Acting
Mar 16, 1942
Chicago, Illinois, USA
John Wayne Gacy
Acting
Biography
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was a European-American serial killer and pederast who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown", personas he had devised. He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public services as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes. Gacy committed all of his murders inside his ranch house near Norridge, a village in Norwood Park Township, metropolitan Chicago, Illinois. Typically, he would lure a victim to his home and dupe him into donning handcuffs on the pretext of demonstrating a magic trick. He would then rape and torture his captive before killing him by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a garrote. Twenty-six victims were buried in the crawl space of his home, and three others were buried elsewhere on his property; four were discarded in the Des Plaines River. Gacy was convicted of the sodomy of a teenage boy in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1968 and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but served eighteen months. He murdered his first victim in 1972, had murdered twice more by the end of 1975, and murdered at least thirty subsequent victims after his divorce from his second wife in 1976. The investigation into the disappearance of Des Plaines teenager Robert Piest led to Gacy's arrest on December 21, 1978. His conviction for thirty-three murders (by one individual) then covered the most homicides in United States legal history. Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980. On death row at Menard Correctional Center, he spent much of his time painting. He was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
Feature Films (10)
Between 1998 and 2005, a wave of murders targeting elderly women hit Mexico City, triggering the hunt for — and capture — of a most unlikely suspect.
The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders
This documentary examines a selection of real life serial killers and compares them to the fictional Hannibal Lecter.
Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters
In 2011, Detective Sergeant Jason Moran from the Sheriff’s Department of Cook County Illinois, reopened the case of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, ‘The Killer Clown’ John Wayne Gacy. Although Gacy was convicted of 33 murders and killed by lethal injection in 1994, unbelievably, EIGHT of his victims remain unidentified. Today, 40 years after the discovery of the crawlspace under Gacy’s Chicago home, where he buried most of his victims, Detective Moran knows time is running out to identify the remaining unnamed victims of this sadistic killer.
Deadly Legacy
A documentary covering various serial killers including BTK, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam and more.
Serious Serial Killers
In this episode of Murderers,Mobsters & Madmen the notorious headlining crimes that took place in Hollywood that involved the famous and ordinary is told.
Murderers, Mobsters & Madmen Volume 1
In this volume of Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen, we look at the infamous and notorious mass murderers that plagued America in the 20th century and changed her forever. Featuring Ed Gein & John Wayne Gacy.
Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 3: The Ghouls
Television & Series (9)
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.
E! True Hollywood Story
Hosted by Bill Kurtis, American Justice looks at groundbreaking criminal cases, presenting viewers with an inside look at the case through the eyes of those directly involved, ranging from law enforcement officers to the victims.
American Justice
He dined with the powerful. He preyed on the vulnerable. Beneath a smiling exterior was the horrifying darkness of a sadistic serial killer.
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Born To Kill is a British true crime television series, made by Twofour Productions. Each episode is an in-depth look at the childhood, and formative years of serial killers., in an attempt to find out whether the individuals were born killers, or created by the environments they found themselves in.
