James Kelly, better known as "Shanghai" Kelly. American crimp of the 19th century who kidnapped men and forced them to work on ships. The terms "crimping" and "shanghaiing" are used to describe this type of work. A legendary figure in San Francisco history, Kelly was known for supplying or shanghaiing men to understaffed ships.
Kelly kept a boarding house in San Francisco. He also ran a number of bars and a saloon. These businesses provided Kelly with a steady supply of victims.
In the early 1870s, Kelly was reported to have shanghaied 100 men for three understaffed ships in a single evening.
Actor Robert Taylor played Kelly in the 1967 episode "Shanghai Kelly's Birthday Party" of the syndicated television series Death Valley Days, which Taylor also hosted.
The Irish music band Gaelic Storm released a song about Kelly, entitled "Shanghai Kelly", on the 2017 album Go Climb a Tree.
- "Kelly wore a red beard and had a fiery temper to match." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kelly_(crimper)
- "Shanghai Kelly was a dumpy little man. He had a mass of riotous red hair, and a huge red beard. He had fury written all over his ugly face." https://www.realsanfranciscotours.com/crime-seen-san-franciscos-barbary-coast/
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