Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern and Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the U.S. Census' definition of the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of ...
with
their gang during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The couple were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "
public enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
era" between 1931 and 1934. They were ambushed by police and shot to death in
Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Bienville Parish (french: link=no, Paroisse de Bienville, ) is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,981. The parish seat is Arcadia.
The highest natural point i ...
. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
[Jones, W.D]
"Riding with Bonnie and Clyde"
, ''Playboy'', November 1968. Reprinted at Cinetropic.com.
The 1967 film ''
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
'', directed by
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010)
was an American director and producer of film, television and theater. Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 19 ...
and starring
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
and
Faye Dunaway
Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...
in the title roles, revived interest in the criminals and glamorized them with a romantic aura. The 2019 Netflix film ''
The Highwaymen'' depicted their manhunt from the point of view of the pursuing lawmen.
Bonnie Parker
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in 1910 in
Rowena, Texas, the second of three children. Her father, Charles Robert Parker (1884–1914), was a bricklayer who died when Bonnie was four years old. Her widowed mother, Emma (Krause) Parker (1885–1944), moved her family back to her parents' home in Cement City, an industrial suburb in
West Dallas
West Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, United States. West Dallas is the area bounded by Interstate 30 on the south, the Trinity River on the east and north, and the Trinity River's West Fork on ...
where she worked as a seamstress. As an adult, Bonnie wrote poems such as "The Story of Suicide Sal" and "The Trail's End", the latter more commonly known as "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde".
In her second year in high school, Parker met Roy Thornton (1908–1937). The couple dropped out of school and married on September 25, 1926, six days before her 16th birthday. Their marriage was marred by his frequent absences and brushes with the law and proved to be short lived. They never divorced, but their paths never crossed again after January 1929. Parker was still wearing the wedding ring Thornton had given her when she died.
[A few months after their breakup, Thornton was convicted and imprisoned for robbery. Parker told her mother, "I didn't get divorcebefore Roy was sent up, and it looks sort of dirty to file for one now." Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p. 56] Thornton was in prison when he heard of her death, commenting, "I'm glad they jumped out like they did. It's much better than being caught."
Sentenced to five years for robbery in 1933 and after attempting several prison breaks from other facilities, Thornton was killed while trying to escape from the
Huntsville State Prison
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...
on October 3, 1937.
After she left Thornton, Parker moved back in with her mother and worked as a waitress in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. One of her regular customers was postal worker
Ted Hinton
Ted Cass Hinton (October 5, 1904 – October 27, 1977) was a Dallas County, Texas, deputy sheriff, the youngest of the posse that ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde near Gibsland, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934.
History
Hinton, then aged 29 ...
. In 1932, he joined the Dallas County Sheriff's Department and eventually served as a member of the
posse
Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates.
Posse may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Posse'' (1975 ...
that killed Bonnie and Clyde. Parker briefly kept a diary early in 1929 when she was aged 18, writing of her loneliness, her impatience with life in Dallas, and her love of photography.
Clyde Barrow
Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow
was born in 1909 into a poor farming family in
Ellis County, Texas
Ellis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, its population was estimated to be 192,455. The county seat is Waxahachie. The county was founded in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named for Richard Ellis, pres ...
, southeast of Dallas. He was the fifth of seven children of Henry Basil Barrow (1874–1957) and Cumie Talitha Walker (1874–1942). The family moved to Dallas in the early 1920s as part of a wider migration pattern from rural areas to the city, where many settled in the urban
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
of West Dallas. The Barrows spent their first months in West Dallas living under their wagon until they got enough money to buy a tent.
Barrow was first arrested in late 1926, at age 17, after running when police confronted him over a rental car that he had failed to return on time. His second arrest was with his brother
Buck
Buck may refer to:
Common meanings
* A colloquialism for a dollar or similar currency
* An adult male in some animal species - see List of animal names
* Derby shoes, nicknamed "bucks" for the common use of buckskin in their making
People
*Buck ...
soon after for possession of stolen turkeys. Barrow had some legitimate jobs during 1927 through 1929, but he also
cracked safes, robbed stores, and stole cars. He met 19 year-old Parker through a mutual friend in January 1930, and they spent much time together during the following weeks. Their romance was interrupted when Barrow was arrested by Sergeant Bert Whisnand and convicted of auto theft.
