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Ellis Alfred Swearengen (July 8, 1845 – November 15, 1904) was an American pimp and entertainment entrepreneur who ran the Gem Theater, a notorious brothel, in Deadwood, South Dakota, for 22 years during the late 19th century.
Gem Variety Theatre in Deadwood, South Dakota. Ellis Albert “Al” Swearingen and his twin brother Lemuel were born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on July 8, 1845, to Daniel J. and Keziah Montgomery Swearingen. The twins were the oldest of eight children and lived in Iowa until they were adults.
Albert "Al" Swearengen is one of the two protagonists of HBO's Deadwood as well as Deadwood: The Movie, along with Seth Bullock. He can also be considered as an antagonist, bordering on anti-hero for the series' first season.
Ellis Albert “Al” Swearengen was one of Deadwood’s most infamous and brutal citizens. He opened his “Gem Theater” in 1876 as one of the first entertainment venues in town. Swearengen lured desperate women from all around and then bullied and beat them into becoming his prostitutes.
Al Swearengen left Iowa around 1870 and settled in Deadwood with his first wife, Nettie, and his brother Winfield sometime afterward. By 1876 Swearengen had already separated from Nettie, who had accused him of abuse.
Nearly two months after fleeing Iowa, Al Swearengen was bludgeoned to death near his home in Denver. His body was found in a street. The notorious Deadwood figure died on November 15, 1904.
The man posing in his buggy outside the Gem saloon/theater/brothel in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in this circa 1878 photo is believed to be its ignominious owner, Al Swearingen. (Deadwood History, Inc.)
The real Al Swearengen was by all accounts, a brutal man and abuser who took advantage of desperate women and men. Early episodes of Deadwood don't shy away from this, showing Al beating Trixie, ordering the murders of multiple men and encouraging attacks on local Indigenous groups.
Al Swearengen was a notorious figure in the history of the American West, known for being a saloon owner and crime boss in the mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota.
In the first season, magnificent bastard Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) came off as a villain; this year, his inevitably doomed campaign to save the lawless town from annexation by the United States and exploitation by robber barons served as a brilliant allegory for the evolution of American capitalism."