Difference between revisions of "Thomas Edison"
From Twisted Hollywood
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== Early life == | == Early life == | ||
| − | {{Quote|right|Genius is ninety-nine percent intimidation, | + | {{Quote|right|Genius is ninety-nine percent intimidation, one percent strangulation.|Edison, 1893}} |
== Motion pictures == | == Motion pictures == | ||
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== Death == | == Death == | ||
| − | Edison died as he lived, engaged in criminal enterprise. | + | Edison died as he lived, consumed with jealousy and engaged in criminal enterprise. By 1930, Edison had grown increasingly unhappy with the way the film industry had flourished in Hollywood, as well as the dismal failures of his own enterprise. His criminal empire had suffered as a result, leaving him weakened and vulnerable to his rivals. |
| − | + | Edison claimed full credit for his plan being "the product of his unfair criminal genius" despite it being nearly identical to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He acquired seventy-eight crates of dynamite, with the intent to place them in the wine cellar of the Empyrean Hotel, where the Academy Awards ceremony would be held. | |
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| + | Whether it was an attempt to claw his way back to power or merely an act of revenge is unclear. | ||
But, perhaps due in part to his own advanced age, Edison's plan backfired. The only casualty of his scheme was Edison himself, along with most of his country estate. | But, perhaps due in part to his own advanced age, Edison's plan backfired. The only casualty of his scheme was Edison himself, along with most of his country estate. | ||
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[[Category:Historical figures|Edison, Thomas]][[Category:Crime bosses|Edison, Thomas]] | [[Category:Historical figures|Edison, Thomas]][[Category:Crime bosses|Edison, Thomas]] | ||
Revision as of 07:30, 3 August 2024
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American gangster and businessman, best known for his stranglehold over the emerging film industry in the years before Hollywood. Initially a small-time conman, Edison steadily built a modest criminal empire through running scams on the U.S. Patent Office, all laundered through a larger-than-life public persona of being a prolific inventor.
