Wicked Branson

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Branson's wholesome brand of entertainment made it the nation's destination for family fun, but the vacation wonderland can't claim a spotless past. Murder and mischief dogged the town's efforts at respectability from the very beginning. The founder's own brother, Galba Branson, was a prominent member of the notorious vigilante gang the Bald Knobbers. He died in a picnic shootout that originated in a church prank. Branson's transformation into a showbiz mecca brought quarrel and scandal in its wake, from provoked orangutans to wire-tapped dressing rooms. Three comedians and authors--Ed and Karen Underwood and John Pinney--offer this backstage pass to the seamier side of Branson's history.