Cody is a surname that may also be spelled Codey. It may refer to:

• Bill Cody, Jr. (1925-1989), American actor
• Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917), American wild west figure
• David Codey (born 1957), Australian rugby player
• Diablo Cody (born 1978), American screenwriter
• Henry John Cody (1868-1951), Canadian university president
• Iron Eyes Cody (1907-1999), American actor
• Jack Cody (1885-1963), American swimming coach
• John Cody (1921-2001), American union leader
• John Cody (1907-1982), American archbishop
• Liza Cody (born 1944), British author
• Morrill Cody (1901-1987), American diplomat
• Richard Cody (born 1950), American general
• Richard Codey (born 1946), American politician
• Robert Tree Cody, Native American musician
• Samuel Cody (1867-1913), American aviator
• Shaun Cody (born 1983), American football player
• Sherwin Cody (1868-1959), American writer
• Terrence Cody (born 1988), American football player
• Wayne Cody (1936-2002), American sportscaster

See also[link]

• Cody

This page or section lists people with the surname Cody. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

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Cody is a surname and given name. It may also be spelled Codey, Codie, Codee, Kodi or Kody. Cody may refer to:

Look up Cody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

People[link]

Surname[link]

• Cody (surname)
• Samuel Franklin Cody (1862–1917), airman

First name[link]

• Codey Burki (born 1987), Canadian ice hockey player
• Cody Cameron (born 1970), American voice actor
• Kody Chamberlain (born 1972), American comic book artist
• Cody Chesnutt (born 1970), American musician
• Cody Hay (born 1983), Canadian figure skater
• Cody Kasch (born 1987), American actor
• Cody Klop (born 1993), American actor
• Kodi Kaatha Kumaran (1904-1932), Indian political activist
• Cody Linley (born 1989), American actor
• Cody Longo (born 1988), American actor
• Cody McDonald (born 1986), English football player
• Cody McLeod (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey player
• Kodi Ramamurthy Naidu (1882-1942), Indian bodybuilder
• Kodi Ramakrishna, Indian director
• Cody Ransom (born 1976), American baseball player
• Cody Rhodes (born 1985), American professional wrestler
• Cody Simpson (born 1997), Australian pop/R&B singer
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 1996), Australian actor
• Cody Votolato (born 1982), American musician
• Cody Walker (born 1967), American poet
• Cody Willard (born 1972), American journalist
• Cody G.

Fiction[link]

• Cody, fictional character in the animated television series Total Drama Island
• Cody (telemovie), series of Australian television movies
• Cody Banks, fictional character in the films Agent Cody Banks and Agent Cody Banks 2
• Cody Bennett, fictional character in the television series Dexter
• Cody (Final Fight), fictional character in the video games Final Fight and Street Fighter
• Cody Hida, fictional character in the television series Digimon Adventure 02
• Cody Jackson, fictional character in the television series Flight 29 Down
• Cody Jarrett, fictional character in the 1949 film White Heat
• Cody Madison, fictional character in the television series Baywatch
• Cody Martin, fictional character in the television series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck
• Cody Maverick, fictional character in the 2007 film Surf's Up
• Cody Pomeray, fictional character based on Neal Cassady in several novels by Jack Kerouac, including Visions of Cody
• Commander Cody (disambiguation), multiple meanings
• Kody Meyers, fictional character in the episode Bait of NCIS (TV series), played by Michael Welch.
• Cody Mcgoo, fictional character in the television series Scrubs played by Bruce Willis
• Cody, fictional character in the cartoon movie Rescuers Down Under, voiced by Adam Ryen

Places[link]

United States

• Cody, Florida
• Cody (Duluth), Minnesota
• Cody, Nebraska
• Cody, Wyoming

Canada

• Cody, British Columbia

India

• Kodi, India

Other uses[link]

• Come on Die Young (CODY), 1999 album and song by Scottish band Mogwai
• CodY protein family - a bacterial protein family

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956), known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his uniquely defined style of drip painting.

During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy.^[4]

Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related car accident. In December 1956, the year of his death, he was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and a larger more comprehensive exhibition there in 1967. More recently, in 1998 and 1999, his work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and at The Tate in London.^[5][6]

In 2000, Pollock was the subject of an Academy Award–winning film Pollock directed by and starring Ed Harris.

Early life[link]

Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912,^[7] the youngest of five sons. His parents, Stella May (McClure) and LeRoy Pollock, grew up in Tingley, Iowa. His father had been born McCoy but took the surname of his neighbors, who adopted him after his own parents had died within a year of each other. Stella and LeRoy Pollock were Presbyterian; the former, of Irish descent; the latter, of Scotch-Irish descent.^[8] LeRoy Pollock was a farmer and later a land surveyor for the government.^[7] Jackson grew up in Arizona and Chico, California. While living in Echo Park, California, he enrolled at Los Angeles' Manual Arts High School,^[9] from which he was expelled, after having been expelled from another high school in 1928. During his early life, he experienced Native American culture while on surveying trips with his father.^[7][10] In 1930, following his brother Charles Pollock, he moved to New York City where they both studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League of New York. Benton's rural American subject matter shaped Pollock's work only fleetingly, but his rhythmic use of paint and his fierce independence were more lasting influences.^[7] From 1938 to 1942, Pollock worked for the WPA Federal Art Project.^[11]

In attempts to fight his alcoholism, from 1938 through 1941 Pollock underwent Jungian psychotherapy with Dr. Joseph Henderson and later with Dr. Violet Staub de Laszlo in 1941-1942. Henderson made the decision to engage him through his art and had Pollock make drawings, which led to the appearance of many Jungian concepts in his paintings.^[12][13] Recently it has been hypothesized that Pollock might have had bipolar disorder.^[14]

The Springs period and the unique technique[link]

In October 1945, Pollock married American painter Lee Krasner, and in November they moved to what is now known as the Pollock-Krasner House and Studio, at 830 Springs Fireplace Road, in the Springs area of East Hampton, on Long Island, NY. Peggy Guggenheim lent them the down payment for the wood-frame house with a nearby barn that Pollock converted into a studio. There he perfected the technique of working with paint with which he would become permanently identified.

Pollock was introduced to the use of liquid paint in 1936 at an experimental workshop operated in New York City by the Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. He later used paint pouring as one of several techniques on canvases of the early 1940s, such as "Male and Female" and "Composition with Pouring I." After his move to Springs, he began painting with his canvases laid out on the studio floor, and he developed what was later called his "drip" technique, turning to synthetic resin-based paints called alkyd enamels, which, at that time, was a novel medium. Pollock described this use of household paints, instead of artist’s paints, as "a natural growth out of a need."^[15] He used hardened brushes, sticks, and even basting syringes as paint applicators. Pollock's technique of pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of the term action painting. With this technique, Pollock was able to achieve a more immediate means of creating art, the paint now literally flowing from his chosen tool onto the canvas. By defying the convention of painting on an upright surface, he added a new dimension by being able to view and apply paint to his canvases from all directions. One possible influence on Pollock was the work of the Ukrainian American artist Janet Sobel (1894–1968) (born Jennie Lechovsky). Sobel's work is related to the so-called "drip paintings" of Jackson Pollock.^[16] Peggy Guggenheim included Sobel's work in her The Art of This Century Gallery in 1945. The critic Clement Greenberg, with Jackson Pollock, saw Sobel's work there in 1946,^[17] and in his essay "American-Type' Painting" Greenberg cited those works as the first instance of all-over painting he had seen, stating that "Pollock admitted that these pictures had made an impression on him".^[18]

In the process of making paintings in this way, he moved away from figurative representation, and challenged the Western tradition of using easel and brush. He also moved away from the use of only the hand and wrist, since he used his whole body to paint. In 1956, Time magazine dubbed Pollock "Jack the Dripper" as a result of his unique painting style.^[19]

My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.

