The Story Behind the Legend of Frank & Jesse James: Biography, History (2001)

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Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death. Scholars place him in the context of regional insurgencies of ex-Confederates following the American Civil War rather than a manifestation of frontier lawlessness or alleged economic justice.[1] Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas or Bushwhackers during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union soldiers, including the Centralia Massacre. After the war, as members of various gangs of outlaws, they robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Despite popular portrayals of James as an embodiment of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, there is no evidence that he and his gang shared their loot from the robberies they committed.[2] The James brothers were most active with their gang from about 1866 until 1876, when their attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota resulted in the capture or deaths of several gang members. They continued in crime for several years, recruiting new members, but were under increasing pressure from law enforcement. On April 3, 1882, Jesse James was killed by a member of his own gang, Robert Ford, who hoped to collect a reward on James' head. There have been numerous portrayals of Jesse James in film and television,[87] including two wherein Jesse James, Jr. depicts his father. In many of the films, James is portrayed as a Robin Hood-like character.[88] 1921: Jesse James Under the Black Flag, played by Jesse James, Jr. 1921: Jesse James as the Outlaw, played by Jesse James, Jr. 1927: Jesse James, played by Fred Thomson 1939: Jesse James, played by Tyrone Power with Henry Fonda as Frank James and John Carradine as Bob Ford 1939: Days of Jesse James, played by Don 'Red' Barry 1941: Jesse James at Bay, played by Roy Rogers 1947: Jesse James Rides Again, played by Clayton Moore 1949: I Shot Jesse James, played by Reed Hadley 1949: Fighting Man of the Plains, played by Dale Robertson in his first credited role, with Randolph Scott starring as Jim Dancer 1950: Kansas Raiders, played by Audie Murphy 1951: The Great Missouri Raid, played by Macdonald Carey 1954: Jesse James' Women, played by Don 'Red' Barry 1957: The True Story of Jesse James, played by Robert Wagner 1959: Alias Jesse James, played by Wendell Corey in a comedy starring Bob Hope 1960: Young Jesse James, played by Ray Stricklyn 1965: The Legend of Jesse James, TV series, played by Allen Case 1966: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, played by John Lupton 1969: A Time for Dying, played by Audie Murphy 1972: The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, played by Robert Duvall 1980: The Long Riders, played by James Keach 1986: The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James, played by Kris Kristofferson with Johnny Cash as Frank James and Willie Nelson as Gen. Jo Shelby 1994: Frank and Jesse, played by Rob Lowe 1999: Purgatory, played by J.D. Souther 2001: American Outlaws, played by Colin Farrell 2005: Just like Jesse James is the title of a movie that appears in Wim Wenders' Don't Come Knocking, in which Sam Shepard plays an aging western movie star whose first success was with that movie. 2005: Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist (Discovery HD), played by Daniel Lennox 2007: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, played by Brad Pitt, with Casey Affleck as Bob Ford.[88] Although James was only 34 when he was killed, Pitt was 44 when the movie premiered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James