History

Chick Goodroe: Former Burglar & Influential Member of the K&A Gang

June 16, 2021 Crime, History 49:04

Chick Goodroe is a former burglar and influential member of Philly’s infamous K&A Gang. Now, a man who has done his time and moved on to more a more legal lifestyle, Chick joins The Philly Blunt—with K&A Gang author Allen Hornblum—Chick joined us to talk about his entrance into the world of burglary, some of his best and worst heists, and running in a world of fast cash, fast cars, and Playboy Playmates.

The K&A Gang, also known as Philly’s Irish Mob, was a legendary group of predominately burglars from the 1950s through the 1970s. Chick Goodroe was one of its youngest members.

Chick once spent two days hiding in the Wetlands after the police found a safe in his car during a check point, spent a decade on the run in Florida, tried to rob Don Ho’s apartment while on vacation in Hawaii, and even had a rabbi in Connecticut unknowingly introduce him to potential targets.  

This is a fascinating interview and rare glimpse into the criminal world of another era, one in which he and his gang never used any weapons.

Thanks to author and former Blunt guest Allen Hornblum for making this happen and sitting in with us. His book about the K&A Gang is available HERE.

Thanks also to O’Neal’s Pub for hosting this fun interview. 

Allen Hornblum – Prison Experiments, Gangs, and other Philly Tales

March 26, 2021 Activist, Authors, History, Writers 1:07:00

Allen Hornblum is an activist, writer, lecturer, and investigative journalist who has tackled some of Philadelphia’s more intense stories.

As a worker in the Philly Prison systems, Allen noticed prisoners with bandages all over their skin. He inquired what was going on, which led him to uncover one of the more egregious experiments in Philadelphia history. Dermatologists at Penn conducted a variety of tests on unknowing prisoners at Holmesburg Prison. He later discovered the government was also involved in conducting experiments involving chemical warfare agents and other drugs. He wrote a book called Acres of Skin about the unethical experiments by one of the world’s leading dermatologists.

Hornblum also did an exhaustive study and investigation into the K&A Gang out of Kensington. The K&A Gang was basically Philly’s Irish Mafia, which focused on house burglaries around the Philly suburbs. They eventually became involved in drug dealing and helped make Philadelphia the meth capital of the country. 

Hornblum talked in depth about both of these books and moments in Philadelphia history. It’s a fascinating discussion.

Hornblum is a wild and intense guy who covers very serious Philly issues. You gotta hear these stories.

LINKS:

Allen Hornblum

Cornbread the Legend – The World’s First Tagger

February 21, 2020 Artist, History 0:36:50

Philadelphia is a city of firsts. The first public library. The first Fire Department. And, the first person anywhere to graffiti or tag their own name—not a gang name. That person is Darryl McCray, better known as Cornbread and he’s our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.

Cornbread sat with us at new Loco Pez at 20th & Bainbridge. He talked about his time in juvenile detention, how he got his Cornbread nickname, and how he came to tag that name everywhere including animals at the zoo and jets. He’s candid about his struggles with addiction and turning his life around to where he now works as a youth advocate and with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

The Philly Blunt round was a little challenging but that’s probably because we made Cornbread wait like an hour before he could his burrito and I think the Yacht Rock music in the background threw him a little off his game a bit.

Whether you love graffiti or hate it, it’s quite possible that it would not exist as we know it without Cornbread.

LINKS:

Cornbread – Instagram

Loco Pez 20th Street

Joan Myers Brown: The Mother of Philadelphia Dance

January 20, 2020 Artist, Entertainment, History 36:20

Joan Myers Brown is a Philadelphia icon. She has done more for the world of dance in Philadelphia than anyone and she’s our guest on this episode.

Ms. Brown was born in Southwest Philly during the 1930’s. She’s a self-proclaimed “Woodland Avenue Girl.” A high school gym teacher saw her natural talent for dance and encouraged her to take dance lessons. She wanted to be a ballet dancer, but none of the ballet schools at the time took Black students.

Ms. Brown ended up working as a touring nightclub dancer performing with the likes of Pearl Bailey, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Sammy Davis, Jr. and talks about how segregation impacted her life back then in the 1950’s.  