I continue to get further away from the usual painter's tools such as easel, palette, brushes, etc. I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added.

When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.

—Jackson Pollock, My Painting, 1956

Pollock observed Indian sandpainting demonstrations in the 1940s. Other influences on his dripping technique include the Mexican muralists and Surrealist automatism. Pollock denied "the accident"; he usually had an idea of how he wanted a particular piece to appear. His technique combined the movement of his body, over which he had control, the viscous flow of paint, the force of gravity, and the absorption of paint into the canvas. It was a mixture of controllable and uncontrollable factors. Flinging, dripping, pouring, and spattering, he would move energetically around the canvas, almost as if in a dance, and would not stop until he saw what he wanted to see.

Studies by Taylor, Micolich and Jonas have examined Pollock's technique and have determined that some works display the properties of mathematical fractals.^[20] They assert that the works become more fractal-like chronologically through Pollock's career.^[21] The authors even speculate that Pollock may have had an intuition of the nature of chaotic motion, and attempted to form a representation of mathematical chaos, more than ten years before "Chaos Theory" itself was proposed. Other experts^[22] suggest that Pollock may have merely imitated popular theories of the time in order to give his paintings a depth not previously seen.

Pollock's Studio in Springs, New York.

In 1950, Hans Namuth, a young photographer, wanted to take pictures (both stills and moving) of Pollock at work. Pollock promised to start a new painting especially for the photographic session, but when Namuth arrived, Pollock apologized and told him the painting was finished. Namuth's comment upon entering the studio:

A dripping wet canvas covered the entire floor … There was complete silence … Pollock looked at the painting. Then, unexpectedly, he picked up can and paint brush and started to move around the canvas. It was as if he suddenly realized the painting was not finished. His movements, slow at first, gradually became faster and more dance like as he flung black, white, and rust colored paint onto the canvas. He completely forgot that Lee and I were there; he did not seem to hear the click of the camera shutter … My photography session lasted as long as he kept painting, perhaps half an hour. In all that time, Pollock did not stop. How could one keep up this level of activity? Finally, he said 'This is it.'

Pollock’s finest paintings… reveal that his all-over line does not give rise to positive or negative areas: we are not made to feel that one part of the canvas demands to be read as figure, whether abstract or representational, against another part of the canvas read as ground. There is not inside or outside to Pollock’s line or the space through which it moves…. Pollock has managed to free line not only from its function of representing objects in the world, but also from its task of describing or bounding shapes or figures, whether abstract or representational, on the surface of the canvas.

—Karmel, 132

The 1950s[link]

Pollock's most famous paintings were made during the "drip period" between 1947 and 1950. He rocketed to popular status following an August 8, 1949 four-page spread in Life magazine that asked, "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" At the peak of his fame, Pollock abruptly abandoned the drip style.^[23]

Pollock's work after 1951 was darker in color, including a collection painted in black on unprimed canvases. This was followed by a return to color,^[24] and he reintroduced figurative elements. During this period Pollock had moved to a more commercial gallery and there was great demand from collectors for new paintings. In response to this pressure, along with personal frustration, his alcoholism deepened.^[25]

From naming to numbering[link]

Pollock wanted an end to the viewer's search for representational elements in his paintings, and so he abandoned titles and started numbering the paintings instead. Of this, Pollock commented: "...look passively and try to receive what the painting has to offer and not bring a subject matter or preconceived idea of what they are to be looking for." Pollock's wife, Lee Krasner, said Pollock "used to give his pictures conventional titles... but now he simply numbers them. Numbers are neutral. They make people look at a picture for what it is—pure painting."^[15]

Death[link]

Jackson Pollock's grave in the rear with Lee Krasner's grave in front in the Green River Cemetery.

In 1955, Pollock painted Scent and Search which would be his last two paintings.^[26] Pollock did not paint at all in 1956.^[24] After struggling with alcoholism for his entire adult life, Pollock, on August 11, 1956, at 10:15 pm, died in a single-car crash in his Oldsmobile convertible while driving under the influence of alcohol. One of the passengers, Edith Metzger, was also killed in the accident, which occurred less than a mile from Pollock's home. The other passenger, Pollock's mistress Ruth Kligman, survived.^[27] After Pollock's demise at age 44, his widow, Lee Krasner, managed his estate and ensured that Pollock's reputation remained strong despite changing art-world trends. They are buried in Green River Cemetery in Springs with a large boulder marking his grave and a smaller one marking hers.

Legacy[link]

The Pollock-Krasner House and Studio is owned and administered by the Stony Brook Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of Stony Brook University. Regular tours of the house and studio occur from May through October.

A separate organization, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, was established in 1985. The Foundation functions as the official Estate for both Pollock and his widow Lee Krasner, but also, under the terms of Krasner's will, serves "to assist individual working artists of merit with financial need."^[28] The U.S. copyright representative for the Pollock-Krasner Foundation is the Artists Rights Society (ARS).^[29]

His papers were donated by Lee Krasner in 1983 to the Archives of American Art. They were later included with Lee Krasner's own papers. The Archives of American Art also houses the Charles Pollock Papers which includes correspondence, photographs, and other files relating to his brother, Jackson Pollock.

In pop culture and media[link]

In 1960, Ornette Coleman's album Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation featured a Pollock painting as its cover artwork.

British indie band The Stone Roses were heavily influenced by Pollock, with their cover artwork being pastiches of his work.^[30]

In 2000, the biographical film Pollock was released. Marcia Gay Harden won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Lee Krasner. The movie was the project of Ed Harris who portrayed Pollock and directed it. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2003, twenty-four Pollock-esque paintings and drawings were found in a Wainscott, New York locker. There is an inconclusive ongoing debate about whether or not these works are Pollock originals. Physicists have argued over whether fractals can be used to authenticate the paintings. This would require an analysis of geometric consistency of the paint splatters in Pollock's work at a microscopic level, and would be measured against the finding that patterns in Pollock's paintings increased in complexity with time.^[31] Analysis of the synthetic pigments shows that some were not patented until the 1980s, and therefore that it is highly improbable that Pollock could have used such paints.^[32][33] In 2006 a documentary, Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? was made concerning Teri Horton, a truck driver who in 1992 bought an abstract painting for the price of five dollars at a thrift store in California. This work may be a lost Pollock painting; its authenticity, however, remains debated.

In September 2009, Henry Adams claimed in Smithsonian Magazine that Pollock had written his name in his famous painting "Mural"^[34]

Relationship to Native American art[link]

Pollock stated: “I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk round it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting. This is akin to the methods of the Indian sand painters of the West.”^[35]

Critical debate[link]

Pollock's work has always polarized critics and has been the focus of many important critical debates.

