Jack Hyatt was one of the most infamous and colorful prison inmates in Michigan history – a notorious bad guy who led the biggest prison riot the state has ever seen and kidnapped a governor behind bars. His behavior was so violent and erratic that he became known as “Crazy Jack Hyatt.”
Yet when he died many years later as an old man in Canada, he had become totally forgotten to history.
His story comes back to life in a new documentary from Michigan-based Stunt3 Multimedia, called “The Story of Crazy Jack Hyatt.”
The 20-minute film is part of a new series of short documentaries from Stunt3 Multimedia called “Michigan Stories.” Each month, Stunt3 will release another new short documentary telling a forgotten or untold Michigan story.
All of the documentaries will be available for viewing free on YouTube and on Stunt3’s website, Stunt3.com. You’ll find the link to watch “The Story of Crazy Jack Hyatt” below.
Stunt3 Multimedia is led by President and founder Brian Kruger and senior creative director Buddy Moorehouse. They’ve produced a number of acclaimed documentaries about Michigan history, including the Emmy-nominated “Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game” and “The Legend of Pinky Deras: The Greatest Little Leaguer There Ever Was.”
Their films have been seen on ABC, PBS, Fox Sports Detroit and the MLB Network, as well as on Amazon Prime.
“We’re excited to be bringing more great untold Michigan stories back to life,” Kruger said. “These are all stories that have been largely forgotten or lost to history, but they’re all fascinating. We’ll have a little of everything – true crime, sports, ordinary people who did incredible things, even some Henry Ford stories you’ve never heard before. If you love Michigan history, you’re going to love this series. And they’re all totally free.”
The series kicks off with “The Story of Crazy Jack Hyatt,” a documentary that tells the tale of the most legendary prison inmate in Michigan history.
“Crazy Jack” was a small-time crook from Canada who went to prison in Michigan in 1945 and ended up leading the biggest prison riot in Michigan history, which took place in 1952 at Jackson State Prison. Two years earlier, in the Marquette Branch Prison, he was one of three inmates who briefly kidnapped Gov. G. Mennen Williams when he visited the prison.
And he did a whole lot more behind bars. Hollywood even made a movie about him, but when he died an old man in Canada in 2015, history had totally forgotten him. “The Story of Crazy Jack Hyatt” brings it all back to life. It also tells the tale of the 1952 prison riot and the incredibly controversial thing that Gov. Soapy Williams did to end it.
Among the “Michigan Stories” documentaries coming up:
“A Bump in the Road.” The story of a “bump in the road” that drivers encounter every time they drive down Mack Avenue in Detroit – a bump that only exists because of a historical auto plant that once sat there.
“The Secrets of Henry Ford’s Pond.” The story of a vicious racial murder and a small-town pond that might hold even more horrific secrets.
“Timber Tony.” The story of a legendary lumberjack from Sault Ste. Marie who tried to row a boat from the Upper Peninsula to New York City in 90 days back in 1964, just to say he did it.
Here’s “The Story of Crazy Jack Hyatt”:
