studio wrote:
> Native American born in Oklahoma Indian Territory in 1888 and given
> the name Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "a path lighted by a great flash of
> lightning" or, more simply, "Bright Path".
>
> Winning Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon, excelling
> at football, baseball, lacrosse, track and field, and even ballroom
> dancing.
> Considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, or of any
> century.
>
> After his retirement from professional sports at age 41, Thorpe was a
> construction worker, a bouncer, a security guard, and a ditch digger,
> and he briefly joined the United States Merchant Marine in 1945. He
> also played in 64 Hollywood movies mainly as a uncredited bit-actor
> including 1934's classic King Kong.
>
> By the 1950s, Thorpe had no money left. When he was hospitalized for
> lip cancer in 1950, he was admitted as a charity case. At a press
> conference announcing the procedure, Thorpe's wife wept and pleaded
> for help, saying, "We're broke.... Jim has nothing but his name and
> his memories. He has spent money on his own people and has given it
> away. He has often been exploited."
>
> In early 1953, Thorpe suffered his third heart attack while eating
> dinner with his third wife, Patricia Askew, in his trailer home in
> Lomita, California. Artificial respiration briefly revived him, and he
> was able to speak to those around him, but lost consciousness shortly
> afterward and died on March 28 at the age of 64.
>
> In October 1982, the IOC Executive Committee approved Thorpe's
> reinstatement. In an unusual ruling, however, they declared that
> Thorpe was now co-champion with Bie and Wieslander, even though both
> athletes had always said they considered Thorpe to be the only
> champion. In a ceremony on January 18, 1983, two of Thorpe's children,
> Gale and Bill, were presented with commemorative medals. Thorpe's
> original medals had both ended up in museums but were stolen and still
> have not been recovered.
>
> When Thorpe's third wife, Patricia, heard that the small Pennsylvania
> towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were desperately seeking to
> attract business, she struck a deal with the towns. Mauch Chunk and
> East Mauch Chunk bought Thorpe's remains, erected a monument to him,
> merged and renamed the newly united town in his honor (see Jim Thorpe,
> Pennsylvania), despite the fact that Thorpe had never set foot there.
> Thorpe's monument, featuring the quote from Gustav V, can still be
> found there. The grave rests on a mound of soil from Thorpe's native
> Oklahoma and the stadium where he won his Olympic medals.
>
> Thorpe's son Jack filed a federal lawsuit in June 2010, against the
> borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania to have his father's remains
> returned to his homeland in Oklahoma. Citing the Native American
> Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Jack Thorpe is arguing to
> bring his father to their reservation in Oklahoma. If his remains were
> moved to Oklahoma Jim would be buried with his father, sisters, and
> brother, and would be one mile away from the place he was born. Thorpe
> says the agreement between his stepmother and borough officials was
> made against the family's wishes and now they want him buried on their
> Native American soil.
> ---
> A true American in every sense of the word.
>
>
--
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