The Resume

(July 8, 1845-1899)
Birth name is Ellis Alfred Swearengen
(Owner of the Gem Saloon in Deadwood, SD (1877-1899)
Portrayed by Ian McShane on HBO's ‘Deadwood'

Why he might be annoying:

He married three times.
Each marriage ended after he beat his wife.
He had prospectors fight each other in what he called ‘prize fights,' but no prizes were awarded.
He would bring young girls to Deadwood, promising them a new life, only to force them into prostitution.
He was extremely brutal to the women that worked for him.
He bribed officials to look the other way.
If bribery didn't work, he simply had them killed.
He dealt in opium.
When his saloon burned down the second time in 1899, he called it quits and left town.
He was killed trying to get on a train in Colorado.
He died a penniless drunk.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was the consummate showman and brought in entertainers from New York and Cheyenne.
His Gem Saloon was Deadwood's chief attraction.
Sometimes he brought in $5,000 - $10,000 a night (in the late 1800's).
He provided the prospectors with entertainment.
When the original Gem burned down in 1879, he rebuilt it bigger than ever.
The local newspaper said of The Gem: ‘neat and tastefully arranged as any place of its kind in the west.'
He gave work to Black people at a time when that wasn't exactly cool.

Credit: Bart McQueary

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Bart McQueary's Profiles
• Criminals
• I am an Iowan
• Known By a Middle Name
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught with Alcohol
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• Mustaches
• Pimps and Madames
• Profiles 16501-16750 (Ranked: 16648)
• Short Fuses
• Sourpuss Faces
• Twins
• Whores and Johns
• Wife Beaters and Alleged Domestic Abusers
• Wild West

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 19 Votes: 36.84% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 60 Votes: 63.33% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 21 Votes: 61.90% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 54 Votes: 68.52% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 54 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 56 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 144 Votes: 74.31% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 770 Votes: 43.77% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 82 Votes: 79.27% Annoying