. Image File history File links The_Gem_Theater. ... Image File history File links The_Gem_Theater. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links Al Swearengen on Deadwood, portrayed by Ian McShane. ... Image File history File links Al Swearengen on Deadwood, portrayed by Ian McShane. ... Ian McShane (born 29 September 1942 in Blackburn) is a British actor. ... Oskaloosa is a city in Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. ... July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... A pimp finds and manages clients for a prostitute and engages them in prostitution (in brothels in most cases and some cases street prostitution) in order to profit from their earnings. ... A photograph of Deadwood in 1876. ... The Gem Theater was a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, owned by Al Swearengen. ... A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution. ... For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation). ... Deadwood is an American television drama series that premiered in March 2004 on HBO. The series is a Western set in the 1870s in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. ...

Swearengen and his twin brother Lemuel were the oldest of the eight children of Daniel Swearengen and Keziah Swearengen of Oskaloosa. Unlike so many of Deadwood's residents who left home at a young age to make their fortunes on the wild frontier, Swearengen remained at home well into his adult years, arriving in Deadwood in the summer of 1876 with his wife Nettie Swearengen. Nettie would later divorce him on the grounds of spousal abuse, and Swearengen would marry two more times, both marriages ending identically to his first. Oskaloosa is the name of two American cities: Oskaloosa, Iowa (population 10,938) Oskaloosa, Kansas (population 1,165) ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Spousal abuse is a specific form of domestic violence where physical or sexual abuse is perpetuated by one spouse upon another. ...

Swearengen was one of the first Deadwood residents not to be a prospector or miner; he represented the beginning of a second wave of residents, attracted there by the promise of riches to be stripped not from the earth, but from the prospectors and miners. He built a small saloon called the Cricket Saloon, which featured as entertainment in its close spaces local miners engaged in what were advertised as "prize fights", although no prizes were actually awarded. Within a year, Swearengen had accumulated enough money to build the much larger and more opulent Gem Variety Theater, which opened on April 7, 1877, featuring the now traditional "prize fights" in addition to stage shows, and, mainly, prostitution. Prospecting is the act of searching for minerals or ore deposits. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... Tourists sit outside a bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand A Depression-era bar in Louisiana. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called pugilism, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists... The Gem Theater was a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, owned by Al Swearengen. ... April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A sex worker in Germany. ...

Swearengen lured desperate young women from far away to Deadwood, then forced them into prostitution through a combination of bullying and physical brutality, by himself and his henchmen. The results were highly lucrative, the Gem bringing in an average of $5,000 a night, sometimes as much as $10,000 (between $85,000 and $170,000 inflation adjusted for 2003). When it burned down along with much of the town on September 26, 1879, Swearengen rebuilt it larger and more opulent than ever, to great public acclaim. Swearengen's talent for canny alliances and financial payoffs kept him insulated from the general drive to clean up the town, including the otherwise successful work of Seth Bullock, until the Gem burned down once again in 1899. Rather than rebuild once again, Swearengen left town and was last seen in 1904 as a penniless drunk, killed while trying to catch a ride on a train in Colorado. September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Seth Bullock (July 23, 1849 – September 23, 1919) was a western sheriff, hardware store owner and U.S. Marshal. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• The Wives and Times of Al Swearengen, Part I (PDF file)