Barrow was sent to
Eastham Prison Farm in April 1930 at the age of 21. He escaped from the prison farm shortly after his incarceration using a weapon Parker smuggled to him. He was recaptured shortly after and sent back to prison. Barrow was repeatedly
sexually assaulted
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
while in prison, and he retaliated by attacking and killing his tormentor with a pipe, crushing his skull. This was his first murder. Another inmate who was already serving a
life sentence
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
claimed responsibility.
In order to avoid
hard labor in the fields, Barrow purposely had two of his toes chopped off in late January 1932, by another inmate or himself. Because of this, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. However, Barrow was set free six days after his intentional injury. Without his knowledge, Barrow's mother had successfully petitioned for his release.
He was
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
d from Eastham on February 2, 1932, now a hardened and bitter criminal. His sister, Marie, said, "Something awful sure must have happened to him in prison because he wasn't the same person when he got out." Fellow inmate
Ralph Fults
Ralph Fults (January 23, 1911 – March 16, 1993) was a Depression-era outlaw and escape artist associated with Raymond Hamilton, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow of the Barrow Gang.
Early life
Born to a U.S. postal worker in Anna, Texas, he was ...
said that he watched Clyde "change from a schoolboy to a rattlesnake".
In his post-Eastham career, Barrow robbed grocery stores and gas stations at a rate far outpacing the ten or so bank robberies attributed to him and the
Barrow Gang
The Barrow Gang was an American gang active between 1932 and 1934. They were well known outlaws, robbers, murderers and criminals who as a gang traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known all over the ...
. His favorite weapon was the
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the . ...
(BAR).
According to John Neal Phillips, Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses that he had sustained while serving time.
[Phillips, John Neal (October 2000)]
"Bonnie & Clyde's Revenge on Eastham"
. Historynet.com, originally published i
''American History''
First meeting
Several accounts describe Parker and Barrow's first meeting. The most credible states that they met on January 5, 1930, at the home of Barrow's friend, Clarence Clay, at 105 Herbert Street in West Dallas. Barrow was 20 years old, and Parker was 19. Parker was out of work and staying with a female friend to assist her during her recovery from a broken arm. Barrow dropped by the girl's house while Parker was in the kitchen making hot chocolate. Both were smitten immediately; most historians believe that Parker joined Barrow because she had fallen in love with him. She remained his loyal companion as they carried out their many crimes and awaited the violent death that they viewed as inevitable.
Armed robbery and murder
1932: Early robberies and murders
![BonnieParkerCigar1933](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/BonnieParkerCigar1933.jpg)
After Barrow's release from prison in February 1932, he and
Ralph Fults
Ralph Fults (January 23, 1911 – March 16, 1993) was a Depression-era outlaw and escape artist associated with Raymond Hamilton, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow of the Barrow Gang.
Early life
Born to a U.S. postal worker in Anna, Texas, he was ...
began a series of robberies, primarily of stores and gas stations;
their goal was to collect enough money and firepower to launch a raid against Eastham prison.
On April 19, Parker and Fults were captured in a failed hardware store
burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
in
Kaufman
Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to:
People
*Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann''
Places
* Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count
* Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County
* Kaufman County, Texas, ...
in which they had intended to steal firearms. Parker was released from jail after a few months, when the
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
failed to
indict
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
her; Fults was tried, convicted, and served time. He never rejoined the gang. Parker wrote poetry to pass the time in
Kaufman County jail,
[Parker composed these poems in an old bankbook which the jailer's wife had given her to use as paper. Some were her own work, and some were songs and poems she copied from memory. She titled the lot ''Poetry From Life's Other Side''. After being released from jail, she either left it behind or gave it to the jailer. In 2007, the bankbook sold for $36,000]
Item 5337
Bonhams 1793: Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
and reunited with Barrow within a few weeks of her release.
On April 30, Barrow was the getaway driver in a robbery in
Hillsboro, during which store owner J.N. Bucher was shot and killed. Bucher's wife identified Barrow from police photographs as one of the shooters, although he had stayed inside the car.
On August 5, Barrow,
Raymond Hamilton
Raymond Elzie Hamilton (May 21, 1914 — May 10, 1935) was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 20 years old, he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years.
