Background
Forrest Silva Tucker was born June 23, 1920 in Miami, Florida to Leroy Morgan Tucker (1890–1938) and Carmen Tucker (née Silva) (1898–1964).
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Forrest Tucker
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Career
He is best known as an escape artist, having escaped from prison 18 times successfully and 12 times unsuccessfully. A former inmate of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (from which he escaped), his most famous escape was in the summer of 1979 from San Quentin State Prison in California, when he and two confederates built a kayak and paddled away in full view of the guards. He was not apprehended for four years, during which he and a gang went on a crime spree.
Tucker"s crimes of choice were bank robberies and it is estimated he stole over 4 million dollars during his career.
Tucker wrote a number of books about his life including Alcatraz: The True Story and The Can Opener, although it is unclear if they were ever published. Tucker was profiled by David Grann in The New Yorker in 2003 in a piece titled "The Old Manitoba and the Gun" which describes Tucker"s most recent bank robbery.
He was finally caught in 2000 and sentenced to 13 years in jail, making him eligible for release in 2013. Tucker died in prison on May 29, 2004.
David Grann reported him to be imprisoned in Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth (now known as Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth).
In 2010, "The Old Manitoba and the Gun" was optioned by Anthony Mastromauro of Identity s with executive producer Stephanie Striegel.
