Stroud arrived on Alcatraz on December 19, 1942, and would now be known as AZ-594. He bypassed quarantine and was immediately taken to the Treatment Unit with all of his accustomed privileges revoked. There would be no birds on Alcatraz and no special visitors. The press would be left with only rumors about the famous prisoner. Stroud was assigned to Cell #41 in D Block, located at the far end of the uppermost tier. His cell on Alcatraz was considerably smaller than the one at Leavenworth and his privileges were the same as those permitted to his fellow inmates, with the one exception that he was allowed to finish his manuscript on bird diseases. This change was a tough adjustment for Stroud and he spent the majority of his time proofing the manuscript for his next book. Following his Alcatraz arrival, staff members at Leavenworth reported that they had found numerous contraband articles, including a still to make alcohol and various crudely fashioned knives – all carefully hidden within hollowed sections of his worktables.
LIST OF PERSONAL BOOKS OF ROBERT STROUD #594-AZ STORED IN “A” BLOCK. April of 1959
Atlas of Avian Anatomy – Chamberlain-
Stroud’s Digest of the Diseases of Birds – Stroud.
Annual Review of Biochemistry – Vol. VIII 1939, Vol. I 1940, Vol. I 1941, Vol. III 1943, Vol. IIII 1944, Vol. XIV 1945, Vol. IV 1946.
Handbook of Hematology, Vols. I, II, III, IV.
Textbook of Biochemistry, 3rd Edition by Harrow.
Yearbook of Agriculture for 1936 and Vol. For 1943.
Annual Review of Physiology: Vol. I, 1939; Vol. II, 1940; Vol. III; 1 941;Vol. IV, 1942; Vol. V, 1943, Vol. IV, 1944; Vol. VII, 1947; Vol. VIII, 1946; Vol. II, 1945.
Fundamental Principles of Bacteriology – Snell
Gould’s Medical Dictionary, 4th Edition.
Diseases of Poultry – Giester, 1944
Perspectives of Biochemistry – Cambridge, 1937.
United States Dispensatory, 24th Edition.
Veterinary Medicine (Paperbacks) 19 copies.
Symposia in Quantitive Biology – Gold Springs Bio. Laboratories, 1942
Practical Methods in Biochemistry – Cambridge, 1937.
Biology of Bacteria – Henrici, 1939.
United States Code, Title #8 and Title 9 in one Vol.
United States Code, Title #18 (Paper).
15 Pamphlets University Articles on Birds & Bird Diseases.
Approximately 50 lbs of personal and legal writings in Bores 8½ inches X 14".
1 Box Legal Papers.
1 Bundle Personal Correspondence.
1 Box Business Correspondence.
University Courses in Bacteriology, Part 1 & 2.
1 Box Containing Manuscript to “The Seeds of Destruction” – 30 Individually Bound Chapters.
1 Box Containing Manuscript of “The Mulberry Bush”, 28 Individually Bound Chapters.
1 Box Containing Manuscript of “The Band Wagon”, 22 Bound Chapters.
1 Box of Personal Childhood Biography.
1 Box Containing Manuscript of “The Voice from The Grave” – 18 Bound Chapters.
2 Boxes of Original Manuscripts of “The Voice from The Grave” and “The Band Wagon.”
In late 1943 with the approval of the Bureau and with his brother Marcus acting as his agent, Stroud self-published the 500-page reference entitled Stroud’s Digest on the Diseases of Birds. Marcus had run advertisements in various bird hobby magazines, lobbying for advance orders. His efforts had proved successful and he had thus acquired enough funds to publish the treatise to mostly favorable reviews. Though this book was written using scientific terms and carefully indexed as an informational reference, it also served indirectly as a platform to communicate Stroud’s personal opinions, which were sometimes overtly arrogant. In the introduction he attacked E.J. Powell, the publisher of his first book, by stating in part, “... my former work, DISEASES OF CANARIES, was hastily executed and badly garbled in the hands of the publisher....” In this book he also contributed to his own image as a gentle bird doctor. In an interesting chapter discussing post-mortem examinations, Stroud wrote:
Years of work, of study, of careful observation; the lives of literally thousands of birds, the disappointments and heartbreaks of hundreds of blasted hopes have gone through these pages; almost every line, every word, is spattered with sweat and blood. For every truth I have outlined to you, I have blundered my way through a hundred errors. I have killed birds when it was almost as hard as killing one’s own children. I have had birds die in my hand when their death brought me greater sadness than that I have ever felt over the passing of a member of my own species. And I have dedicated all this to the proposition that fewer birds shall suffer and die because their diseases are not understood.
