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What happened to real-life saloon owner Al Swearengen, famously portrayed in HBO’s Deadwood?

by | Jun 13, 2012 | Inside History

                      What happened to real-life saloon owner Al Swearengen, famously portrayed in HBO’s Deadwood? Johnny “Arizona” Crawley Salem, Oregon Al Swearengen was a pretty unsavory character with few redeeming qualities. Born in Iowa in 1845, he showed up in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876. He opened the Gem Variety Theatre the next year, which featured entertainment, female compani


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