Born Frankie Frank Gersholotochavovitz, he quickly made a name for himself by destroying anything he could find. Though untrained, his destruction methods were prodigious. When he was 10, professional tough guy and general asshole Henry Cowell offered to teach young Gershwin professional fighting techniques. Cowell's only lesson was taking a piano wire to Gershwin's neck to see if he could get out of it. Gershwin passed, killing Cowell in the process. Gershwin later recollected that he could've sworn, among the fighting, that Cowell was hitting on him.