Arthur Barker

Barker was born in Aurora, Missouri, the son of George Elias Barker and Arizona "Ma" Barker (née Clark). Circa 1910, the family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Through the 1920s and 1930s, Barker, with his brothers Herman, Lloyd and Fred, committed numerous crimes such as theft, robbery and murder. On July 18, 1918, Barker was arrested for stealing a car on the highway and was sent to serve prison time in Joplin, Missouri. On February 19, 1920, he escaped from Joplin prison. Using the pseudonym "Claude Dade", Barker was involved in robberies in Oklahoma. He was arrested and imprisoned at Oklahoma State Penitentiary under the name "Bob Barker" from January to June 1921. On August 25, 1921, Barker and three other men robbed a woman at a hospital construction site in Tulsa. The three men were surprised by the night watchman, Thomas Sherill. When Sherill saw them he opened fire. Sherill was fatally shot when two of the men shot at him while fleeing the scene. After Sherill's family hired a private investigator, Barker and another man, Volney "Curley" Davis, who worked at the construction site and was friendly with the Barker family, were arrested for Sherill's murder. On January 14, 1922, Barker was convicted of Sherill's murder and sentenced to a life term at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Barker appealed the conviction and always maintained his innocence of this crime. He was paroled ten years later, on September 10, 1932. ==Reunion with the Barker Gang==

After his release, Barker joined up with his brother Fred and Karpis. By this time, Barker was described as a morose, heavy drinking man and a "stone eyed" killer. However, it was Barker who made a slip-up that led to the gang's capture. Having collected the ransom for Bremer, Barker was driving the captive to a drop-off point. Along the way he stopped to refuel from a gas can, and removed a glove while doing so. The discarded can was recovered and Barker's fingerprint was identified. ==Arrest==

Unaware that police had identified them in Hamm and Bremer's kidnapping, the Barker–Karpis gang attempted to launder the money they had extorted, convinced (correctly) that the FBI had recorded the serial numbers. They briefly relocated to Cuba, then moved to Florida, where they rented a house near Lake Weir. Barker devised a plan for a new robbery, but other members of the gang rejected the idea, believing that they should keep a low profile. Bored, Barker left for Chicago. While in Chicago, Barker met Byron Bolton, a former associate of Fred Goetz. On January 8, 1935, Barker was identified and was arrested in the street by FBI agents. When asked "Where's your gun?"; Barker replied, "Home—and ain't that a hell of a place for it?". He was interviewed by Melvin Purvis, who later wrote, "he sat in a chair, jaw clenched, looking straight ahead. He was not impressive-looking. Only his eyes told the story of an innate savagery". Nevertheless, Barker was convicted of the kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison. ==Imprisonment and death==

Along with Alvin Karpis, Arthur Barker was sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary to serve his life term. Barker was recaptured, dying shortly afterwards from his wounds. Stamphill, Young and McCain were also recaptured and sent to solitary confinement. Stamphill later claimed the associate warden gave instructions that if Doc moved at all the guards were to shoot him in the head. Doc was in considerable pain and reached for his wounded leg and was then shot. Once in the infirmary, the doctors attempted to give him a blood transfusion. He yanked the tubes out of his arm. Arthur Barker is buried in Olivet Memorial Park, Colma, California. ==Media==

• The central character of Arthur "Cody" Jarrett, played by James Cagney in the classic 1949 gangster film White Heat is said to be based on Doc Barker. • In the 1957 docudrama ''Guns Don't Argue'', Arthur Barker is played by Lash LaRue • Barker is portrayed by Peter Baldwin in "Ma Barker and Her Boys", an episode of 1959 TV series The Untouchables, which pits Federal Agent Eliot Ness against the Barker clan, and fictionally depicts Ness as leading the assault on Ma Barker and her sons at their Florida hide-out. In this version, Lloyd, Fred and Doc are all present at the final shootout. Arthur Barker is portrayed as Ma's "favorite son", but towards the end, he's the only son who tries to get away from his mother's malign influence to live a normal life with his girlfriend (in an ironic line, his girlfriend refers to his attempted escape from his mother with the words "he's breaking out of Alcatraz"). In this version he is the only one who survives in the end. • Ron Foster portrayed Barker in ''Ma Barker's Killer Brood'' (1960). He has a fictional affair with Lou, the lover of Machine Gun Kelly. • In Bloody Mama (1970) he is portrayed by Clint Kimbrough. In this version he is killed in the same gunfight in which his mother and brother Fred died. • In Public Enemies (1996) he is portrayed by James Marsden. • Barker's escape attempt from Alcatraz is depicted in the 1995 film Murder in the First, starring Kevin Bacon as co-escapee Henri Young. Barker is played by Michael Melvin. • Jonas Daniel Alexander was cast as Barker in a Dollar Baby short film adaptation of Stephen King's “The Death of Jack Hamilton” in 2012. The film was not released. ==See also==