The Irishman, a Netflix film by Martin Scorsese, tells the story of Delaware County native and mob associate Frank Sheeran, writes Michael Bradley for Main Line Today.

Included in the story is Sheeran’s claim that he murdered Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa.

The movie is based on the 2004 book by Charles Brandt, I Heard You Paint Houses.

The cast includes Robert De Niro as Sheeran and Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel.

Brandt, a medical malpractice lawyer, used his expertise to get Sheeran released early from prison. They developed a years-long relationship while Brandt was researching the book on Sheeran’s life.

Though never officially part of the mob, Sheeran interacted with plenty of mafia figures.

“He was very intelligent, very witty, and probably the only gangster ever to teach ballroom dancing,” Brandt said of Sheeran, who died in 2003 at the age of 83.

The son of an Irish father and a Swedish mother, Sheeran was born in Darby in 1920. His dad was a house painter. In Sheeran’s case, “painting houses” referred to the spray of blood that came with shooting people — hence the title of Brandt’s book.

Read more about Frank Sheeran and The Irishman in Main Line Today here.

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