The book itself created significant controversy within avian circles. Although it is widely debated whether his remedies were actually effective, he was still able to make scientific observations that would later advance research for the avian species. It is likely that his exhaustive observations were of more benefit to other practitioners with formal training in avian medicine than his remedy theories would ever be. Nevertheless, many considered him to be a pioneer in his own right.
Not long after the release of this book, the public lost interest in Stroud and his homespun campaigns. He would now spend the majority of his time on Alcatraz studying and learning several languages, including Italian and French. He was also honing his interest in criminal law. He began work on another manuscript, which would be a 200,000 word analytic history of the federal prison system. This manuscript became a new obsession for Stroud. He would spend years carefully printing his opus onto legal writing pads. The work was a lengthy manifesto that was highly critical of the prison system of the time and it presented biased theories on penology.
Stroud also spent time playing chess with neighboring inmates and boasting extensively about his endeavors while imprisoned at Leavenworth. Prison reports at Alcatraz continued to describe him as a troublemaker. In one report that required multiple-choice responses, the following items were noted regarding Stroud:
Interest and application:... Very lazy and avoids work
Ability as worker:... Poor
Attitude:... Resistant / Obstructive
Disposition:... Defiant / Agitator
In May of 1946, the bloodiest and most significant escape attempt ever to occur on Alcatraz left five men dead and several others severely injured. In the course of this explosive event, Stroud would further etch his name in the history of the island prison, as he negotiated with Lieutenant Philip Bergen (who was barricaded in the West Gun Gallery) to help bring an end to the cellhouse barrage of grenades and gunfire. Stroud also would donate several hundred dollars to the defense of the inmates who stood trial for the murder of a correctional officer during the escape attempt. Many believed that this was yet another way in which Stroud communicated his rebellious attitude toward the administration.
In August of 1948, Stroud helped to instigate a hunger strike with fellow D-Block inmates which didn’t sit well with prison officials. As a result, Warden Swope, who had the reputation of being a tough disciplinarian, ordered Stroud to be moved into a permanent deep lockdown status inside the prison hospital. Once again, without receiving any notice or explanation, Stroud was walked through the cellblock and up the stairs leading from the mess hall to a new cell.
Stroud’s wardroom cell in the Alcatraz Hospital Wing. Initially Stroud was forced to use a bedpan to relieve himself, until his attorneys successfully lobbied the Bureau of Prisons to install a toilet. Stroud spent eleven years locked down in this cell with only one visit to the recreation yard per week, usually by himself.
Stroud’s cell as it appears today. Little has changed from the days when he occupied this cell.
His new cell was spacious, as it had originally been designed as a hospital wardroom to accommodate up to four patients. The room was painted a hospital style green, typical of the 30’s and 40’s. It contained little more than a sink, two beds,
a steel utility cabinet for storage and a hard metal-framed chair. For the first eight years there was no toilet, and Stroud was forced to use a bedpan designed for non-ambulatory patients, except on the occasions when he was permitted to leave his cell under escort to use neighboring facilities. The only benefit in these new accommodations was that the room had a window facing the Golden Gate Bridge and it was also the only single-inmate cell with running hot water.
Stroud would spend his years there in strict isolation, with only an occasional opportunity to speak with an inmate when his outer door was left open during sick call. His primary link to the outside world was from a sometimes-yielding officer who would consent to a game of chess or checkers and would endure his longwinded stories and perverse opinions. Former correctional officer George DeVincenzi, who served at Alcatraz from 1950 until 1959, was assigned to the hospital ward for several years. George recalled that playing board games and interacting with inmates on a recreational level was firmly prohibited by the administration.
