1. Spade Cooley: The “Gentleman” Who Killed His Wife In A Boozed Up Blaze Of Passion

So sure, not many of us know of Spade Cooley now but back in the day, and we mean the good ole’ days of the 40s and the 50s, Spade was one cool western swinging musician, fiddler, singer, and actor. He came on TV, did concerts and shows and even did a few movies, and while Bob Wills was the Western swing king, Cooley had his own fan following too – especially because he looked a little like his friend, Roy Rogers. By the 60s Cooley-mania had waned a bit so he did what any man in a midlife crisis does: married a pretty young thing in her 20s, Ella Mae Evans, and then had three kids with her too.

Cooley drank like a fish and finally, Ella had had enough so she asked for a divorce. Meanwhile, Cooley got to know that his wife had managed to sneak in an affair with Roy Rogers and that blew his top. In 1961, sloshed and high on drugs, Spade went to Ella’s house and proceeded to beat her to death, while she was naked in the shower, and in front of their 14-year-old daughter – after which he put out a cigarette on her breast to see if she was dead. He was arrested and jailed, and released three months early in 1969 to perform at a special concert for the police, where he got a standing ovation and then went backstage, only to keel over and die. Fittingly ironic, as many would say.

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