Old Chicago

Artist John Youssi initially worked on the art for this game. He provided to us the following information:Here�s the story as I remember it: I was working at Album Graphics Inc. in Chicago back then (early 70�s) but also did some free-lancing. My roommate after art school was Ken Kupietz and he worked at Bally in the art department. I can't remember if he got me in or if Dave had just seen my work but he asked if I'd like to try a game. I had no pinball experience, but a fellow illustrator John Craig had done the art for 'Spanish Eyes' and it looked like a fun project. The theme was 'Old Chicago' and involved 20's and 30's era gangsters. I was to design and illustrate final art for the backglass and playfield. I can't recall how much guidance Dave gave me but I loved the era and dug in researching the project. No internet back then, but I had Time-Life books on the 20�s and 30�s as well as the Chicago library image files to draw from. The process was as usual for commercial art back then. I started with sketches which were approved and followed that up with color roughs. Then I created inked art for both the backglass and the playfield along with a color guide or overlay to aid the screen cutter. Dave was disappointed in general but especially with my poor inking skills and I left Bally that day feeling grim and not knowing what would happen with the art. I realized that there was no way my skills could match Dave's as he was a master at what he did. As it turned out, Dave did a little design work here and there plus he re-inked the art completely with much more detail as only Dave could do. He would not only ink but also 'scratch' out ink to give it an etched or scratchboard appearance. I don't know if he worked over my art or started over. The overall design is very similar to mine. Backglass: I think Dave spent most of his time on the two main figures. My male figure was a generic gangster but Dave had John Dillinger in mind when he re-did the art which added lots of character. He also reworked the female figures. My background design and elements remained intact (but re-inked) including the Jazz band on the bottom, city, spotlights, airship, border, etc. The logo is similar but it's been a long time. Playfield and plastics: I was really into art deco and used it on several album covers including 'Early Allman'- 'Allman Joy' for the Allman Brothers (1973). Funny but I loved bubbles and painted them whenever possible. I had established the overall design with an art deco look, the two cars, but really can't say how much re-design Dave did on the playfield. The plastics are similar to mine but he probably tweaked lots of stuff. Pretty sure I used imagery from the Time-Life books mentioned earlier. Can't remember doing the two girls on the upper plastics. They look "pure Dave". The center backglass figure with monogrammed pocket handkerchief is meant to be gangster John Dillinger. He was gunned down by federal agents in front of Chicago's Biograph Theatre in 1934, betrayed by brothel madam Anna Sage (real name Ana Cumpanas), the legendary "Woman in Red". Sage is also depicted on the backglass, wearing a red dress and looking youthful, although she was 45 years old and reportedly wearing a bright orange skirt and white blouse when she, Dillinger, and his girlfriend Polly Hamilton exited the theater into the FBI ambush. In the Encyclopedia of Pinball Volume 1, Sage is misidentified on the backglass as Billie Frechette, another Dillinger girlfriend who, after his death, toured with members of his family. Artist Dave Christensen concurred at Pinball Expo 2004 that he intended his Woman in Red to be Sage and no one else. Also on the backglass is a reference to the SMC Cartage Company garage at 2122 North Clark Street, where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre occurred in 1929. When the garage was torn down in 1967, Christensen took some bricks from the site to display on his fireplace mantel. The Biograph Theater operated as a movie house from 1914 until 2004, when it was renovated for live performances. A Hollywood movie, "Dillinger", came out in 1973.