18. The strange life of Albert Francis Brown
Born in December 1914, the man who lived most of his life as Albert Brown was called Sonny by his father, Alphonse. Alphonse had money, power, and prestige in Chicago, New York, and Miami. He sent his son to the best schools available, among them Saint Patrick’s High School in Miami. There, Sonny befriended a young Cuban expatriate by the name of Desiderio Alberto Arnaz, who later gained lasting fame as Desi Arnaz. Sonny attended the University of Notre Dame, but eventually completed his studies and obtained his degree at the University of Miami. Sonny maintained a simple life after completing his schooling. He worked selling used cars until he learned of his employer manipulating odometer readings on his vehicles. His father died in 1947. Sonny remained close to his mother, including going into a restaurant business together.
In 1959 his old friend Desi Arnaz produced a new television series. Starring Robert Stack, the program was a highly fictionalized account of Elliott Ness and his squad of agents in the pursuit of Al Capone in 1930s Chicago. Called The Untouchables, the program was an immediate and major hit. It drew heavy criticism from Italian-American organizations and celebrities, among them Frank Sinatra, condemning its stereotyping of Italians as gangsters and criminals. Sonny personally called his former schoolmate, Desi Arnaz, though his complaints were of a personal nature. Both Sonny and his mother expressed their displeasure at the depiction of Al Capone on the program. Sonny should know, he was Al Capone’s only legitimate son, a fact of which his friend Desi was well aware. For most of his life Sonny distanced himself from his father’s legacy.