In a famous 1952 article in ARTnews, Harold Rosenberg coined the term "action painting," and wrote that "what was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event. The big moment came when it was decided to paint 'just to paint.' The gesture on the canvas was a gesture of liberation from value — political, aesthetic, moral." Many people assumed that he had modeled his "action painter" paradigm on Pollock.

Clement Greenberg supported Pollock's work on formalistic grounds. It fit well with Greenberg's view of art history as a progressive purification in form and elimination of historical content. He therefore saw Pollock's work as the best painting of its day and the culmination of the Western tradition going back via Cubism and Cézanne to Manet.

The critic Robert Coates once derided a number of Pollock’s works as “mere unorganized explosions of random energy, and therefore meaningless.” ^[36]

Some posthumous exhibitions of Pollock's work were sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an organization to promote American culture and values backed by the CIA. Certain left-wing scholars, most prominently Eva Cockcroft, argue that the U.S. government and wealthy elite embraced Pollock and abstract expressionism in order to place the United States firmly in the forefront of global art and devalue socialist realism.^[37][38] In the words of Cockcroft, Pollock became a "weapon of the Cold War".^[39]

Painter Norman Rockwell's work Connoisseur^[40] also appears to make a commentary on the Pollock style. The painting features what seems to be a rather upright man in a suit standing in front of a Jackson Pollock-like spatter painting.

Reynold's News in a 1959 headline said, "This is not art — it's a joke in bad taste."^[37]

List of major works[link]

• (1942) Male and Female Philadelphia Museum of Art^[41]
• (1942) Stenographic Figure Museum of Modern Art^[42]
• (1943) Mural University of Iowa Museum of Art,^[43] Currently on loan to the Des Moines Art Center
• (1943) Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle^[44]
• (1943) The She-Wolf Museum of Modern Art^[45]
• (1943) Blue (Moby Dick) Ohara Museum of Art^[46]
• (1945) Troubled Queen Museum of Fine Arts, Boston^[47]
• (1946) Eyes in the Heat Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice^[48]
• (1946) The Key Art Institute of Chicago^[49]
• (1946) The Tea Cup Collection Frieder Burda^[50]
• (1946) Shimmering Substance, from The Sounds In The Grass Museum of Modern Art^[51]
• (1947) Portrait of H.M. University of Iowa Museum of Art,^[52] currently housed at the Figge Art Museum^[53]
• (1947) Full Fathom Five Museum of Modern Art^[54]
• (1947) Cathedral Dallas Museum of Art^[55]
• (1947) Enchanted Forest Peggy Guggenheim Collection^[56]
• (1947) Lucifer Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts^[57]
• (1948) Painting^[58]
• (1948) Number 5 (4 ft x 8 ft) Private collection
• (1948) Number 8- At Neuburger Museum at the State University of New York at Purchase.
• (1948) Number 13A: Arabesque- At Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.
• (1948) Composition (White, Black, Blue and Red on White) New Orleans Museum of Art^[59]
• (1948) Summertime: Number 9A Tate Modern
• (1949) Number 1 Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles^[60]
• (1949) Number 3
• (1949) Number 10 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston^[61]
• (1950) Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) National Gallery of Art^[62]
• (1950) Mural on Indian red ground, 1950 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art^[63]
• (1950) Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950 Metropolitan Museum of Art^[64]
• (1950) Number 29, 1950 National Gallery of Canada^[65]
• (1950) One: Number 31, 1950 Museum of Modern Art^[66]
• (1950) No. 32^[67]
• (1951) Number 7 National Gallery of Art^[68]
• (1951) Black & White
• (1952) Convergence Albright-Knox Art Gallery^[69]
• (1952) Blue Poles: No. 11, 1952 National Gallery of Australia^[70]
• (1953) Portrait and a Dream Dallas Museum of Art^[71]
• (1953) Easter and the Totem The Museum of Modern Art^[72]
• (1953) Ocean Greyness^[73]
• (1953) The Deep

Art market[link]

In 1973, Blue Poles (Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952), was purchased by the Australian Whitlam Government for the National Gallery of Australia for US $2 million (AU $1.3 million at the time of payment). At the time, this was the highest price ever paid for a modern painting. The painting is now one of the most popular exhibits in the gallery.^[74] It was a centerpiece of the Museum of Modern Art's 1998 retrospective in New York, the first time the painting had returned to America since its purchase.

In November 2006, Pollock's No. 5, 1948 became the world's most expensive painting, when it was sold privately to an undisclosed buyer for the sum of $140,000,000. Another artist record was established in 2004, when No. 12 (1949), a medium-sized drip painting that had been shown in the United States Pavilion at the 1950 Venice Biennale, fetched $11.7 million at Christie's, New York.^[75] In 2012, Number 28, 1951, one of the artist’s combinations of drip and brushwork in shades of silvery gray with red, yellow and shots of blue and white, also sold at Christie's, New York, for $20.5 million — $23 million with fees — within its estimated range of $20 million to $30 million.^[76]

Influence[link]

Pollock's staining into raw canvas was adapted by Color Field painters Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis. Frank Stella made all over composition a hallmark of his works of the 1960s. Happenings artist Allan Kaprow, sculptors Richard Serra, Eva Hesse and many contemporary artists have retained Pollock’s emphasis on the process of creation and were influenced by his approach to making art, rather than by the look of his work. ^[77]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• All-over painting
• Pollock-Krasner House and Studio

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jackson Pollock

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jackson Pollock

• Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation
• Jackson Pollock at The Art Story Foundation
• Pollock on Museum Web Paris
• Pollock and The Law
• National Gallery of Art web feature, includes highlights of Pollock's career, numerous examples of his work, photographs and motion footage of Pollock, plus an in-depth discussion of his 1950 painting Lavender Mist.
• Blue Poles at the NGA
• One. Number 31, 1950 smARThistory
• Jackson Pollock's Number One 1948; How Can We Be Abandoned and Accurate at the Same Time? by Lore Mariano
• Fractal Expressionism – the fractal qualities of Pollock's drip paintings.
• Understanding Abstract Art by Harley Hahn
• Ed Pilkington, Pollock cache may have been painted after artist's death, The Guardian, November 30, 2007
• Jackson Pollock Papers at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art
• Works by Jackson Pollock (public domain in Canada)
• A talk given at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC titled: "Jackson Pollock, John Cage and William Burroughs"
• pictures of Pollock, slideshow Life Magazine

Museums[link]

• Jackson Pollock at the Museum of Modern Art
• Pollock collection at Guggenheim NY site
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California
• Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles, California
• Jackson Pollock at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Butch Cassidy
Fort Worth, Texas, 1900
Born	Robert LeRoy Parker (1866-04-13)April 13, 1866 Beaver, Utah, United States
Died	November 3, 1908 (Aged 42)
Cause	Uncertain, one theory: gunshot by Bolivian militia
Alias(es)	Butch Cassidy, Mike Cassidy, George Cassidy, Jim Lowe, Santiago Maxwell,
Charge(s)	Horse thief, cattle rustling, train and bank robbery
Conviction(s)	Imprisoned in the state prison in Laramie, Wyoming for horse theft
Penalty	Served 18 months of 2-year sentence; released January 1896
Occupation	Thief (train robber)
Spouse	None
Parents	Maximillian Parker and Ann Campbell Gillies
Children	none

Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 3, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy,^[1] was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West. After pursuing a career in crime for several years in the United States, the pressures of being pursued, notably by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, forced him to flee with an accomplice, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, known as the Sundance Kid, and Longabaugh's girlfriend, Etta Place, first to Argentina and then to Bolivia, where he and Longabaugh were allegedly killed in a shootout in November 1908.

