July 22, 1934 –
John Dillinger was shot dead outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre on this date in history. And one of the most bizarre urban legends was born.
According to the rumor, J. Edgar Hoover — pug-ugly head of the FBI and notorious transvestite — rushed to Chicago to see the corpse of Dillinger, Public Enemy No. 1, for himself. Dillinger was a ladies’ man and was reported to be very specially endowed.
Hoover, after viewing the nude, lifeless body of Dillinger in the morgue, allegedly ordered Dillinger’s member to be removed and preserved as a specimen for his private files.
Rumors of Hoover’s trophy dogged him for the rest of his life. He even took the extraordinary step, sometime in the late ’60s, of declaring that he “did not now nor ever have Dillinger’s privates in a jar.” His comments were not taken seriously, as he was reportedly wearing a size 28 Dior outfit with matching handbag (and Raymond Burr Nipple Rouge) at the time.
The Smithsonian Institution is still flooded with requests annually to view this special exhibition.
The Haus of Dcaligari 