Richard James Hart was born James Vincenzo Capone in Angri, Province of Salerno, Italy, the first of the nine children of Gabriele Capone, a barber. In 1895, when he was 3, his family emigrated to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, New York. He led a colourful, but law-abiding life, unlike his younger brothers. This particular Capone brother left home at age 16, joined a circus as a roustabout and eventually adopted the last name of his idol, William S. Hart, the foremost star of Western silent films in the 1920s. He also adopted the actor’s persona as much as possible, worked hard to rid himself of his Brooklyn accent and took steps to conceal his Italian origins.

In 1926, Hart became a special agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was assigned to the Cheyenne River Indian reservation in South Dakota. While there he once had the duty of protecting President Calvin Coolidge and his family on their visit to the Black Hills.

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