Obviously UM features a lot of dirtbags, fraudsters, and both male and female scum. However, sometimes a segment includes not only psychos and monsters, but also people that make you want to stand up and cheer via heroic acts or fighting back.

Who do you guys think are the biggest badasses in the history of UM?

I humbly present my picks:

-Robert Stack (duh) :cool:

-Pretty much the entire cast of the Edward Harold Bell segment. You have Larry Dickens heroically trying to protect the neighborhood children, his sister jumping into the police car to try and kick Bell's a**, a would-be victim chasing Bell down with a gun, and even Dickens' mother saying she could confront Bell in court if need be.

-Amy Billig's mother. I read her book and it goes into even more detail regarding Amy's mom's tireless efforts to find her daughter. This is a woman who immersed herself in the outlaw biker culture to try and locate Amy. Unfortunately she never found her, although I believe she may have helped another family or two along the way. Total badass; she NEVER gave up or backed down.

Without a doubt, Jay Durham, the biker who was run down by a truck. The guy loses an entire leg, a couple of fingers, breaks a bunch of bones, and suffers numerous painful injuries, yet he somehow manages to wrap a tourniquet around his severed leg, crawl off the road and stay quiet until the trucker leaves!

That's a dude who REALLY deserved to have his case solved!

Without a doubt, Jay Durham, the biker who was run down by a truck. The guy loses an entire leg, a couple of fingers, breaks a bunch of bones, and suffers numerous painful injuries, yet he somehow manages to wrap a tourniquet around his severed leg, crawl off the road and stay quiet until the trucker leaves!

That's a dude who REALLY deserved to have his case solved!

I was thinking the same thing! Jay was definitely a man, how many people would have died of shock when something like that happened rather than crawling off the road and staying calm enough to staunch his bleeding with something?

Robert Stack of course. The air he surrounded himself with, very cool and mysterious. I agree with RobinW too, Jay Durham is another great candidate. He fought a semi and time itself to save his own life. I hope he has closure in his case. Susan Billig was so brave to delve into dark territory like the evil side of the biker world to find her daughter. It's sad that her work never panned out but I know that the answers will come someday. The lady in the Edward Bell segment was badass too, chasing him off while firing a gun at him.

I think any of the parents who've lost their child or children, whether their children are young or adults, are badass too for not giving up their searches after all this time.

Without a doubt Gordon Page Jnr. Right from his early days at the supermarket.

So sad that both of Amy Billig's parents passed away without ever finding out what really happened.

Since we mentioned Susan Billig, special mention should be made of Gus Hoffman's mother, Rose, who also took on the insanely risky task of going undercover into the world of outlaw bikers in order to find out what happened to her son.

Don Devereux certainly

I definitely second Gus Hoffman's mother, as well as her female friend who accompanied her on her excursions into the biker netherworld. I remember in the segment, the female friend said she pretended to have a a loaded gun to let the bikers know they weren't messin' around when they were out trying to get information. Rock on sister!

Don Devereux = major UM badass, especially when he said something along the lines of, "if the govt. knows something, they damn well better do something about it." Yeah!!:clap:

All of the above are awesome. I'd also like to add Larry Allen, who escaped Joe Weldon Smith by throwing himself through a glass door, Jane Borkowski, survivor of The Connecticut Valley Killer, and probably a controversial choice, Frank and Marie Thornton, for following Dennis Depue and going back to the schoolhouse where he tried to get rid of that bloody sheet. If they hadn't decided to get involved that day, he may have gotten away with murder.

I almost forgot about Jane Boroski. She has the initiative to take control and live despite being stabbed 27 times. Statistically, she should've succumbed to her injuries but somehow she gathered the strength to live. I applaud her will to live and her bravery.

I'd also like to mention Stephanie Booker. She got half her face torn off by a boat's propeller blade and was still able to remain calm despite not being able to breathe real well and practically suffocating because of her facial injuries. I don't know how she did it but I applaud her as well.

I would like to add "Debbie". The woman endured a shotgun blast to her face and then not only goes on national TV to help find her attacker, but flat-out states that she's not going to let it hang her life up.

Also Colleen Ritter.

I would like to add "Debbie". The woman endured a shotgun blast to her face and then not only goes on national TV to help find her attacker, but flat-out states that she's not going to let it hang her life up.

Also Colleen Ritter.

Great choices. It's scary to think about what happened to both women. Colleen has some closure because Rick Church is in prison for life but "Debbie" doesn't as her attacker has never been caught. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with that.

I have a few suggestions, some that are a bit unorthodox in the definition of badass.

Patricia Ann Teer (Carlton):She survived an aneurysm blowing in her brain in the 1960s. Survived the brain surgery that followed. Put on a brave face and tried to be a mother to the children she did not remember. And ultimately survived 33 years on the streets while dealing with amnesia.

Laharriet Crowder: Anyone who would go on national television to make good on a childhood promise to share her child with another young girl 21 years after the promise was made qualifies as badass to me.

