John Wilkes Booth was most famous for the assassination of one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln.
Booth was a Confederate sympathizer and an opponent of the abolition of slavery. Also, judging by the photos, he was also an opponent of hair brushes & moustache combs.
Aha! But again nepotism rears it's ugly head. Booth was the son of the Junius Brutus Booth, a noted Shakespearean actor. (For you young folks out there, a current example of a Shakespearean actor is the old gay dude who plays Magneto in the X Men movies.)
Anyway, many say Booth’s shooting of Lincoln was a desperate act by a man with a faltering career. A less talented actor son of a well respected thespian who lashed out to get national attention. (I bet Charlie Sheen’s ears are burning right now)
The assassination did work to some degree. Booth's knowledge of Ford Theater and his famous leap onto the stage after killing Lincoln garnered worldwide publicity. The image of the assassination soon went viral. (Of course, there was no You Tube in 1865, so by viral I meant “spread cholera.”)
Never before were so many people so memorized by such an atrocity. Was kinda like a 19th Century “Jersey Shore.”
Unfortunately, Booth was hoping to receive many more acting offers after the leap, but he didn't. He was killed by a Union soldier soon after the assassination. Of course, as every Hollywood agent will tell you, that unless you're Tupac, being dead really tends to slow your career trajectory.
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