Joseph Weil
Born	July 1, 1875 Chicago, Illinois
Died	February 26, 1976(1976-02-26) (aged 100) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nationality	United States
Other names	Yellow Kid
Occupation	Confidence man
Known for	Notorious con artist
Parents	Otto Weil

Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil (July 1, 1875—February 26, 1976)^[1] was one of the best known American con men of his era. Weil's biographer, W. T. Brannon, wrote of Weil's "...uncanny knowledge of human nature."^[2] Over the course of his career, Weil is reputed to have stolen more than $8 million.^{[citation needed]}

"Each of my victims had larceny in his heart," explained Weil.^[3]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Weil was born in Chicago, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Weil. He left school and started work as a collector in his home town's bustling loan-sharking industry at age 17. Weil noticed his peers pocketing small portions of the boss' proceeds. His career progressed into the protection rackets. For a cut, offered Weil, he wouldn't share his knowledge of their perfidy. Plenty complied.^[2]

Under the tutelage of Chicago confidence man Doc Meriwether, Weil started performing short cons in the 1890s at public sales of Meriwether's Elixir, the chief ingredient of which was rainwater.^[4]

Life as a con man[link]

The nickname "Yellow Kid" first was applied in 1903 and came from the comic "Hogan's Alley and the Yellow Kid." After working for some time with a grifter named Frank Hogan, Chicago alderman "Bathhouse John" Coughlin associated the pair with the comic: Hogan was Hogan, and Weil became the Yellow Kid.^[2] "There have been many erroneous stories published about how I acquired this cognomen, Weil writes in his biography. "It was said that it was due to my having worn yellow chamois gloves, yellow vests, yellow spats, and a yellow beard. All this was untrue. I had never affected such wearing apparel and I had no beard."^[2]

During his career, Weil worked with, among others, con men Doc Meriwether, Billy Wall, William J. Winterbill, Bob Collins, Colonel Jim Porter, Romeo Simpson, "Fats" Levine, Jack Mason, Tim North, and George Gross.^[3]

"The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly to many people who have dealt with me and with other con men," Weil writes. "But I have found that this is the way it works. The average person, in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent human. The ninety-nine per cent that is animal causes very little trouble. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes. When people learn – as I doubt they will – that they can't get something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in greater harmony."^[3]

He served a jail Sentence at Atlanta Prison from 1940 to 1942.

Weil died in Chicago, Illinois in 1976 at the age of 100.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Weil, Joseph (1948) [1948]. "Yellow Kid" Weil: The Autobiography of America's Master Swindler. Chicago: Ziff-Davis. ISBN 0-7812-8661-1. 

External links[link]

• .p.181 1918 Law report mentioning Weil
• Excerpt from Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story by J. R. Weil and W. T. Brannon, Random House Web site
• Find A Grave

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

Joe Weil (born March 24, 1958) is an American poet. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate creative writing classes at Binghamton University.^{[1][citation needed]}

Weil grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey^[2] and was described by The New York Times as personifying that town: "working-class, irreverent, modest, but open to the world and filled with a wealth of possibilities."^[3]

Weil's mother died of cancer when he was 17. Weil dropped out of Rutgers University to care for his ill father, a former boxer and glue-factory worker who became alcoholic. After his father's death, Weil became homeless. He found work in factories, and eventually found long-term work at National Tool.^[4]

Weil's latest book is "The Plumber's Apprentice," published in 2009 by New York Quarterly.

In 2008, Weil published two books of poetry, Painting the Christmas Trees (Texas A & M University Press) and What Remains (Nightshade Press). These books contain "Elegy for Sue Rapeezi," "Ode to Elizabeth," "Fists (for My Father)," "Morning at Elizabeth Arch," and "The Dead Are in My Living Room," which appeared in earlier chapbooks published by David Roskos of Iniquity Press/Vendetta books. The fall of 2008 saw Weil perform with Patricia Smith and Jan Beatty at the Geraldine R. Dodge poetry festival. Weil's poetry was also profiled in an NJPBS special, (see YouTube, Joe weil, NJPBS) a decade after he appeared on Bill Moyer's PBS documentary, "Fooling With Words."

On October 22, 2010, Weil married Emily Vogel in a small ceremony held in the company of friends.

Works[link]

• Teaching the Dead (The Press Electrrrric!, online book, 2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joe Weil's myspace page, where you can read his blog
• Joe Weil's poem blog on Body Parts Blogzine
• http://users.tellurian.com/swaa/weil.html
• http://www.echonyc.com/~poets/vol8/Weil4.html
• http://www.wnet.org/foolingwithwords/Pweil_top.html
• Joe Weil's album of poetry "I Hate Life" streamed free.
• Joe Weil's articles on THEthe Poetry Blog.