Early life[link]

Parker was born in Beaver, Utah, to Maximillian Parker and Ann Campbell Gillies, English and Scottish immigrants, respectively, who came to the Utah Territory in the late 1850's.^[2] Ann Gillies, the mother of Butch Cassidy was born and lived on Tyneside, Newcastle, North East England, before moving to America with her parents in the 1850s, where she married Butch’s father, Maximilian Parker, in Utah.^[3] Parker's parents had lived in Victoria Road in Preston, Lancashire, England and emigrated to escape religious persecution of their Mormon faith.^{[citation needed]}

He was the first of their 13 children. He grew up on their ranch near Circleville, Utah, 346 km (215 mi) south of Salt Lake City, Utah. He left home during his early teens, and while working at a dairy farm, looked up to, and was mentored by Mike Cassidy, a horse thief and cattle rustler. He subsequently worked at several ranches, in addition to a brief stint as a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, when he acquired the nickname "Butch", to which he soon appended the surname Cassidy in honor of his old friend and mentor.

Life as a criminal[link]

1880-1887 — first incidents, becoming a robber[link]

Parker's first offense was minor. Around 1880, he journeyed to a clothier's shop in another town only to find the shop closed. He entered the shop and took a pair of jeans and some pie, leaving an IOU promising to pay on his next visit. However, the clothier pressed charges. Parker was acquitted at a jury trial.

He continued to work on ranches until 1884, when he moved to Telluride, Colorado, ostensibly to seek work but perhaps to deliver stolen horses to buyers. He led a cowboy's life in Wyoming and in Montana, before returning to Telluride in 1887. There he met Matt Warner, the owner of a race horse. The men raced the horse at various events, dividing the winnings between them .

1889-1895 — Early robberies, going to prison[link]

Parker, Warner and two of the McCarty Brothers were responsible for the robbery, on June 24, 1889, of the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride in which they stole approximately $21,000, after which they fled to the Robbers Roost, a remote hideout in southeastern Utah.

In 1890, Parker purchased a ranch near Dubois, Wyoming. This location is across the state from the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall, a natural geological formation which afforded outlaws much welcomed protection and cover, so it is possible that Parker's ranching, at which he was never economically successful, was in fact a façade for clandestine activities, perhaps with Hole-in-the-Wall outlaws.^[4]

In early 1894, Parker became involved romantically with Old West outlaw and rancher Ann Bassett. Bassett's father, rancher Herb Bassett, did business with Parker, supplying him with fresh horses and beef. That same year, Parker was arrested at Lander, Wyoming, for stealing horses and possibly for running a protection racket among the local ranchers there. Imprisoned in the state prison in Laramie, Wyoming, he served 18 months of a two-year sentence and was released in January 1896, having promised Governor William Alford Richards that he would not again offend in that state in return for a partial remission of his sentence. Upon his release, he became involved briefly with Ann Bassett's older sister, Josie, and then returned to his involvement with Ann.

1896-1897 — Leaving prison and forming the Wild Bunch[link]

Cassidy's mugshot from the Wyoming Territorial Prison in 1894.

Cassidy is seated on the far right Click a person for more information.

Upon his release he associated himself with a circle of criminals, most notably his closest friend Elzy Lay, Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Harry Tracy, Will "News" Carver, Laura Bullion, and George Curry, who, together with others, formed a gang known as the Wild Bunch, and with this his criminal activity increased considerably. Although there is some controversy as to how violent the Wild Bunch may or may not have been, there is no definitive historical record of any member of The Wild Bunch being charged with murder ^[5].

On August 13, 1896, Parker, Lay, Harvey Logan and Bob Meeks^[6] robbed the bank at Montpelier, Idaho, escaping with approximately $7,000. Shortly thereafter he recruited Harry Longabaugh, alias "The Sundance Kid", a native of Pennsylvania, into the Wild Bunch.

In early 1897, Parker was joined at Robbers Roost by his off and on girlfriend Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay, and Lay's girlfriend Maude Davis. The four hid out there until early April, when Lay and Parker sent the women home so that they could plan their next robbery. On April 21, 1897, in the mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, Parker and Lay ambushed a small group of men carrying the payroll of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company from the railroad station to their office, stealing a sack containing $7,000 in gold, with which they again fled to the Robbers Roost.

On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed a Union Pacific overland flyer near Wilcox, Wyoming, a robbery that became famous and which resulted in a massive man hunt.^[7][8] Many notable lawmen of the day took part in the hunt for the robbers, but they were not found.

During one shootout with lawmen following that robbery, both Kid Curry and George Curry shot and killed Sheriff Joe Hazen. Noted killer for hire and contract employee of the Pinkerton Agency, Tom Horn, obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck that revealed that they had shot Hazen, which Horn passed on to Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo. The gang escaped into the Hole-In-The-Wall. Siringo was assigned the task of capturing the outlaw gang. He became friends with Elfie Landusky, who was by then going by the last name Curry alleging that Lonny Curry, Kid Curry's brother, had gotten her pregnant. Through her, Siringo intended to locate the gang.

On July 11, 1899, Lay and others were involved in a train robbery near Folsom, New Mexico, which Parker may have planned and may have been directly involved in, which led to a shootout with local law enforcers in which Lay, arguably Parker's best friend and closest confidante, killed Sheriff Edward Farr and posseman Henry Love, leading to his imprisonment for life in the New Mexico State Penitentiary.

The Wild Bunch would usually split up following a robbery, heading in different directions, and later reunite at a set location, such as the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout, "Robbers Roost", or Madame Fannie Porter's brothel, in San Antonio, Texas. The Hole-in-the-Wall hideout has been assembled at Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming. It was built in 1883 by Alexander Ghent.^[9]

Failed attempt at amnesty[link]

Perhaps as a consequence of the loss of Lay, Parker appears to have approached Governor Heber Wells of Utah, which had joined the Union in 1896, to negotiate an amnesty, but Wells appears to have recoiled from this, advising Parker to instead approach the Union Pacific Railroad to persuade them to drop their criminal complaints against him. This meeting never took place, however, possibly because of bad weather. The Union Pacific Railroad, under chairman E. H. Harriman, subsequently attempt to meet with Parker, through Parker's old ally Matthew Warner, who had been released from prison. On August 29, 1900, however, Parker, Longabaugh and others robbed a Union Pacific train near Tipton, Wyoming, violating Parker's earlier promise to the governor of Wyoming not to offend again in that state, and effectively ending the prospects for amnesty.