Henry Rollins: He's Henry freakin' Rollins. Enough said.

Jeremy Rolfs: He survived being hit in the head with a hammer repeatedly. He watched his fiancé die. Even after all that, he had enough faith in humanity to join the Peace Corps and make the world a better place. Definitely badass.

Teresita Basa: Haunting a coworker to solve your own murder=badass.

Dorothy Moxley: Forever an advocate for her murdered daughter, she never backed down despite going up against possibly the most powerful family in the country, a family that had evaded murder charges, rape allegations and many other things by throwing their money around. She fought the Kennedy spin machine and won.

CW Roddy, who took on the drug dealing people in her community. What an awesome woman. She was so strong and resilient.

Teresita Basa: Haunting a coworker to solve your own murder=badass.

:lol:

Gord McAllister

Oh, and Kevin Poulson/Dark Dante has to get at least an honorable mention in the badass department. Serious style points for crashing the UM phonelines when his story aired.

CW Roddy, who took on the drug dealing people in her community. What an awesome woman. She was so strong and resilient.

This could be the winner; if my understanding is correct, the entire neighbourhood ultimately turned itself around, largely in support of the despicable things Ms. Roddy tried to stop.

The unnamed, unarmed guy who was returning a cummerbund late at night to a bridal store, ran into the I-70 killer right after he'd shot two employees, had a Tec-9 pointed in his face, and talked his way out of getting killed has to rank right up there.

The unnamed, unarmed guy who was returning a cummerbund late at night to a bridal store, ran into the I-70 killer right after he'd shot two employees, had a Tec-9 pointed in his face, and talked his way out of getting killed has to rank right up there.

Agreed.

I think Bonnie Wilder is pretty badass, even though she was a villain. Seriously, how much money did that woman make by ripping off stores and never spending a day in jail!!! (Well, I know she did a bit of time for identity theft, but not for the robberies themselves). Talk about ballsy. All those people in her segment who said she was fat and looked like a lunch lady, etc....well, Bonnie got the last laugh.

I think Bonnie Wilder is pretty badass, even though she was a villain. Seriously, how much money did that woman make by ripping off stores and never spending a day in jail!!! (Well, I know she did a bit of time for identity theft, but not for the robberies themselves). Talk about ballsy. All those people in her segment who said she was fat and looked like a lunch lady, etc....well, Bonnie got the last laugh.

I think Bonnie Wilder was a master of using her image to her advantage. Everyone seemed pretty shocked. Lisa Penz seemed to do what many people do--they subconsciously, for whatever reason, assume a very overweight person is lazy or inept. I think she was angry her (foolish) assumption steered her wrong, and her rude comments actually make you feel like cheering for Bonnie just a teeny weeny bit. :)

CW Roddy, who took on the drug dealing people in her community. What an awesome woman. She was so strong and resilient.

There's also the neighbor that came to her aid and got the crap kicked out of him for it. The guy sees an old lady being threatened by a group of thugs, and goes out there to help her out.

There's also the neighbor that came to her aid and got the crap kicked out of him for it. The guy sees an old lady being threatened by a group of thugs, and goes out there to help her out.
Yes! It was really brave of him to do that and unfortunate he got beaten up over it, but you have to be a great guy to go out by yourself to defend someone against a horde of people. CW was really strong herself. I get really mad at the part where one man punches her, but I love how she not only hits him back, but makes him wince in pain! :lol:

Back to Susan Billig, I have to mention a certain part of her book. Some time after Amy vanished, Susan heard a woman outside being beaten by her boyfriend, IIRC, in the middle of the night. Susan ran outside, slammed her body in the guy, and told the woman to run. What a badass! The woman ended up approaching her years later to thank her for saving her life. It's been a while since I've read the book, but I think this was AFTER Susan had already had a heart attack and been hospitalized. And even after that and a bout with lung cancer, she didn't lose her tenacity one bit. :clap: She also handled swindlers with a great deal of class. Two boys made a fake ransom call saying they had Amy and had demands of when and where Susan should drop off the money. After they were given criminal charges, one of them tried to approach her years later. She didn't swear at him, didn't erupt in fury or anything along the lines. She very politely declined to speak with him.

. The lady in the Edward Bell segment was badass too, chasing him off while firing a gun at him.

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I LOLed when he ran outside, and without missing a beat, she continued to plug away :lol: :lol: Lucky there was no one on the sidewalk!

I LOLed when he ran outside, and without missing a beat, she continued to plug away :lol: :lol: Lucky there was no one on the sidewalk!

I was just about to bring "Sue" up. I have mixed feelings on her for this very reason. I think she was perfectly justified to kick the crap out of Bell while he was inside her house (especially having a young 3 year old son to protect as well), and to even threaten him with the gun or fire a warning shot to prove she was serious.

BUT, once he started running away and clearly wasn't going to harm her, I think she went a little overboard firing away like a mad woman. I don't really care about his safety, but what if there were kids/other people outside that could've gotten hit with a stray bullet, when he was hauling a*ss toward his truck and driving away?

