COLUMBIA—Melvin Horace Purvis. To many people today, the name means nothing. But it was not so long ago that Purvis was a household name, and over 260,000 boys and girls were digging through boxes of Post Toasties breakfast cereal to get their very own decoder rings and Junior G-Man badges.

Purvis, the Timmonsville native with the unassuming name, skyrocketed to such fame in the 1930s as the leader of the FBI team that took down some of the biggest gangsters of his day, including John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. His death in 1960 from a gun shot to the head is still shrouded in mystery. Was it a suicide, as first reported? Was it an accidental shooting? Or was there something more sinister behind it?

This July, Purvis will again become a household name as his story is told on both the big and small screens. On July 1, he gets the Hollywood treatment as the summer blockbuster "Public Enemies" hits theatres. Starring Christian Bale as Purvis, the film follows his pursuit of John Dillinger, played by Johnny Depp, and is loosely based on actual events.

But the very next night, Thursday, July 2 at 9 p.m., ETV premieres the true story in a new "Carolina Stories" program, "G-Man: The Rise and Fall of Melvin Purvis." Presenting "just the facts, ma'am," the documentary examines Purvis' life and sheds some light on his gruesome death. In the process, "G-Man" explores the complicated relationship between Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI and the man who some have said was responsible not only for Purvis' meteoric rise, but also his rapid descent back into obscurity.

Hoover took Purvis under his wing and placed him in charge of the Chicago bureau with orders to "get" Dillinger and other public enemies. But as Purvis' fame grew, Hoover turned on him and started a campaign of character assassination that lasted even after Purvis left the FBI.

Including interviews with Purvis' friends and son, Alston, visits to Purvis' Florence home, and period re-enactments replete with Model A's and fedora hats that transport viewers back to the 1930s, ETV's production tells the true story of "The Rise and Fall of Melvin Purvis."

Encore presentations will air on ETV on:

• Sunday, July 5 at 4 p.m.

• Thursday, July 16 at 9 p.m.

• Sunday, July 19 at 5 p.m.

• Sunday, July 26 at 4 p.m.

• Thursday, July 30 at 9 p.m.

Encore presentations will air on the South Carolina Channel on:

• Monday, July 6 at 9 p.m.

• Monday, July 20 at 9 p.m.

• Monday, August 3 at 9 p.m.



ETV is South Carolina's statewide network with 11 television stations, eight radio stations and a closed-circuit educational telecommunications system in more than 2000 schools, colleges, businesses, and government agencies.