Meanwhile, on February 28, 1900, lawmen attempted to arrest Kid Curry's brother, Lonny Curry, at his aunt's home. Lonny was killed in the shootout that followed, and his cousin Bob Lee was arrested for rustling and sent to prison in Wyoming. On March 28, Kid Curry and Bill Carver were pursued by a posse out of St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona, after being identified as passing notes possibly from the Wilcox, Wyoming, robbery. The posse caught up with them and engaged them in a shootout, during which Deputy Andrew Gibbons and Deputy Frank LeSueur were killed. Carver and Curry escaped. On April 17, George Curry was killed in a shootout with Grand County, Utah, Sheriff John Tyler and Deputy Sam Jenkins. On May 26, Kid Curry rode into Moab, Utah, and killed both Tyler and Jenkins in a brazen shootout, in retaliation for their killing of George Curry, and for the death of his brother Lonny.

Parker, Longabaugh, and Bill Carver traveled to Winnemucca, Nevada, where on September 19, 1900, they robbed the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada of $32,640. In December, Parker posed in Fort Worth, Texas for the now-famous Fort Worth Five Photograph,^[10] which depicts Parker, Longabaugh, Harvey Logan (alias Kid Curry), Ben Kilpatrick and William Carver. The Pinkerton Detective Agency obtained a copy of the photograph and began to use it for its latest wanted posters.

Kid Curry rejoined the gang, and together with Parker and Longabaugh they robbed a Great Northern train near Wagner, Montana. This time, they took over $60,000 in cash. Again the gang split up, and gang member Will Carver was killed by one pursuing posse led by Sheriff Elijah Briant. On December 12, 1901, gang member Ben Kilpatrick was captured in Knoxville, Tennessee, along with Laura Bullion. On December 13, during a shootout with lawmen, Kid Curry killed Knoxville policemen William Dinwiddle and Robert Saylor, and escaped. Curry, despite being pursued by Pinkerton agents and other law enforcement officials, returned to Montana, where he shot and killed rancher James Winters, responsible for the killing of his brother Johnny years before.^[11]

1901 — travel to South America[link]

Parker and Longabaugh then fled east to New York City, and on February 20, 1901, with Ethel "Etta" Place, Longabaugh's female companion, they departed to Buenos Aires, Argentina, aboard the British steamer Herminius, Parker posing as James Ryan, Place's fictional brother. There he settled with Longabaugh and Place in a four-room log cabin on a 15,000 acres (61 km²) ranch that they purchased on the east bank of the Rio Blanco near Cholila, Chubut province in west-central Argentina, near the Andes.

1905 and his last years — his biggest robbery, evading the law[link]

On February 14, 1905, two English-speaking bandits, who may have been Parker and Longabaugh, held up the Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino in Río Gallegos, 700 miles (1,100 km) south of Cholila, near the Strait of Magellan. Escaping with a sum that would be worth at least US $100,000 today, the pair vanished north across the bleak Patagonian steppes.

On May 1, the trio sold the Cholila ranch because the law was beginning to catch up with them. The Pinkerton Agency had known their location for some time, but the rainy season had prevented their assigned agent, Frank Dimaio, from traveling there and making an arrest. Governor Julio Lezana had then issued an arrest warrant, but before it could be executed Sheriff Edward Humphreys, a Welsh Argentine who was friendly with Parker and enamored of Etta Place, tipped them off.

The trio fled north to San Carlos de Bariloche where they embarked on the steamer Condor across Nahuel Huapi Lake and into Chile. However by the end of that year they were again back in Argentina; on December 19, Parker, Longabaugh, Place and an unknown male took part in the robbery of the Banco de la Nacion in Villa Mercedes, 400 miles (640 km) west of Buenos Aires, taking 12,000 pesos. Pursued by armed lawmen, they crossed the Pampas and the Andes and again reached the safety of Chile.

On June 30, 1906, Etta Place decided that she had had enough of life on the run and was escorted back to San Francisco by Longabaugh. Parker, under the alias James "Santiago" Maxwell, obtained work at the Concordia Tin Mine in the Santa Vera Cruz range of the central Bolivian Andes, where he was joined by Longabaugh upon his return. Ironically, their main duties included guarding the company payroll. Still wanting to settle down as a respectable rancher, Parker, late in 1907, made an excursion with Longabaugh to Santa Cruz, a frontier town in Bolivia's eastern savannah.

Death[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2010)

The facts surrounding Parker's death are uncertain. On November 3, 1908, near San Vicente in southern Bolivia, a courier for the Aramayo Franke and Cia Silver Mine was conveying his company's payroll, worth about 15,000 Bolivian pesos, by mule when he was attacked and robbed by two masked American bandits who were believed to be Parker and Longabaugh. The bandits then proceeded to the small mining town of San Vicente where they lodged in a small boarding house owned by a local resident miner named Bonifacio Casasola. When Casasola became suspicious of his two foreign lodgers, as well as a mule they had in their possession which was from the Aramayo Mine, identifiable from the mine company logo on the mule's left flank, Casasola left his house and notified a nearby telegraph officer who notified a small Bolivian Army cavalry unit stationed nearby, which was the Abaroa Regiment. The unit dispatched three soldiers, under the command of Captain Justa Concha, to San Vicente where they notified the local authorities. On the evening of November 6, the lodging house was surrounded by three soldiers, the police chief, the local mayor and some of his officials, who intended to arrest the Aramayo robbers.

When the three soldiers approached the house the bandits opened fire, killing one of the soldiers and wounding another. A gunfight then ensued. At around 2 a.m., during a lull in the firing, the police and soldiers heard a man screaming from inside the house. Soon, a single shot was heard from inside the house, whereupon the screaming stopped. Minutes later, another shot was heard.

The standoff continued as locals kept the place surrounded until the next morning when, cautiously entering, they found two dead bodies, both with numerous bullet wounds to the arms and legs. One of the men had a bullet wound in the forehead and the other had a bullet hole in the temple. The local police report speculated that, judging from the positions of the bodies, one bandit had probably shot his fatally wounded partner-in-crime to put him out of his misery, just before killing himself with his final bullet.

In the following investigation by the Tupiza police, the bandits were identified as the men who robbed the Aramayo payroll transport, but the Bolivian authorities didn't know their real names, nor could they positively identify them. The bodies were buried at the small San Vicente cemetery, where they were buried close to the grave of a German miner named Gustav Zimmer. Although attempts have been made to find their unmarked graves, notably by the American forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow and his researchers in 1991, no remains with DNA matching the living relatives of Parker and Longabaugh have yet been discovered.

Claims of post-1908 survival[link]

However, there were claims, such as by Parker's sister Lula Parker Betenson, that he returned alive to the United States and lived in anonymity for years. In her biography Butch Cassidy, My Brother, Betenson cites several instances of people familiar with Parker who encountered him long after 1908, and she relates a detailed impromptu "family reunion" of Butch, their brother Mark, their father Maxi, and Lula, in 1925.

In 1974 or 1975, Red Fenwick, a columnist at The Denver Post, told writer Ivan Goldman, then a reporter at the Post, that he was acquainted with Parker's physician, a woman. Fenwick said she was a person of absolute integrity. She told Fenwick that she had continued to treat Parker for many years after he supposedly was killed in Bolivia.

