Biography

Jennings was a real cowboy who gained notoriety in turn-of-the-century Oklahoma by robbing banks and trains. After being caught and imprisoned several times, he turned straight and journeyed to Hollywood to make movies, becoming not only an actor but also a producer.

Al's exploits as a would-be outlaw read like chapters from 'The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight'. His entire career lasted a mere 108 days, ending in his meek surrender. He saw one gunfight in which nobody died. The most comical event took place on October 1, 1897: Al, Frank, Little Dick West and the O'Malley Brothers stopped a southbound train eight miles from Minco, Oklahoma. Al tied several sticks of dynamite together and placed them alongside the safe in the baggage car. In a scene reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) (famous line: "Used enough dynamite there, boy?") Al explained to Frank that one needed lots of dynamite to "dent a big safe like that". Alas, the baggage car exploded in a hail of splinters and nothing remained of the safe, let alone any cash. The robbers had to content themselves with fleecing the passengers of assorted jewellery, even taking a pair of boots off a travelling salesman. In the end, Al's biggest haul from train robberies amounted to no more than $27 and a jug of whiskey.

In 1914, Al decided to run for the post of Governor of Oklahoma, declaring "If elected I promise to be honest for a year, if I can hold out for that long". His electoral defeat came as no surprise...

Al and his brothers Frank, Edward and John, were the sons of judge J.D.F. Jennings.

Al claimed to have killed eighteen men, shooting them in the throat, so they couldn't talk back. There is no record, however, of Al Jennings having ever killed anyone.