First years
Raymond Hamilton was born ...
, and Ross Dyer were drinking
moonshine
Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
at a country dance in
Stringtown, Oklahoma
Stringtown is a town in Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 410 at the 2010 census, an increase of 3.5 percent from the figure of 396 recorded in 2000. It is the second largest town in Atoka County.
The town is notable for ...
, when Sheriff C.G. Maxwell and Deputy Eugene C. Moore approached them in the parking lot. Barrow and Hamilton opened fire, killing Moore and gravely wounding Maxwell. Moore was the first law officer whom Barrow and his gang killed; they eventually murdered nine. On October 11, they allegedly killed Howard Hall at his store during a robbery in
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region o ...
, though some historians consider this unlikely.
W. D. Jones
William Daniel ("W.D.", "Bud", "Deacon") Jones (May 12, 1916 – August 20, 1974) was a member of the Barrow Gang, whose spree throughout the southern Midwest in the early years of the Great Depression became part of American criminal folklore ...
had been a friend of Barrow's family since childhood. He joined Parker and Barrow on Christmas Eve 1932 at the age of 16, and the three left Dallas that night. The next day, Christmas Day of that year, Jones and Barrow murdered Doyle Johnson, a young family man, while stealing his car in
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. Barrow killed
Tarrant County
Tarrant County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, it had a population of 2,110,640. It is Texas' third-most populous county and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 2 ...
Deputy Malcolm Davis on January 6, 1933, when he, Parker, and Jones wandered into a police trap set for another criminal. The gang had murdered five people since April.
1933: Buck and Blanche Barrow join the gang
![BarrowJoplinHideout1933](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/BarrowJoplinHideout1933.jpg)
On March 22, 1933, Clyde's brother Buck was granted a full
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
and released from prison, and he and his wife
Blanche set up housekeeping with Bonnie, Clyde and Jones in a temporary hideout at
3347 1/2 Oakridge Drive in
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...
. According to family sources, Buck and Blanche were there to visit; they attempted to persuade Clyde to surrender to law enforcement. The group ran loud, alcohol-fueled card games late into the night in the quiet neighborhood; Blanche recalled that they "bought a case of beer a day". The men came and went noisily at all hours, and Clyde accidentally fired a BAR in the apartment while cleaning it. No neighbors went to the house, but one reported suspicions to the
Joplin Police Department
The Joplin Police Department (JPD) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for serving the city of Joplin in the U.S. state of Missouri.The Joplin Police Department currently employs 112 Police Officers. The department maintains a f ...
.
The police assembled a five-man force in two cars on April 13 to confront what they suspected were
bootleggers
Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to:
* Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence:
** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
living at the Oakridge Drive address. The Barrow brothers and Jones opened fire, killing Detective Harry L. McGinnis outright and fatally wounding Constable J. W. Harryman. Parker opened fire with a BAR as the others fled, forcing
Highway Patrol
A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...
Sergeant G.B. Kahler to duck behind a large oak tree. The
.30 caliber bullets from the BAR struck the tree and forced wood splinters into the sergeant's face. Parker got into the car with the others, and they pulled in Blanche from the street where she was pursuing her dog Snow Ball. The surviving officers later testified that they had fired only fourteen rounds in the conflict; one hit Jones on the side, one struck Clyde but was deflected by his suit-coat button, and one grazed Buck after
ricochet
A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
ing off a wall.
![Bonnie apuntant de broma a Clyde amb una escopeta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Bonnie_apuntant_de_broma_a_Clyde_amb_una_escopeta.jpg)
The group escaped the police at Joplin, but left behind most of their possessions at the apartment, including Buck's parole papers (three weeks old), a large arsenal of weapons, a handwritten poem by Bonnie, and a camera with several rolls of undeveloped film. Police developed the film at ''
The Joplin Globe
''The Joplin Globe'' is a five-day daily newspaper published in Joplin, Missouri, United States, covering parts of 14 counties in southwestern Missouri. Ottaway Community Newspapers owned the ''Globe'' from 1975 to 2002. Since 2002, it has been ow ...
'' and found many photos of Barrow, Parker, and Jones posing and pointing weapons at one another. The ''Globe'' sent the poem and the photos over the
newswire
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, ...