In 1960, Ms. Brown decided to open her own dance school to provide black students the opportunity still not available to them at traditional ballet schools.  Ten years later, in 1970, when Ms. Brown noticed her students weren’t getting positions in dance companies or productions, she started her own dance company, which is now known as Philadanco!

60 years later, Ms. Brown is still teaching children the fundamentals of dance and her dance company,   Philadanco!, is revered around the world having toured dozens of countries, performing in front of sold out crowds.

Ms. Brown has won countless awards, including three honorary doctorates, a Master of African American Choreography medal from the Kennedy Center, a 2019 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance, and the 2012 National Medal of Arts presented to her by President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama has said of Ms. Brown: Joan Myers Brown has made] an artistic haven for African-American dancers and choreographers to innovate, create and share their unique visions with the national and global dance communities.”

LINKS:

PHILADANCO!: www/Facebook/Instagram/Twitter

Dirty Frank’s: The Bar, The Myth, The Legend

November 15, 2019 Entertainment, Food & Drink, History 55:51
There are few bars in Philadelphia that are as universally beloved as Dirty Frank’s. Located on the corner of 13th and Pine since 1933, it is a veritable Philadelphia institution. No-one understands that better than current co-owner Jody Sweitzer, who has worked at Frank’s since 1992 and owned it for the eight years. We talked to Jody about how she landed in Philadelphia, how the bar got its name, and why her bartenders are all women. We also had a chance to talk to some Dirty Franks regulars like Cheetah, one of the fastest bike messengers in town, Eric who first came to Dirty Frank’s while on acid, and Three Finger Bill, who has worked the door for over 20 years. It’s a great look at a historic bar renowned for its characters, and some of the characters themselves. 
 
Sweitzer and her business partner Brad Pierce took it over in 2011, joining a storied lineage. They are only the 5th owners the spot has ever had, made more remarkable when you consider that it opened over 85 years ago. According to legend, it opened the month BEFORE Prohibition ended. That outlaw spirit lives on today. As Philly scribe Drew Lazor described so perfectly in a 2018 Vice article:

Even when Dirty Frank’s changes, Dirty Frank’s doesn’t. Stuck in its ways in the most reverential sense of the phrase, it’s a seam in time, providing safe passage to an older, odder Philadelphia. A gleaming oasis of weird in a town beset by 21st-century slickening, it’s always made people its primary business, no matter who those people are.

 

In truth, Frank’s has always had a “type,” but the profile was not built using banal criteria like sex, race, religion, education or income. It instead takes a shine to individuals who can’t be neatly filed into the natural order, and don’t wish to be—a “crossroads for errant individualists,” as the Philadelphia Inquirer put it in 1982. Curious conversationalists tend to do well.

Hope you’ll give it a listen. It’s an important part of Philly history, and Jody’s passion for the place is palpable. She is not someone who takes her job lightly. If you enjoy it, do us a major solid and give it 5 stars on itunes. If you want us to be in your debt forever, leave a positive review. Cheers! 
 
LINKS:
Dirty Frank’s: Facebook/Instagram
Dirty Frank's owner, Jody, doing post-show shot with Greg and Johnny
Dirty Frank's regulars and podcast guests Eric (left) and Cheetah (right)

Ben Franklin – Philly’s Most Famous Citizen

August 12, 2019 Authors, History 37:36

This is Ben Franklin like you’ve never heard him, obviously. As part of the Philadelphia Podcast Festival, we sat down with Philly most famous and accomplished resident at the National Liberty Museum for our first-ever recording in front of a live audience.

Don’t be afraid. This isn’t a boring history lesson. This is Benjamin Franklin talking dirt on John Adams, discussing the use of your own children in dangerous experiments to avoid lawsuits, farting, public nudity, and why he advised young men in selecting older mistresses. He drank a beer and survived the Philly Blunt segment like a true Revolutionary, even letting us know what he’d be getting into on a typical Friday night.

You are guaranteed to learn something new about Ben and have an entirely new appreciation for him.

History should always be this fun.