15 Facts About Iceberg Slim

Iceberg Slim spent his childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Rockford, Illinois, until he returned to Chicago.

Iceberg Slim earned enough money working in her salon to give her son the privileges of a middle-class life such as a college education, which at that time was difficult for the average person.

Iceberg Slim said he was known for his frosty temperament and for staying calm in emergencies, which, combined with his slim build, earned him the street name Iceberg Slim.

Iceberg Slim had been connected with several other well-known pimps, one of them Albert "Baby" Bell, a man born in 1899 who had been pimping for decades and had a Duesenberg and a bejeweled pet ocelot.

Iceberg Slim retired from pimping at the age of 42 because he could no longer handle the physical and mental stress of the job, particularly when it came to managing his prostitutes, who tended to have difficult personalities.

Iceberg Slim was sentenced to 12 to 18 months in prison for "carnal knowledge and abuse".

Iceberg Slim was released three months early for good behavior.

Iceberg Slim stated he never found out why Weeping and Pepper framed him.

Iceberg Slim met Betty Shue, who became his common-law wife and the mother of his three daughters, while he was working as an insecticide salesman.

Iceberg Slim's was the first insider look into the world of Black pimps, to be followed by a half-dozen pimp memoirs by other writers.

Iceberg Slim acknowledges that pimping has changed because 'women have changed.

Iceberg Slim sold over six million books before his death in 1992, making him one of the best-selling African-American writers.

In 1976, Iceberg Slim released the album Reflections, in which he recited passages from his autobiography over a funky musical backing supplied by the Red Holloway Quartet.

Hite went on to voice other works of Iceberg Slim, including Long White Con, Trick Baby, and Airtight Willie and Me.

Iceberg Slim died from liver failure in April 1992, aged 73.