Historical Research & Writing History

n March, Michael Mann took Hollywood to small town Columbus, WI to began filming the story of John Dillinger.

The movie is based on Bryan Burrough's book, Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933 – 34. The cast includes:

• Johnny Depp as John Dillinger
• Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd
• Stephen Graham as Baby Face Nelson
• Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette
• Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent determined to get Dillinger
  

The book was published in 2004 and made the New York Times bestseller list.

For further info click on Public Enemies.

It is not unusual to google Evelyn Billie Frechette and come up with references to Michael Mann’s movie, Public Enemies. Since Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard (playing Frechette), Christian Bale hit the streets of Wisconsin the story of Dillinger and “his” girl have become a hot topic. But who was Evelyn “Billie” Frechette?

The Early Years

Frechette was born in September 15, 1907. Her mother was from the Menominee tribe and her father was French. They lived on the Menominee Indian Reservation. When she was thirteen, she moved to Flandreau, South Dakota to attend a Native American Boarding School.

At the age of eighteen, Ms. Frechette moved to Chicago, Illinois where she worked as a nursemaid and as a waitress. She later married Welton Spark who in 1933 went to prison for stealing mail.

Meeting Dillinger

In August of 1934, Evelyn wrote an article for The Chicago Herald and Examiner about her relationship with John Dillinger. She begins her story by saying, “The one big thing that happened to me was that I fell in love with John Dillinger.”

She met Dillinger in 1933 at the Steuben Club, a safe haven for Al Capone cronies and other gangsters hiding away from the law. His eyes caught her attention. She said, “There was something in those eyes that I will never forget. They were piercing and electric, yet there was an amused carefree twinkle in them too.” Frechette went on to say Dillinger was good to her. He bought her gifts such as jewelry, cars, and pets. He treated her like a lady.

According to a PBS documentary, Ms. Frechette only once drove the getaway car for Dillinger because of a wounded leg and that was after the FBI learned where their apartment was.

Evelyn Billie Frechette is Arrested

Dillinger was placed in the Crown Point Jail after being arrested for shooting Officer William O’Malley; a few days later, Dillinger escaped by using a wooden gun. He met up with his girl and together they traveled, spent money, and rested at the Dillinger family farm. On Sunday, April 8, 1934, Billie and John Dillinger left the farm and headed to Chicago.

On April 9, Billie and Dillinger stopped in front of the *Tumble Inn. Billie got out of the car and went inside to talk with Larry Strong, a friend of hers, about where to stay in Chicago. Little did she know that Melvin Purvis would be in the bar waiting for her. Outside the detectives waited for Purvis to motion them to come inside the bar. They did not recognize Dillinger as he sat in the car and watched his girl come out of the Tumble Inn in handcuffs. As he slowly drove away from the scene, he cried. No other woman affected him the way Frechette did.

Frechette mocked Purvis and his men by telling them they missed capturing Dillinger. She told Purvis that Dillinger was with her in the bar and they did not even know it. Purvis shook the comment off, but realized Dillinger was the man sitting in the car outside the Tumble Inn.

Purvis interrogated Frechette from the time of her arrest into the next morning. Finally, Mrs. Rogers, Purvis’ secretary, took pity on Frechette and persuaded Purvis to allow her to take Frechette to the ladies’ room and to get some sleep. Hesitantly Purvis agrees.  

Dillinger Wants to Rescue His Girl

Louis Piquett, Dillinger’s attorney, represented Billie, but to no avail, he lost the case.  Apparently, representing someone who is on trial for harboring a criminal did not interest him. Billie was sentenced to two years in a Michigan federal prison.

Dillinger became enraged with the way “the system” treated Frechette. He learned the detectives refused her food, water, and beat her during the interrogation. He vowed to kill Harold H. Reinecke, the man in charge of her interrogation. Piquett threatened to resign as his attorney if Dillinger killed anyone, so Dillinger relinquished his idea.

John Dillinger wanted to free Billie from prison. In a letter Frechette wrote to Dillinger she begged him to not try and free her out of fear of his being killed. Still, Dillinger traveled to Milan, Michigan to where the prison was located. After realizing the prison was a fortress he gave up the idea of rescuing her. Agents from the United States federal government later killed Dillinger outside the Biograph Theatre.

After Prison

Evelyn Billie Frechette was released from prison in 1936. She joined Dillinger family members and traveled the United States promoting “Crime Doesn’t Pay”. She went on to marry Wally Wilson. The marriage ended in divorce. She later married Arthur Tic. She died of cancer on January 13, 1969 and buried at the Neopit Cemetery in Neopit, Wisconsin.

I want to thank Mikki at the Shawano Public Library in Shawano, WI for getting Ms. Frechette’s obituary notice to me on such short notice. I also want to thank Ellen Poulsen who graciously returned my phone call and answered my questions.E

Edited June 20, 2008 ~ As I continued doing research on Evelyn Frechette I learned that the Tumble Inn was located on the corner of Austin-State Tavern. This explains Ms. Poulsen's reference and Mr. Helmers reference to the Austin-State Tavern.

Edited June 12, 2008 ~ In further research I learned that Evelyn was actually arrested at the Austin-State Tavern, was located at the time 416 N. State Street. You can see a picture of the Tavern's location check out Ellen Poulsen's website. I want to thank Olivia at the Chicago Historical Society for helping with clarifying the name of the tavern. The tavern's name is also referred to in Dillinger: the Untold Story, by G. Russell Girardin & William J. Helmer.

Click here to see Evelyn's Obituary

Sources:

Burrough, Bryan. Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-1934. New York: Penguin Books, 2004.

Poulsen, Ellen. Don’t Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang. New York, Clinton Cook Publishing Corp., 2002

Purvis, Alston. FBI Hero Melvin Purvis's War Against Crime, And J. Edgar Hoover's War Against Him. New York, 2005

The FBI History Files

PBS American Experience: Public Enemy #1: John Dillinger’s Girl

Ancestry.com