There is anecdotal and circumstantial evidence that Longabaugh also returned to the United States and died in 1936.^[12]

In his Annals of the Former World, John McPhee repeats a story told to geologist David Love (1913–2002) in the 1930s by Love's family doctor, Francis Smith, M.D., when Love was a doctoral student. Smith stated that he had just seen Parker, that Parker told Smith that his face had been altered by a surgeon in Paris, and that he showed Smith a repaired bullet wound that Smith recognized as work he had previously done on Parker.^[13]

In an interview with Josie Bassett, sister to Ann Bassett, in 1960, she claims that Butch came to visit her in the 1920s "after returning from South America" and that "Butch died in Johnnie, Nevada, about 15 years ago."^[14] Another interview with locals of Parker's hometown of Circleville, Utah also finds claims of Parker working in Nevada until his death.^[15]

Western historian Charles Kelly closed the chapter "Is Butch Cassidy Dead?" in his 1938 book, Outlaw Trail, by observing that if Parker "is still alive, as these rumors claim, it seems exceedingly strange that he has not returned to Circleville, Utah, to visit his old father, Maximillian Parker, who died on July 28, 1938, at the age of 94 years." Kelly is thought to have interviewed Parker's father, but no known transcript of such an interview exists.

A Masonic Lodge, in Spokane, Washington, claims to be Butch Cassidy's lodge. They claim he entered the lodge and was active until he died. He owned and operated The Phillips manufacturing company. In conversations with historians, this account is disputed, as he was never trained in machine work. Further, the claim cannot be backed up as the lodge had indicated the records were missing. This account was, however, used by his sister claiming him to be William Phillips.^[16]

While Kelly said that all correspondence from both Parker and Longabaugh ceased after the San Vicente incident, some correspondence has been published that is dated 1930, 1937 and 1938 and said to have been written by Parker.^[17]

In popular culture[link]

• The Three Outlaws, starring Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy and Alan Hale Jr as the Sundance Kid, is a 1956 western film of the famed outlaws' lives with Wild Bunch member William "News" Carver as the third outlaw in the title.^[18]
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, is a 1969 fictional film of the duo's exploits.
• In the 1951 film, The Texas Rangers, Cassidy is played by John Doucette and the Sundance Kid is played by Ian MacDonald. In a gang composed of real-life outlaws John Wesley Hardin and Dave Rudabaugh, led by Sam Bass, they square off against two convicts recruited by John B. Jones to bring them to justice.
• In the 1965 comedy Western Cat Ballou, Cassidy is played by Arthur Hunnicutt as a washed-up old outlaw tending a bar at Hole-in-the Wall.
• A 2006 film, Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy is an action-adventure with a twist of romance. Ryan Kelley, Arielle Kebbel, Dan Byrd, Brent Weber, with James Gammon and Bruce Mcgill star in the movie. Roy Parker (Ryan Kelley) is determined to find the treasure of his great uncle Leroy (Butch Cassidy) and prove that Cassidy lived on and went right and stopped robbing. With his best friend, arch complaining rival, and a girl who has stolen his heart, they make the trip through Utah to find the lost treasure and stop a villain from getting it first.
• In the 4kids version of the Pokémon anime there are two Team Rocket members named Butch and Cassidy who work in one of the numerous field teams.
• Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, starring Tom Berenger and William Katt, is a 1979 prequel to the 1969 Newman-Redford film
• Mr. American, a novel by George MacDonald Fraser, is the story of a mysterious wealthy American who comes to England in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. It is revealed that Mr Franklin had ridden with Cassidy, though his money was made honestly. Kid Curry also appears as a character.
• A TV movie called The Legend of Butch & Sundance was released in 2006. David Clayton Rogers plays as Butch, Ryan Browning plays as Sundance, and Rachelle Lefevre plays as Etta Place.
• Blackthorn, starring Sam Shepard. The film tells the story as if Cassidy had survived living out his years under the name James Blackthorn.

Aliases[link]

• Butch Cassidy
• George Parker^[19]
• George Cassidy^[1]
• Lowe Maxwell^[1]
• James "Santiago" Maxwell^[20]
• James Ryan^[20]
• Butch Casady^[1]
• Santiago Lowe

Alleged friends[link]

• William T. Phillips claimed to have known Butch Cassidy since childhood.^[21] Some have speculated that Phillips was Butch Cassidy, but no evidence supports the claims.

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
• Sundance Kid
• Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://diggingupbutchandsundance.wordpress.com/ Website of articles, chiefly about Butch & Sundance in South America.
• History of Butch Cassidy, LeRoy Parker
• Wanted Notice for Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Camilla Hanks, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• Butch Cassidy's Surrender Offer article by Richard Patterson

Evan Bourne
Korlan as Evan Bourne, on an episode of Raw
Ring name(s)	Evan Bourne[1] Lance Sydal[2] Matt[2] Matt Sydal[2]
Billed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Billed weight	165 lb (75 kg)[1]
Born	(1983-03-19) March 19, 1983 (age 29)[3] St. Louis, Missouri[2]
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Billed from	St. Louis, Missouri[1]
Trained by	Gateway Championship Wrestling[2]
Debut	October 20, 2000[4]

Matthew Joseph Korklan^[4] (born March 19, 1983)^[3] is an American professional wrestler, also known as Matt Sydal and Evan Bourne. He is signed with WWE and wrestles on its Raw brand under the ring name Evan Bourne.^[1]

Before signing with WWE, Korklan wrestled on the independent circuit for promotions such as IWA-Mid South, Ring of Honor and the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate under the ring name Matt Sydal. Korklan also had a tenure in the short-lived Wrestling Society X promotion and was featured on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's early pay-per-view events. Korklan is known for his high flying, lucha libre-inspired style of wrestling.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Training and independent circuit (2000–2007)[link]

Korklan was on his high school's wrestling team.^[2] While he was a senior in high school, Korklan began training with the St. Louis, Missouri-based Gateway Championship Wrestling (GCW) promotion. After three months of training, Korklan began wrestling for GCW on October 20, 2000, becoming the first person under the age of 18 to receive a wrestler's license in Missouri.^[2][4] Prior to this, Korklan had briefly performed under the ring name Lance Sydal in the Saint Peters Wrestling Organization.^[2]

In 2003, Korklan (now using the ring name Matt and forgoing a surname)^[4] formed a stable in GCW, known as Operation: Shamrock. In addition, Korklan and fellow stable member Billy McNeil formed a tag team. Operation: Shamrock maintained a feud with the villainous Ministry of Hate faction, led by Nikki Strychnine.^[5]

Sydal at a Chikara show in 2007

Korklan debuted in Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) in November 2003, combining two of his old ring names into a new one, Matt Sydal.^[2] He won his first championship, the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship, on January 17, 2004, by defeating J.C. Bailey.^[6] Sydal lost the title to rival Delirious, on June 26, 2004.^[6] Sydal joined National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Midwest that same year, on July 30, he defeated Justin Kage for the NWA Midwest X Division Championship, which he also lost to Delirious after holding the belt for nearly a year.^[7] Korklan regained the championship when he teamed with Daizee Haze in an intergender tag team match against Delirious and MsChif. A unique rule of the match was that the male wrestler on the winning team would be champion at the match's end. Haze pinned MsChif to win Delirious's title for Sydal.^[7] Sydal lost the title to Jayson Strife roughly four months later^[7] before leaving the promotion.

