KCFreePress.com

Most days, professional actor Tim Phillips can be found working with Murder Mystery Players Inc. As director, he oversees the Kansas City Murder Mystery Dinners — live events that combine audience participation and entertainment for a high-action, interactive experience.

But every Saturday, Phillips dons a pin-striped suit and boards a Carey Transportation bus to lead the Kansas City Gangster Tour, a 90-minute ride that begins at Union Station, travels to the River Market and back to the South Plaza before returning to Union Station. Throughout the tour, he channels his love of acting and characters to deliver continuous narration as gangster Johnny Holliday. It's a natural fit for Phillips, who's impersonated fortune tellers, “Austin Powers” characters and living statues.

On a recent afternoon, Phillips and I caught up on the second floor of Union Station — one of the city's most iconic connections to local mafia history, made infamous after the bloody Union Station massacre — for a glimpse into his career as a gangster tour guide.

KCFP: How did you become involved with the Kansas City Gangster Tour?

TP: I took over for a fellow actor who had been serving as a gangster tour operator. I started in the summer of 2001 and have been doing it ever since.

What's the appeal of being a tour guide?

I love to perform and be characters, but I also like to educate. This is an entertaining way for people — both visitors and natives — to become more educated about the city. And the tour now is so different from when it started. I've learned so much and continue to learn about local gangster history.

Tell us about your tour persona.

I play Johnny Holliday, a fictional composite of your Italian soldier/gangster. The idea is that he works for Tom Pendergast, but I present the narration in a matter-of-fact style. I'll tell the audience good and bad things about Pendergast and the city.

Where did you get your pin-striped gangster suit?

I bought it at K&G men's store.

What's your favorite tour stop?

I reenact the murder of Johnny Lazio in front of his home at Gillham and Armour, which used to be the Park Central Hotel. Johnny Lazio is known as the gangster in town, and he was ambushed in front of his home. The reenactment occurs about halfway through the 90-minute tour, so it's a good way to refresh things and get the crowd excited. Tom Pendergast's house at 57th Street and Ward Parkway tends to get overlooked because you can't stop on Ward Parkway for long because of the traffic.

Who is the most important figure in local gangster history?

Tom Pendergast, without a doubt.

Do tour participants share any common misconceptions about Kansas City's gangster history?

It's almost just the opposite. People discover the truth is stranger than fiction. There are some bizarre things that went on.

Do you prefer a certain research methodology to gather information?

I use a little bit of everything. I fell into this, so at first, it was a matter of learning a script. Later on, I became more interested in the origin of the information. I started looking at things online but so much of it is incorrect, so I started going to the library to look at books written in the 1940s by prosecutors and journalists who were involved in these situations.

What's the craziest thing that's happened to you on a tour?

Nothing really crazy has happened, although people sometimes take the dinner tour, and you're allowed to bring your own alcoholic beverages. I've had some crowds get pretty wild. Although it's not crazy, I do have a favorite story. We do a lot of tours for assisted living or retirement groups, and during one tour, I noticed an older man sitting a couple rows back, grinning the whole time. I thought he looked familiar. Several months later, I saw an older man who, again, looked familiar. The third time, one of the women from the assisted living facility came up to me and said I had that man to thank for their participation in the tour. He and his wife had taken the tour three years ago, and shortly afterwards she passed away. When he arrived at the assisted living facility, he mentioned the tour as an idea for a group outing, and when he took his next tour, the assisted living facility employee told me that was the first time he had smiled since his wife passed away. That kind of story makes you feel good.

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