Episode #41: 1950 Timeline Twist & The Killing Spree of "Cockeyed" Billy Cook

10/9/2024: On today’s episode, Valerie covers some atomic action from a very irresponsible USA, salt mines and claustrophobia, Kraft Singles food product and its possible crossover with Bactine, the SECOND most dangerous toy of all time, and the story of a teenaged majorette who really didn’t like to share the spotlight, in the 1950 Timeline Twist. Next, Amy Jo covers the toubling tale of a neglected young man and his quest to “live by the gun and roam”, which sent him on a vicious yet unsophisticated killing spree, leaving few who crossed his path alive but for one lucky potential victim. This all-too-familiar story inspired a famous 1971 Doors hit which was ultra-popular until the 1990s drove it into the ground.

Cover Photo: Billy  Cook Allan Grant - Original publication: Life Magazine

1. Aufgenommen beim Porsche-Oldtimer-Treffen in Saig, Lenzkirch, Baden-Wüttemberg, Deutschland

2. Bactine, doesn’t sting, guards against germs. 1955 Ad.

3. The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory was packaged in a customized metal case

4. Whistl'n Pig menu cover

5. Whistl'n Pig menu

6. 1950 Postcard - Yellowstone Park, Wyoming to Greeley, Colorado

7. Anaheim Halloween Festival letter to JoAn Burdick Gottlieb

8. JoAn Burdick Gottlieb

9. Chase & Sandborn Coffee advertisement

10. Lane Bryant Advertisement

11. "Riders on the Storm 45", 1971

12. Spree killer William “Cockeyed” Cook, 1951. Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

13. Circulars on Cook were posted through the Southwest and Mexico. Robert Dewey’s murder spread panic. Citizens avoided lonely roads, and ‘recognized’ Cook from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, where for two days police averaged a phone tip every four minutes. Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

14. Spree killer William Cook, January 1951. Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

15. Tijuana police chief, F. Kraus Morales, January 1951. Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

16. In Tijuana, Mexico, spree killer William Cook was sent back to the United States after capture, January 1951. Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

17. Hand Tattoos of Billy Cook, spelling Hard Luck

18. The Hitch-Hiker movie poster, 1953

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

NA

Timeline Twist Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_nuclear_incident_terminology#Broken_Arrow 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Products_introduced_in_1950 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride/lidocaine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_Pops

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geritol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubrovnik_chess_set 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_U-238_Atomic_Energy_Laboratory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_in_music 

https://www.anaheimfallfestival.org/three-times-a-charm-1950/ 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1950

Timeline Twist Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_U-238_Atomic_Energy_Laboratory#/media/File:Atomic_Energy_Laboratory.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageMenus/comments/svjl87/whistln_pig_portland_oregon_c_1950/#lightbox 

https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageMenus/comments/svjl87/whistln_pig_portland_oregon_c_1950/#lightbox

https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageads/comments/1664ig9/bactine_doesnt_sting_guards_against_germs_1955_ad/#lightbox

https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/1950-postcard-yellowstone-park-wyoming-to-greeley-colorado/37043810

https://www.anaheimfallfestival.org/three-times-a-charm-1950/ 

https://roundpeg.biz/2017/03/advertising-1950s/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2#/media/File:0385_Porsche_Diesel_Bus_blau.jpg

https://youtu.be/P4UnpbWM-vQ?si=4pGZmaixutMsCGvL

The Killing Spree of "Cockeyed" Billy Cook Sources:

Https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jim-morrison-serial-killer-obsession/

https://www.fourstateshomepage.com/local-news/joplin-news/history-of-the-spree-killer-from-joplin-missouri/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Starkweather

https://www.life.com/people/billy-cockeyed-cook-portrait-of-an-american-spree-killer/https://ozarks-history.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-funeral-of-mass-murderer-bill-cook.html

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/01/27/gripping-account-of-massacre-manhunt/62108855007/

https://mortemcrime.com/2023/10/15/billy-cockeyed-cook-joplin-missouris-homegrown-spree-killer/

https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/cook-william.htm

https://murderpedia.org/male.C/index.C.htm

https://www.fourstateshomepage.com/local-news/joplin-news/history-of-the-spree-killer-from-joplin-missouri/

https://www.life.com/people/billy-cockeyed-cook-portrait-of-an-american-spree-killer/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilmington-daily-press-journal-william-e/20784738/

https://ozarks-history.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-funeral-of-mass-murderer-bill-cook.html

https://youtu.be/nqvXXcAQoq0?si=olBO3jcfi3DJBj37

https://youtu.be/jBiq6sIwqwE?si=42h0ro4N0We_0cl-

https://youtu.be/qHGrAOHMDws?si=2tDz610bkF0l8H08

The Killing Spree of "Cockeyed" Billy Cook Photo Sources:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Billy_Cook.jpg

https://filmnoirboard.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-hitch-hiker-1953.html

https://mildequator.com/filmhistory/hwy.html

https://www.life.com/people/billy-cockeyed-cook-portrait-of-an-american-spree-killer/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11146489/william_edward-cook#view-photo=9884555

https://www.facebook.com/HansonFilmTVInstitute/photos/a.245760885470053/1952715651441226/?type=3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riders_on_the_Storm#/media/File:Riders45.jpg