Sydal wrestled several top independent stars during his time as a regular in IWA. He lost three matches to A.J. Styles during a short-lived feud. He also faced men such as CM Punk, Chris Sabin and Nate Webb.^[4] On September 24, 2005, Sydal won the fifth Ted Petty Invitational tournament. During the tournament, he defeated El Generico, Tyler Black, and Sabin to secure himself a place in the finals. He faced Kevin Steen and Arik Cannon in the final match and came out victorious.^[8] Since then, Sydal has only appeared in IWA on a few occasions, the last being in August 2007.^[4]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2005)[link]

Sydal was featured on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) first three-hour pay-per-view event, Victory Road as a participant of a twenty-man X Division Gauntlet for the Gold match, a match where two wrestlers begin the match, and are replaced whenever one is eliminated, with the last person standing being named the winner of the contest.^[9] Sydal also was part of an online poll for the Sacrifice event. The winner of the poll would meet Christopher Daniels for the TNA X Division Championship. Sydal, however, lost the poll. During his tenure with TNA, Sydal was mainly utilized as a jobber, a wrestler who is rarely or never booked to win a match.^[4]

Ring of Honor (2004–2007)[link]

Sydal with A.J. Styles (left) in Ring of Honor during 2007.

Sydal, along with valet Daizee Haze, debuted in Ring of Honor at Reborn: Stage One on April 23, 2004, defeating his recurring nemesis, Delirious.^[10] Following a brief feud with Trent Acid, Sydal teamed with Fast Eddie Vegas as the "Air Devils" (a name voted on by the ROH fans). They only teamed once, after which Eddie turned on him on at the Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 2 on February 25, 2005, joining the villainous stable The Embassy.^[4] On August 12, 2005, Sydal and Haze joined Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans as the fourth member of Generation Next, a group who was in the midst of a feud with The Embassy.^[11] In late 2005, Daizee Haze turned on Sydal, leaving him and Generation Next to join The Embassy. Generation Next fought The Embassy in numerous multi-man tag matches, culminating in a Steel Cage Warfare match on December 3, 2005, with Generation Next emerging victorious.^[10]

After wrestling A.J. Styles at Hell Freezes Over, the two teamed up to challenge his Generation Next stable mates Austin Aries and Roderick Strong for ROH World Tag Team Championship. Sydal also teamed with Samoa Joe and Jack Evans to try and win the championship. Sydal went to the finals of the 2006 Survival of the Fittest event, before losing to Delirious. Sydal and Delirious brought their rivalry back to ROH as they engaged in several matches during mid-2006.^[10]

After several matches against each other throughout the year, Sydal teamed up with Christopher Daniels in another attempt to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. The two feuded with then-champions the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), before winning the championship at Dethroned. Sydal and Daniels successfully defended their championship against the likes of CIMA and Shingo, and former champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, before losing the title to the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) at the Fifth Year Festival: Chicago.^[12] During their title reign, Sydal would begin to show a cocky, villainous-like attitude. After coming up unsuccessful in attempts to win the title back along with Castagnoli, Sydal joined Larry Sweeney's villain stable Sweet n' Sour Inc., which also included Chris Hero, Sara Del Rey and Tank Toland.^[13] Sydal, who in real life was receiving offers from World Wrestling Entertainment, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Dragon Gate, joined Sweet n' Sour Inc. to further Sweeney's gimmick as a "super agent". When Sydal eventually signed with WWE, it was said that Sweeney had "sold him up the river to Vince". At Man Up, Sydal wrestled his final match for ROH, losing to long-time rival Delirious.^[10]

Dragon Gate and Wrestling Society X (2006–2007)[link]

Sydal began touring Japan with Dragon Gate in May 2006.^[14] While there he aligned himself with CIMA, Don Fuji, and Jack Evans to form the New Blood Generation International. He also became a part of CIMA's Typhoon faction. During Dragon Gate's Wrestlejam event, Sydal teamed with Generation Next stable mate Roderick Strong to win the $10,000 Tag Team Challenge.^[14]

In early 2007, Sydal returned to Dragon Gate.^[15] During his tenure there he won the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Championship from Masato Yoshino, thus becoming the first gaijin to win the title. He held the championship for just over a month, making a successful title defense against Yoshino, as well as against Austin Aries at Ring of Honor's Fifth Year Festival: Dayton.^[10][16] He dropped the title to Genki Horiguchi.^[15][17]

Sydal was also part of the short-lived MTV promotion, Wrestling Society X, where he competed as a villain against the likes of Jack Evans, Scorpio Sky and the Human Tornado.^[18][19][20] There was the start of a storyline that would have him feuding with Syxx-Pac over Sydal's valet and on-screen girlfriend Lizzy Valentine,^[19][21] but they never actually wrestled before WSX shut down.^[19][22]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2007–present)[link]

Developmental territories (2007–2008)[link]

After becoming a free agent again following the expiration of his WSX contract and the close of the promotion, Sydal signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).^[23] Sydal made his WWE developmental debut in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), at the October 10, 2007 OVW taping, defeating Jamin Olivencia.^[24] In December of that year, Sydal defeated Mike Kruel to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship.^[25] It was announced on February 7, 2008 that WWE had ceased affiliation with OVW.^[26] As a result, Sydal lost the OVW Heavyweight Championship to Jay Bradley.^[25] Sydal was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling and made his debut on March 22, 2008, defeating TJ Wilson, before being called up to WWE's main roster.^[2][27]

ECW (2008–2009)[link]

Bourne making his ring entrance on an episode of ECW

Sydal made his debut for WWE's ECW brand on June 3, 2008, as a fan favorite character. He lost a match by countout to Shelton Benjamin after he was thrown at guest commentator Kofi Kingston.^[28] The following week on ECW, Sydal, now an official member of the ECW roster under the ring name Evan Bourne, teamed with Kofi Kingston to defeat Mike Knox and Benjamin in a tag team match.^[29] In the following weeks, Bourne defeated Matt Striker,^[30] Nunzio,^[31] and Chavo Guerrero^[32] using the shooting star press as his finishing maneuver.^[1]

Bourne also made appearances on the Raw brand, saving Rey Mysterio from an assault by Kane. The two defeated John Morrison and The Miz the following week. At Cyber Sunday in October, Bourne was chosen by the fans to face Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship, but lost the match after Hardy performed a Twist of Fate.^[33] Two days later on ECW, Bourne was injured attempting a suicide senton during a six-man tag match, when he landed on his right ankle, dislocating it and tearing his deltoid ligament. After further examination, it was determined that surgery would not be necessary, but was not cleared to return to the ring.^[34] On December 8, 2008, Bourne won a Slammy Award for "Best Finishing Maneuver" for his shooting star press.^[35]

On the March 10, 2009, episode of ECW a promo was aired for Bourne's return on March 17.^[36] In his return, Bourne defeated Jamie Noble.^[37]

Raw; Air Boom and injury (2009–present)[link]

On June 29, Bourne was traded to the Raw brand, and made his debut that night as the first of the three wrestlers that were part of a Gauntlet match against Randy Orton, in which he was eliminated.^[38] On the November 2 episode of Raw, Bourne received a United States Championship match against The Miz, which he failed to win. Bourne made a special appearance on the December 29 episode of ECW, defeating Mike Knox in an ECW Homecoming qualifying match to advance to a battle royal where the winner would face ECW Champion Christian at the Royal Rumble for the ECW Championship.^[39]

Bourne lost a non-title match against WWE Champion Sheamus on the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw.^[40] On the January 12 episode of ECW, Bourne competed in the "Homecoming Battle Royal" but was the first to be eliminated.^[41] On the March 8 episode of Raw, Bourne defeated William Regal to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, which was won by Jack Swagger.

