Joe E. Lewis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1914. He worked as a coal miner, a barber, a salesman and finally as a professional wrestler before becoming a singer and actor in the late 1930's. In the early 1940's, Joe Lewis joined the British military and served as a truck driver during World War II
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After the war ended, he returned to Pittsburgh and became involved in nightclubs, recording studios and nightclubs again. In 1950 he became a successful nightclub owner and eventually made his way to Las Vegas. In 1952 Joe Lewis opened The Flamingo Hotel where he became friends with mobsters Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.
In 1966 Joe Lewis was sentenced to two years in prison for tax evasion. In 1969 he was released from prison and died of a heart attack shortly after his release from prison on October 7th, 1970.