“I could only play a game of checkers with Stroud if the West Gun Gallery Officer was a friend of mine. The gallery officer frequently peered through the port window located at the end of the hallway in the Hospital Ward to ensure I was okay. If the officer was a friend, I could sit at the front of Stroud’s cell and play through the bars. It helped pass the time for both of us...”
Stroud spent his time in isolation absorbed in his manuscript, and in later years he began exhibiting signs of unusual behavior. During his weekly bathing periods, Stroud would shave all of his body hair, including his face, hands and fingers. He was still considered dangerous by the correctional staff and no one let down their guard with him. Lieutenant Bergen would later comment during an interview, “I can’t say I wasn’t afraid of Stroud... We all used caution; knowing his capabilities.” Fellow prisoner Jim Quillen stated that he frequently conversed with Stroud when passing by his cell during the course of his duties as an X-Ray technician, a prestigious job assignment for an inmate. “His outer door was usually open and he would be standing there like an excited dog, anxious to talk with anyone who walked by.” A memo addressed to correctional officers on December 20, 1948 sought to end Stroud’s freedom to communicate with other inmates. It also implied that on various occasions he was found outside his cell wandering the corridor and talking with other inmates:
From time to time it has been noticed that Stroud is permitted to be out of his assigned quarters when other inmates are in the hospital for outpatient treatment. It has also been noticed that he has been able to carry on a conversation with other inmates. It is of course necessary to administer to him as prescribed by the Medical Department, out treatments, baths, taking care of toilet needs or for any other reason it may be necessary to take him from his quarters is to be done when there is no traffic in the Hospital. Under no circumstances is he to be taken from his quarters when an inmate from “D” Block is in the Hospital for outpatient treatment. He is not to be permitted to carry on conversations with other inmates, and when he is out of his quarters he is to be under constant surveillance by a custodial officer.
Signed,
R.H. Tahash
Captain
Stroud was also allowed fewer yard privileges than were allotted to the general population at Alcatraz and his walks to the recreation yard were usually carried out when no other inmates were in the area.
Officer reports typically portrayed Stroud as a difficult inmate to manage, even while in segregation. One example was a disciplinary report written on June 19, 1951. The report submitted by Officer Robert Griffiths to Warden Swope and Associate Warden Madigan reads as follows:
Violation: INSOLENCE-DISBURBANCE, Under instructions from the Eve. Watch Lieutenant E.F. Stucker, I told the above inmate that I was putting out his light after his treatment was completed. I put out his bright light and he leaped out of bed and switched it on again. I told him not to do it again and switched off the light. He again turned it on, saying, “He didn’t give a fuck what Stucker said, the light stays on until midnight.”
In 1955, when Robert Stroud had been in prison for over forty years, and had been all but forgotten by the outside world, Thomas E. Gaddis created one of the most intriguing human tales of the 20th Century – the grim story of the Birdman of Alcatraz.
Working from an improvised office inside his small garage, Thomas E. Gaddis penned a book that would become an American Classic – Birdman of Alcatraz. Stroud was never permitted to read his own biography or to see the motion picture, for which lead actor Burt Lancaster was nominated for an Academy Award.
Gaddis had left his job as a teacher and probation officer in Los Angeles to chronicle Stroud’s amazing life. He had become intrigued by Stroud’s story and located Marcus in 1950. Marcus ultimately agreed to the idea of a book about his brother’s life story. Gaddis acquired hundreds of letters from Stroud’s correspondence, and conducted hours-upon-hours of interviews with Marcus, extracting every possible detail. While the book relied heavily on second and third-hand information to reconstruct Stroud’s side of the story, it appeared to be tangled with a plethora of fact based material, or at least from Stroud’s perspective.
