Johnny Ace Auditorium in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .32-caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car. It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette. However, Big Mama Thornton's bass player, Curtis Tillman, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not
Ace Backwords Ace Backwords Peter Labriola (born September 12, 1956), better known by the pen name Ace Backwords is an American author and a former underground cartoonist based in Berkeley, California. Backwords, born Peter Labriola, published "Twisted Image", a punk rock tabloid, from 1982 to 1984 featuring interviews with Johnny Rotten, Jello Biafra, Henry Rollins, Charles Bukowski, R.Crumb, and Charles Schulz. The name was also used for a comic strip he created and distributed to independent publications. From 1989 to 2004, Backwords and produced the "Telegraph Avenue Calendar", which featured selected people in Berkeley that were homeless. A collection of his comics,