Accident Or Murder: The Suspicious Demise of Notorious Deadwood Pimp Al Swearengen

In November 1904, former pimp and saloon operator Al Swearengen was found dead on a Denver street. Though his death was ruled accidental, there is reason to suspect he may have been murdered

Depiction of Al Swearengen.

On HBO’s critically acclaimed series Deadwood, talented actor Ian McShane plays the role of Al Swearengen, proprietor of The Gem Saloon and antagonist to Seth Bullock, played by Timothy Olyphant. Both characters are based on real people. The show’s creators have stated that they attempted to make the character of Al more nuanced and sympathetic than the real man he was based on.

By most accounts, the real-life Al Swearengen was a vile, reprehensible man. He was a bully as well as a serial abuser of women. He was married and divorced three times, with all three wives claiming he was physically violent and emotionally abusive. This pattern of abuse towards women would continue when he became the owner of The Gem Theater in Deadwood.