The Real-life Players Of Trial Of The Chicago 7: What Happened To Abbie Hoffman Jerry Rubin Tom Hayden And The Rest
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Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman and Rennie Davis face newsmen during recess in the Chicago Seven trial in 1970.
Bettmann
Reflecting the headlines of both the 1960s and today, [ Aaron Sorkin]'s Netflix movie [/news/trial-of-the-chicago-7-aaron-sorkin-takes-a-timely-look-at-the-power-of-protest/ The Trial of the Chicago 7] features a cast of big-name actors including [ Eddie Redmayne], [ Michael Keaton], [ Sacha Baron Cohen] and [ Jeremy Strong]. But what happened to the colorful real-life personalities involved in the infamous court case that put the spotlight on both protesters and authorities?
The [ Chicago Seven] were Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines and Lee Weiner (counting Black Panther activist Bobby Seale as a defendant, they were also known as the Chicago Eight). Met with police violence at anti-war protests in 1968, five were found guilty of incitement to riot and slapped with the harshest sentence possible. All the defendants and their lawyers also got hefty sentences for contempt of court, but Judge Julius Hoffman's decisions were later overturned on appeal.
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[ The Trial of the Chicago 7], which Sorkin wrote and directed, is out on Netflix now. Here's what the defendants, lawyers and other notable figures of the Chicago Seven trial did after the events portrayed in the film.
Rennie Davis
Played in the movie by Alex Sharp
The Chicago Seven and their lawyers. From left, lawyer Leonard Weinglass, Rennie Davis, Abbie Hoffman, Lee Weiner, David Dellinger, John Froines, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and lawyer William Kunstler.
David Fenton/Getty Images
A founder of activist group Students for tour thác bản giốc a Democratic Society, Davis was found guilty of crossing state lines with intent to riot. The conviction was overturned on appeal. In the 1970s, he was involved in the Divine Light Mission religious group following the teachings of an Indian guru before becoming a venture capitalist focusing on socially responsible investment.
He's played in the film by Alex Sharp, the British-born Tony-winning Broadway star who will take a lead role in the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel.
David Dellinger
Played in the movie by John Carroll Lynch
The oldest of the defendants, Dellinger was a Yale graduate and pacifist who'd been imprisoned as a conscientious objector during World War II, kynghidongduong.vn protesting against segregated prisons while there. During his life he wrote several books on nonviolence. Dellinger died in 2004 at 88.
John Froines
Played in the movie by Daniel Flaherty
The Chicago Seven trial defendants in a courtroom illustration by Franklin McMahon.
Franklin McMahon/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images
Another Yale student and member of Students for a Democratic Society, Froines was accused of using his chemistry know-how to make incendiary devices. He was one of only two defendants who were acquitted of the incitement charges, although they were still found guilty of contempt of court charges. Later a professor at UCLA, he served on bodies working on California air quality for 30 years before resigning over a conflict of interest.
The actor playing John Froines is Daniel Flaherty from US TV shows [ Skins] and [ The Americans].
Tom Hayden
Played in the movie by Eddie Redmayne
A journalist and activist, Hayden was convicted of conspiracy and incitement charges at the trial. He later served as a California state senator, wrote more than 20 books and married actress and anti-war activist Jane Fonda. Hayden died in October 2016 at age 76 and was the first to be buried in a new eco-friendly section of a Santa Monica, California, cemetery.
Abbie Hoffman
Played in the movie by Sacha Baron Cohen
Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman enter the courtroom wearing judicial robes, before throwing them off to reveal police uniforms.
Franklin McMahon/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images
The larger-than-life Hoffman made headlines with his performance in court. He was a founder of the Youth International Party "Yippie" movement and a proponent of "Flower Power" who later jumped on stage at Woodstock and interrupted The Who's performance to protest on behalf of the White Panther party.
In 1971, Hoffman published a book about living for free titled Steal This Book, although he then went into hiding to avoid cocaine charges. In 1986, he was arrested for protesting against the CIA alongside the daughter of former President Jimmy Carter but was acquitted. Hoffman appeared briefly in Oliver Stone's [ Born on the Fourth of July] as a man waving a flag at a protest but before the film came committed suicide in 1989.
Hoffman is played in the film by Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen. His colorful life also inspired the 2000 biopic Steal This Movie starring [ Vincent D'Onofrio] as Hoffman, and he was depicted in the anti-war protest scenes of Forrest Gump.
Jerry Rubin
Played in the movie by Jeremy Strong
Another founder of the Yippies, Rubin dropped out of UC Berkeley to join the anti-war movement. Called before the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in 1967, he dressed up in an American Revolutionary War uniform and Viet Cong outfit. In Chicago, he and Hoffman continued their courtroom antics. Rubin later pivoted to being a businessman and tour hồ ba bể investor, working on Wall Street and becoming a multimillionaire who was one of the first investors in [/apple/ Apple]. He died in 1994 at 56 after being hit by a car.
In this film, Rubin is played by [/news/succession-is-the-perfect-successor-to-game-of-thrones/ Succession] star [ Jeremy Strong]. Rubin has also been depicted in other films including Steal This Movie! and Helter Skelter, portraying his relationship with Charles Manson.
Bobby Seale
Played in the movie by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Lawyer William M. Kunstler at the birthday party for Black activist Bobby Seale.
John Olson/The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images
Texas-born Seale was a co-founder of The Black Panther Party along with Huey Newton. He was one of the group of defendants when it was known as the Chicago Eight, but he was separated from the trial and imprisoned for contempt of court. He narrowly missed out on being elected mayor of Oakland in 1973 and left the Panthers in 1974 after a reported fight with Newton.
Since then, he wrote his memoirs and a barbecue cookbook, advertised Ben & Jerry's ice cream and taught Black history in Philadelphia. He's played in the film by [ Yahya Abdul-Mateen II], who recently [/news/emmys-2020-from-watchmen-to-zendaya-the-full-list-of-winners/ won an Emmy for Watchmen].
Lee Weiner
Played in the movie by Noah Robbins
Along with Froines, Weiner was acquitted at the trial. He continued as an activist with AmeriCares and the Anti-Defamation League and published his memoir Conspiracy to Riot in 2020.
