Portrait of Frank Salemme

Birthday profile

Frank Salemme

Frank Salemme, American gangster and hitman (died 2022)

Born
August 18, 1933
Died
December 13, 2022
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1933

About Frank Salemme

Francis Patrick Salemme (pronounced sah-LEM-ee; August 18, 1933 – December 13, 2022), sometimes spelled Salemmi, also known as "Cadillac Frank" and "the General", was an American mobster from Boston, Massachusetts who became a hitman and eventually the boss of the Patriarca crime family of New England before turning government witness. == Early life == Salemme was born on August 18, 1933, in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in the Greater Boston area, the second of six children of an Irish American mother, Mary Agnes (née Hagerty), a homemaker, and an Italian American father, Romeo Pasquale Salemme, a ship painter. His younger brother, John, also became a mobster. Salemme was raised in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. Salemme served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and became a licensed electrician after receiving an honorable discharge. He married Alice Kathleen McLaughlin in Nashua, New Hampshire on November 16, 1955. == Criminal career == While in prison in 1957, Salemme became acquainted with Anthony Morelli, a member of the Patriarca crime family which controlled organized crime throughout New England. He began working for the family as a low-level associate after his release from prison. Salemme operated a number of semi-legitimate businesses such as automobile repair garages in partnership with George Kaufman, who served as the liaison between the Mafia and Boston's Jewish bookmakers. Salemme earned the nickname "Cadillac Frank" when he worked in an auto repair shop and specialized in repairing Cadillac automobiles.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Frank Salemme was born

Frank Salemme was born in 1933. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1933

  • #1 song"Stormy Weather" – Ethel Waters
  • Top movieKing Kong
  • Best-selling bookLost Horizon – James Hilton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst MLB All-Star Game played at Comiskey Park
  • Top headlineAdolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
  • Technology milestoneFM radio patented by Edwin Armstrong
  • Defining fadChain letters
  • Notable inventionFM radio
  • World population2.17 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • U.S. population125.6M

1933 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Frank Salemme's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19332026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$4,800$435,000
Average income$2,300$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population125.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, The New York Times, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.