Take the Money and Run

On December 1, 1935,

Mrs. Williams Starkwell,

a wife of a New Jersey handyman

gives birth to her first

and only child.

It is a boy,

and they name it Virgil.

He is an exceptionally cute baby,

with a sweet disposition.

Before he is 25 years old,

he will be wanted

by police in six states,

for assault, armed robbery,

and illegal possession of a wart.

Growing up

in a slum neighborhood...

where the crime rate is amongst

the highest in the nation is not easy.

Particularly for Virgil, who is a small

and frail compared to the other children.

Virgil Starkwell attends this school,

where he scores well on an IQ test,

although his behavior

disturbs the teachers.

We interviewed Mrs. Dorthy Lowry,

a school teacher who remembers Virgil.

I remember one time,

he stole a fountain pen.

I didn't want to embarrass him.

So, you know teachers

have a way of doing things.

And so I said to the class.

We will all close our eyes,

and will the one who took the pen,

please return it.

Well, while our eyes were closed,

he returned the pen.

But he took the opportunity

of feeling all the girls!

Can I say feel?

Spending most of his time

on the streets,

Virgil takes to crime at an early age.

He is an immediate failure.

Barely manages to escape with

a gumball machine stuck on his hand.

With both parents working

to make ends meet,

Virgil becomes closest

to his grandfather.

A 60-year-old German immigrant

who takes the boy to movies

and baseball games.

Then tragedy strikes.

At a Washington Senator's game,

Virgil's grandfather is struck

in the head by a foul ball.

The blow causes permanent injury

to his mind.

And he becomes convinced

he is Kyzer Willhelm.

Here are rare photos of him with other

patients on the sanitarium grounds.

When he is 15 years old, amidst

the violence and poverty of the slums,

Virgil receives a cello as a gift.

He is fascinated by the instrument.

And for the first time in the

Starkwell house, music is heard.

We spoke to Mr. Torgman,

his first and only cello teacher.

Well, there isn't really much tell,

because...

uh... because his cello playing

is just terrible.

He would a... He had no idea

about tone production.

He would just saw it

back and forth.

Just scratch the instrument,

to such a point

that it would drive everyone who

listening to it an absolutely insane.

He had no conception

of the instrument.

He was blowing into it.

He loved his cello.

And I think he stole to pay

for his lessons.

But he would not apply

himself one iota.

Virgil steals to pay for

cello lessons.

And although he does not achieve

greatness on the instrument,

he is soon good enough

to play in a local band.

A jungle however is no place

for a cellist.

And Virgil soon learns

the facts of life.

At 18, Virgil is lonely and confused.

Unable to concentrate in school,

he has long since dropped out.

He wants nothing more than to belong,

if only to a street gang.

It is here he thinks

he will prove his manhood.

Under constant economic pressure,

Virgil turns to the local pool hall

as a means of making a living.

I'm going to be a pool hustler,

he tells his friends.

Ball please.

Thanks.

Virgil tries to join the navy,

but is psychologically unfit.

That looks to me like two elephants

making love to a man's glee club.

Mr. T. S. Foster, Virgil's first probation

officer remembers him vividly.

He was a trustworthy kind of person.

I mean, you had to remember

certain idiosyncrasies that he had.

Like what?

Well, uh... like not always

telling the truth.

He didn't always tell the truth.

Sometimes, uh,

he'd exaggerate at the truth.

Sometimes, he, uh... you know,

just plain lies.

He does have a criminal record.

Yes, but that doesn't mean

the boy was all bad.

Unable to fit in with any aspect

of his environment,

Virgil strikes out on his own.

In an effort to shed some light

on this period of his life,

we spoke with his father and mother.

They are ashamed of their son's

criminal record and so wear disguises.

He was a good boy.

Oh, come on.

If he was a good boy,

why are we wearing these?

He's rotten!

He's a gangster, that's what he is.

Oh! How can you say that!

He was so bright.

- And he loved music.

- And he was an atheist.

I tried to beat God into him.

But he was too tough.

He was trying to get away

from us and be independent

and make his own life

and be a human being on his own.

You are a very dominating person.

- What?!

- You are!

And he was trying to find himself.

Ok, look, I'll talk to you later

about the whole thing.

Vowing he will never serve

his full term.

Virgil plans an elaborate escape using

a bar of soap and some shoe polish.

Guard, guard!

Yeah?

You've got to take me

to the infirmary!

- What's the matter?

- Don't ask!

Virgil's attempt to escape

is dealt with harshly.

His sentence is extended

in an additional two years.

1956 is a happy, go-lucky year

for most people.

Virgil sees none of it

from his tiny cell.

He marks time by reading.

Until one day,

a new opportunity arises.

We need volunteers

for an experiment.

The doctors want someone

to be inoculated with a new vaccine.

It has never been tried on

humans before,

so we do not know what

the side effects may be.

To be honest,

you'll be taking a chance.

As a reward, there's a parole.

I'm sure there are some among you

brave enough to take the risk.

With parole as inducement,

Virgil submits to the vaccine test.

It is a success,

except for one temporary side effect.

For several hours,

he is turned into a rabbi.

And so the reason we celebrate the

Passover holidays is by eating Matzo,

is to commemorate

the time that Moses

led the children of Israel from Egypt.

He has so many good points.

Yeah, yeah... name.

He had all sorts of

mechanical abilities.

He was artistic.

You remember the painting

he did for you on your birthday?

He's a no good atheist,

that's what he is.

I tried to teach him about God.

Would he listen? No!

Virgil leaves prison apprehensive.

But with some hope that

he can began a new life.

Instead he finds the world

difficult to cope with.

Ashamed to go home, he rents

a cheap room in a strange city.

Desperate and broke, Virgil tries

to support himself with small crimes.

Here he attempts to rob

a local pet shop.

I hope you haven't been watching me,

I'm not very good.

Uh, I was strolling down here

just now and noticed that

you were drawing something

and I'd a...

- You can look at it, if you want.

- Can I?

Though it's not very good.

Oh, I wouldn't say that.

I think that's... that's wonderful.

- I uh... uh...

- It's not very good.

Well, I think that's very good, actually.

I think you can probably make cash.

- Are you an artist?

- No, of course not. I'm not an artist.

No? Well, what do you do?

- I'm a laundress.

- Laundress?

- Laundry?

- Yeah. I wash clothes, in Maryland.

That's great!

No it isn't. I like it,

but it's not particularly interesting.

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