, including a photo of Parker clenching a cigar in her teeth and a
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
in her hand.
[Parker did smoke cigarettes, although she never smoked cigars.] The Barrow Gang subsequently became front-page news throughout America.
The photo of Parker posing with a cigar and a gun became popular. Jeff Guinn, in his book, ''Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde'', noted:
The group ranged from Texas as far north as
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
for the next three months. In May, they tried to rob the bank in
Lucerne, Indiana
Lucerne is an unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Cass County, Indiana.
History
Lucerne was platted in 1883 when the railroad was extended to that point. The community took its name from Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, ...
, and robbed the bank in
Okabena, Minnesota
Okabena is a town in Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 188 at the 2010 census. The community's name is a Dakota term meaning "the nesting place of herons."
History
Okabena was founded in 1879 after the railroad had ...
. They
kidnapped
Kidnapped may refer to:
* subject to the crime of kidnapping
Literature
* ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
* ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
Dillard Darby and Sophia Stone at
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent ...
, in the course of stealing Darby's car; this was one of several events between 1932 and 1934 in which they kidnapped police officers or robbery victims.
[Victims of kidnapping included: Deputy Joe Johns on August 14, 1932; Officer Thomas Persell on January 26, 1933; civilians Dillard Darby and Sophia Stone on April 27, 1933; Sheriff George Corry and Chief Paul Hardy on June 10, 1933; Chief Percy Boyd on April 6, 1934.] They usually released their
hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
s far from home, sometimes with money to help them return.
[Anderson, Brian]
"Reality less romantic than outlaw legend"
. ''The Dallas Morning News''. April 19, 2003.
Stories of such encounters made headlines, as did the more violent episodes. The Barrow Gang did not hesitate to shoot anyone who got in their way, whether it was a police officer or an innocent civilian. Other members of the gang who committed murder included Hamilton, Jones, Buck, and Henry Methvin. Eventually, the cold-bloodedness of their murders opened the public's eyes to the reality of their crimes, and led to their ends.
The photos entertained the public for a time, but the gang was desperate and discontented, as described by Blanche in her account written while imprisoned in the late 1930s.
[Blanche wrote that she felt "all my hopes and dreams tumbling down around me" as they fled Joplin.] With their new notoriety, their daily lives became more difficult as they tried to evade discovery. Restaurants and motels became less secure; they resorted to campfire cooking and bathing in cold streams. The unrelieved, round-the-clock proximity of five people in one car gave rise to vicious bickering.
[Barrow's sister Marie described her brother Buck as "the meanest, most hot-tempered" of all her siblings. Phillips, p. 343 n20] Jones was the driver when he and Barrow stole a car belonging to Darby in late April, and he used that car to leave the others. He stayed away until June 8.
Barrow failed to see warning signs at a bridge under construction on June 10, while driving with Jones and Parker near
Wellington, Texas
Wellington is a city and county seat of Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,189 at the 2010 census.
History
Sometime in 1889 or 1890, as smaller ranches and farmlands were being purchased, Ernest Theodore O'Neil, hi ...
, and the car flipped into a ravine.
Sources disagree on whether there was a gasoline fire or if Parker was doused with acid from the car's battery under the floorboards,
[Six witnesses at a farmhouse described battery acid as the culprit; the open-fire story started with the Parker-Cowan-Fortune book; it was repeated in Jones' ''Playboy'' interview.] but she sustained
third-degree burn
A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...
s to her right leg, so severe that the muscles contracted and caused the leg to "draw up". Jones observed: "She'd been burned so bad none of us thought she was gonna live. The hide on her right leg was gone, from her hip down to her ankle. I could see the bone at places."
Parker could hardly walk; she either hopped on her good leg or was carried by Barrow. They got help from a nearby farm family, then kidnapped
Collinsworth County Sheriff George Corry and City Marshal Paul Hardy, leaving the two of them handcuffed and barbed wired to a tree outside
Erick, Oklahoma
Erick ( ) is a city in Beckham County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located west of Sayre, the county seat, and east of the Oklahoma-Texas border. The population was 1,052 at the 2010 census.
A post office, originally named Dennis, was est ...
