The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Robert Ford shot wild west outlaw Jesse James in the back of the head while James was straightening a picture hanging on the wall of his Missouri home on this day in 1882. However, rumors spread for decades that the man shot by Ford was not the real Jesse James, but the victim of an elaborate plot to allow Jesse James to escape into hiding. These rumors were so persistent that James' body was exhumed in 1995 for DNA testing, but it turned out that the body was actually Jesse James. That was not enough however for some so two other bodies were dug up for DNA testing. One was the body of a Kansas farmer who'd died in 1935; the other was that of Frank Dalton of Granbury, Texas, who claimed to be the true Jesse James until his death in 1951—which would have made him 103 years old.

There have been numerous portrayals of Jesse James in film and television, starting with the 1921 movie Jesse James Under the Black Flag starring Jesse James' son, all the way to the 2007 movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, played by Brad Pitt, with Casey Affleck as Bob Ford. The film is considered one of the most historically accurate portrayals of Jesse James and Robert Ford.

See also: Buffalo Bill & the American Wild West, 200 Books on DVDrom
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/buffalo-bill-american-wild-west-200.html