In 1951, still early on in his research for the book, Gaddis wrote an article about Stroud for Cosmopolitan Magazine. The article helped to finance his project and once again, public interest started to drift toward Stroud. Working from a manual typewriter in an improvised office in his garage, Gaddis knitted together a classic American tale that would capture the attention of a nation. Gaddis’s book, Birdman of Alcatraz, was published in 1955 and became an instant success. It also launched a national crusade for the prisoner’s release. The public wrote thousands of letters to the President of the United States and the Attorney General, denouncing what they termed “the government’s cruel punishment” of Stroud and demanded his release. But despite this exhaustive crusade, the Bureau of Prisons was unyielding and Stroud remained in isolation.
Even more interesting was the fact that Stroud himself was restricted from reading his own biography. The strict policy of Alcatraz prohibited inmates from reading materials that referenced any crime-related activities. Morton Sobell, known as the famous “Atom Spy” and co-defendant of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, resided on Alcatraz for five years. He later recounted that he was the only inmate on Alcatraz who received the magazine Scientific American and that an article featuring Stroud slipped through the censors in September of 1957. Sobell managed to have the article smuggled to Stroud up in the hospital ward, and this would be one of the first printed biographies he would read on the subject of his own life. Jim Quillen also stated that while he wasn’t certain, he had heard that individual pages of the Gaddis book had been slipped to Stroud over a period of several years.
The years of seclusion ultimately took their toll on Stroud and he attempted suicide twice. His physical health also started to deteriorate visibly. He suffered lengthy bouts of depression, and there were rumors of his failure to thrive. On July 13, 1959, while being escorted to the recreation yard, Stroud was stopped and notified that he was being transferred once again, and was directed back to his cell. After spending seventeen difficult years on Alcatraz, Stroud was to be moved to the Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri. He would arrive there on July 15th.
Stroud was euphoric with his new environment in Springfield. In a brief letter to his attorney Stanley Furman, he wrote in part:
“I have already been told that I have the run of my ward, have met old friends, one going back to 1913, and have seen my first TV. I have twice as much space to walk as I had in the yard at Alcatraz. I am out in the ward up to 10:00 p.m. and I have a night call button in case of illness.”
In addition to being moved to a low security area of the medical prison, he was also given a private room in which he could open and close his own door. He was able to walk the vast grounds of the prison and spend time basking in the sun, which he had not been allowed to do since the beginning of
his imprisonment fifty years ago in 1909. In addition to seeing his first television set, he was also able to listen to radio broadcasts freely. Stroud took employment as a bookbinder in the prison library and then as a tanner in the leather shop. Phyllis Gaddis, the daughter of the famed writer, later wrote that Stroud had made her a hand-tooled purse with his initials stamped on the face when she was a young girl.
A fellow inmate named Joseph Duhamel also took a keen interest in Stroud’s tale. He spent two years with Stroud helping to document his story In His Own Words for a magazine article that would later appear in Saga Magazine. The article was so popular that the issue quickly sold out and became the magazine’s only second print run in its history. To avoid detection by prison officials, Duhamel claimed that he purchased a World Almanac, and each day he would write notes while Stroud dictated to him in the prison yard at Springfield. Duhamel stated that he used oxalic acid, a chemical employed to treat leather, as a type of invisible ink. The agent would become visible with the application of heat from a clothing iron. Duhamel published the article following his release from prison.
In 1958, 20th Century Fox entertained the idea of making a movie chronicling Stroud’s life, but later dropped the project under pressure from the Prison Bureau. Actor Burt Lancaster had reportedly become immersed in Gaddis’ book and he lobbied United Artists to join forces with his own production company, Norma Productions (named after his second wife Norma Anderson), to make what he considered a very important film. United Artists finally agreed and provided a budget of $2,650,000, with shooting to begin in late 1960. Lancaster would soon become obsessed with the project and he eagerly assembled his film-making team. This team included Cameraman Burnett Guffer (From Here to Eternity), who helped to create a cinematographic tone that seemed to capture the essence of Stroud’s dark world. The film’s producers, Stuart Millar and Guy Trosper, who had also adapted the screenplay, spent nearly $200,000 of their budget building mock sets of Leavenworth and Alcatraz on Columbia Pictures’ back lot in Hollywood.
Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years Page 21