P.S. Please (people on both sides) DON'T turn this into a gun control debate! (I'm not black and white on it either way, because every case is different.) It's just my opinion. I applaud her for the first part completely.

I LOLed when he ran outside, and without missing a beat, she continued to plug away :lol: :lol: Lucky there was no one on the sidewalk!

I LOL at the reenactment of Bill Wacker running out on the porch--pistol drawn and waving it around the direction of his yard--for the same reason. Muzzle awareness, please!

Liz Carmichael. :lol:

In addition to everybody already mentioned:

Rob Shaffer - you just know he would've probably whopped that guy with his bare hands and fought to the death to save Angie.

Arthur Karopoulos (RIP :( ) - dude should've won a Father of The Year award for his efforts to rescue Nick. Looks like he played himself in the re-enactment too, and climbing inside Levia's apartment pretty effortlessly was badass in itself.

Doyle Wheeler - truly a hero who seems like he embodied everything a police officer should, and he not only got the raw end of the deal for it, but almost was killed 4 years later by thugs. He remained calm under pressure though.

"Jane" from the New Hampshire serial killer segment. Maybe it was her baby to-be that gave her the courage to live, but that she not only tried to fight off this guy, but was calm enough to get back in her car and make it to her male friend's house to get help.

BUT, once he started running away and clearly wasn't going to harm her, I think she went a little overboard firing away like a mad woman. I don't really care about his safety, but what if there were kids/other people outside that could've gotten hit with a stray bullet, when he was hauling a*ss toward his truck and driving away?
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Well yes, but I find it hard to be too critical of her - she would have been in a state of extremely high adrenaline rush, which does tend to impair judgment - who can say how they would react, encountering some knife wielding psycho in their own home?

I think I recall reading somewhere that the woman who played her in the UM wasn't even a trained actress, just one of the UM production crew they roped in to do the job at the last minute. If true, she did a damn good job!

I liked that police officer in the Missy Munday/Jerry Strickland segment who said "I want 'em both real bad." Probably not the most professional thing to say, but I thought it was pretty badass and I liked that he was devoted to bringing Elmer Deboer's killer brought to justice.

Annette Burnside's coworker was pretty badass, IMO. He got out of the car to confront a shotgun wielding psychopath before being shot. He's a hero in my book.

I liked that police officer in the Missy Munday/Jerry Strickland segment who said "I want 'em both real bad." Probably not the most professional thing to say, but I thought it was pretty badass and I liked that he was devoted to bringing Elmer Deboer's killer brought to justice.

I liked him, too. You could tell the entire case was very personal to him. Not only did he care about apprehending Elmer's killer (and accomplice), he cared about the human community at large and its well-being. He didn't want to see anyone else hurt.

Annette Burnside's coworker was pretty badass, IMO. He got out of the car to confront a shotgun wielding psychopath before being shot. He's a hero in my book.

+1. And then went on national television to talk about it to try to help catch him. B.A. status.

Annette Burnside's coworker was pretty badass, IMO. He got out of the car to confront a shotgun wielding psychopath before being shot. He's a hero in my book.

Yes! "Dave" seemed like a very nice guy and caring about Annette as it was. Even if there wasn't much he could've done with Jim being armed (with a gun and knife), you get the feeling he would've protected Annette if he could have.

(Watching the segment, I'd always wished he would've started the car and jumped the curb to try and get away, but it's easy to say that in hindsight after the fact. The real thing may have even gone down slightly different than that.)

Yes! "Dave" seemed like a very nice guy and caring about Annette as it was. Even if there wasn't much he could've done with Jim being armed (with a gun and knife), you get the feeling he would've protected Annette if he could have.

(Watching the segment, I'd always wished he would've started the car and jumped the curb to try and get away, but it's easy to say that in hindsight after the fact. The real thing may have even gone down slightly different than that.)

I think he was trying to protect her when he got out of the car, but probably froze in terror when Burnside raised the gun at him. He also has the greatest line delievered in the history of UM, with his "juicy steak" comment.

. He also has the greatest line delievered in the history of UM, with his "juicy steak" comment.


Nope - if we're including Stacks narration, "many snails were sacrificed" holds that title forever in my view.

Without a doubt Gordon Page Jnr. Right from his early days at the supermarket.

My first job was at a supermarket, and we did have a young autistic man working there, it was my first encounter with such a person. I wasn't even aware of his condition initially, so I was surprised when I would see him literally RUNNING in the store, I didn't put 2 and 2 together until later on. Eventually, the manager fired him due to some apparent less than positive interactions he had with some customers. Some time after that, he called (part of my job was to answer all incoming calls) and wanted his job back. I felt really bad for him, and knew that if he had said some inappropriate things to customers, that it wasn't his fault. I told him I would pass along his thoughts to the manager and sometime later, tried to terminate the call, but the weird thing was, the call wouldn't disconnect for some reason and he remained on the line for what seemed like several minutes afteward. That has stuck with me, roughly 15 years after the fact.