The May 31, 2010 episode of Raw opened with Bourne being the victim of an assault by Edge after Bourne had challenged him for his spot in the WWE Championship match at Fatal 4-Way. Later in the show, as John Cena's scheduled tag team partner, Randy Orton, was injured by Edge before the main event, Cena chose Bourne to replace him in a match against Edge and Sheamus. Bourne pinned Sheamus to earn the victory for his team.^[42] Two weeks later, Bourne fought Chris Jericho in a match, which he won by disqualification when Jericho threatened the referee and attacked Bourne while he was in the ropes.^[43] At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, he faced Jericho in a rematch, which Bourne won by pinfall.^[44] The following night on Raw, Jericho challenged Bourne to a third match stating that if he did not win, he would leave WWE. Jericho defeated Bourne by pinfall.^[45] Their feud continued on the July 5 episode of Raw, where Bourne teamed up with Randy Orton to defeat Jericho and Edge.^[46] Bourne was announced as one of the participants in the Money in the Bank ladder match for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 18, but he was unsuccessful.^[47]

Bourne with the WWE Tag Team Championship in 2011.

On September 19, at the Night of Champions pay-per-view, Bourne teamed up with Mark Henry in the Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they failed to win the championship when they were the last team eliminated in the match by Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. On the October 11 episode of Raw, Bourne competed in a match against CM Punk to qualify for Team Raw at Bragging Rights, but was unsuccessful in winning and was assaulted by Punk after the match. This was put in place to write Bourne off television, as in reality he required shoulder surgery and was expected to be out of action for an estimated four months.^[48]

Bourne returned on the February 28, 2011, episode of Raw, defeating Sheamus, after Sheamus had been attacked by Triple H before the match.^[49] From May 23, Bourne would feud with Jack Swagger, with both men trading victories on several episodes of Raw.^[50][51] Bourne emerged victorious against Swagger at WWE Capitol Punishment.^[52]

On the August 22 episode of Raw, Bourne won his first championship in WWE, when he and Kofi Kingston defeated David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, for the WWE Tag Team Championships.^[53] On the August 29 episode of Raw, the duo were called "Air Boom" and had their first successful title defense by defeating Otunga and McGillicutty in a rematch. At Night of Champions, Air Boom retained their championship against The Miz and R-Truth by disqualification after The Miz attacked the referee. At both Hell in a Cell and Vengeance, Air Boom retained the Tag Team Championship against the team of Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger.^[54] On November 1, WWE announced via the company website that they had suspended Korklan for 30 days for his first violation of the company’s wellness policy, which he completed and returned at a house show on December 3.^[55] On December 18, at Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Air Boom retained their titles by defeating Primo and Epico.^[56] On January 15, 2012, Air Boom lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Primo and Epico at a house show.^[57] The following night on Raw, Air Boom were awarded a rematch but failed to regain the championship.^[58] The following day, Korklan was suspended once again, this time for 60 days for his second failure of a wellness test.^[59] In March Korklan was involved in a car accident which resulted in his foot being broken in four different places and dislocated in five.^[60]

Other media[link]

As Bourne, Korklan is featured as a downloadable superstar in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. He would go on to appear in the following games: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, and WWE '12.

Image Entertainment, Inc. released a DVD titled "Before They Were Stars: Matt Sydal: Bourne Is Born" on January 20, 2009, which features every match from Wrestling Society X Korklan participated in as well as various promos and a music video.^[61]

Personal life[link]

Both of Korklan's parents are school teachers.^[62] He has a younger brother Mike, who wrestles under the name "Mike Sydal".^[63] He attended Parkway West High School in St. Louis.^[62] In 2001, Korklan enrolled at the University of Missouri, studying marketing, as he was unsure whether he could earn a living from wrestling.^[64] He continued to wrestle, attending college three days a week, while wrestling mid-week and on weekends.^[64] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2005, and began working as a sales and marketing vice president for a small mailbox company in St. Louis, although he continued to wrestle.^[2][62][64]

In wrestling[link]

Bourne performing "Air Bourne" on Chris Jericho in 2010.

• WWE
  • Finishing moves
    • Air Bourne^[65] (Shooting star press)^[4][66]
  • Signature moves
    • Corkscrew plancha^[4]
    • Frankensteiner,^[66][67] sometimes from the top rope^[68]
    • Headscissors takedown^[69][70]
    • Multiple kick variations
      • Drop,^[71] sometimes from the top rope^[71]
      • Roundhouse^[66][72]
    • Standing moonsault,^[70] sometimes from the top rope^[66]
    • Suicide dive^[4]
  • Nicknames
    • "Air Bourne"^[73][74]
  • Entrance themes
    • "Axeman" by Damian Wes, Lenny Charles and Sparky Buddha (June 10, 2008–July 23, 2009)^[75][76]
    • "Born to Win" by Mutiny Within and Jim Johnston (July 27, 2009–present)^[77][78]
    • "Born to SOS" by Mutiny Within and Collie Buddz^[79] (September 5, 2011–October 3; Used as part of Air Boom)
    • "Boom" by Jim Johnston (October 7, 2011–January 16, 2012; Used while a part of Air Boom)

• Independent circuit
  • Finishing moves
    • Aftershock (Gory neckbreaker)^[4]
    • Cyclorama (Independent circuit)^[3][21] / Sydal Special (Dragon Gate)^[16] (Belly to belly moonsault slam)^[3]
    • Double Helix^[3] (Springboard corkscrew moonsault)^[3]
    • Here It Is Driver^[80] / Here We Go Driver^[3] (Pumphandle half nelson driver)^[3]
    • Shooting Sydal Press^[14][81] (Shooting star press)^[4][67]
  • Signature moves
    • Cannonball (Diving leg drop)^{[4][82][83][84]}
    • Corkscrew plancha^[4]
    • Cradle suplex^[4]
    • Dragonrana^[4]
    • Inverted leg drop bulldog into a pin^[4]
    • Multiple kick variations
      • Corner drop, sometimes preceded by a catapult^[21]
      • Enzuigiri^[4]
      • Shining wizard to a cornered opponent^[4]
    • Springboard into either a 450° splash^[4] or a corkscrew senton^[4]
    • Standing moonsault^[21]
    • Suicide dive^[4]
  • Managers
    • Daizee Haze^[10]
    • Jade Chung^[4]
    • Lizzy Valentine^[21]
    • Allison Danger^[4]
    • Larry Sweeney^[13]
  • Entrance themes
    • "Clavicle" by Alkaline Trio^[85]