. The three rendezvoused with Buck and Blanche, and hid in a tourist court near
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
, nursing Parker's burns. Buck and Jones bungled a robbery and murdered Town Marshal Henry D. Humphrey in
Alma, Arkansas
Alma is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. It is located within the Arkansas River Valley at the edge of the Ozark Mountains; the city is the sixth largest in the Fort Smith metropolitan area. The population was 5,419 at the 201 ...
. The criminals had to flee, despite Parker's grave condition.
Platte City and Dexfield Park
![RedCrownBarrowHideout1933](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/RedCrownBarrowHideout1933.jpg)
In July 1933, the gang checked in to the
Red Crown Tourist Court
The Red Crown Tavern and Red Crown Tourist Court in Platte County, Missouri was the site of the July 20, 1933 gun battle between lawmen and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde and three members of their gang. The outlaws made their escape, but would be tracke ...
[Vasto, Mark]
"Local lawmen shoot it out with notorious bandits"
. Platte County Landmark. Retrieved May 25, 2008. south of
Platte City, Missouri
Platte City is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, Missouri within the United States. The population was 4,691 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
History
Platte City was founded by Zadock ...
. It consisted of two brick cabins joined by garages, and the gang rented both.
To the south stood the Red Crown Tavern, a popular restaurant among
Missouri Highway Patrol
The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) is the highway patrol agency for Missouri and has jurisdiction all across the state. It is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Colonel Eric T. Olson has been serving as the 24th superin ...
men, and the gang seemed to go out of their way to draw attention. Blanche registered the party as three guests, but owner Neal Houser could see five people getting out of the car. He noted that the driver backed into the garage "gangster style" for a quick getaway.
[Guinn, p. 211] Blanche paid for their cabins with coins rather than bills, and did the same later when buying five dinners and five beers.
[The gang had many coins because they had broken into the gumball machines at the three service stations that they robbed in ]Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Ce ...
, earlier that day. Guinn, pp. 210–11 The next day, Houser noticed that his guests had taped newspapers over the windows of their cabin; Blanche again paid for five meals with coins. Her outfit of
jodhpur
Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
riding breeches also attracted attention; they were not typical attire for women in the area, and eyewitnesses still remembered them forty years later.
Houser told Captain William Baxter of the Highway Patrol, a patron of his restaurant, about the group.
Barrow and Jones went into town
[Sources are split on this; most say that it was Blanche who went to town, but she recounted it as Clyde and Jones; p. 112] to purchase bandages, crackers, cheese, and
atropine
Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...
to treat Parker's leg. The druggist contacted Sheriff
Holt Coffey
Holt Coffey (August 2, 1891 – January 9, 1964) Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, including an
armored car.
Sheriff Coffey led a group of officers toward the cabins at 11pm, armed with
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
s.
["Red Crown Incident"](_blank)
. TexasHideout. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
In the gunfight which ensued, the .45 caliber Thompsons proved no match for Barrow's .30 caliber BAR, stolen on July 7 from the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
armory at
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...
. The gang escaped when a bullet short-circuited the horn on the armored car
[The armored car was an ordinary automobile that had been fortified with panels of extra boilerplate.] and the police officers mistook it for a cease-fire signal. They did not pursue the retreating Barrow vehicle.
![WDJones1933](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/WDJones1933.jpg)
The gang had evaded the law once again, but Buck had been wounded by a bullet that blasted a large hole in the bone of his forehead and exposed his injured brain, and Blanche was nearly blinded in both eyes by glass fragments.
The Barrow Gang camped at Dexfield Park, an abandoned
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
near
Dexter, Iowa
Dexter is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 640 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Dexter was founded in 1868.
The city is fam ...
, on July 24.
[Vasto, Mark]
"Further on up the road"
, Platte County Landmark. Retrieved May 25, 2008. Buck was sometimes semiconscious, and he even talked and ate, but his massive head wound and loss of blood were so severe that Barrow and Jones dug a grave for him. Local residents noticed their bloody bandages, and officers determined that the campers were the Barrow Gang. Local police officers and approximately 100 spectators surrounded the group, and the Barrows soon came under fire.
Barrow, Parker, and Jones escaped on foot.
Buck was shot in the back, and he and his wife were captured by the officers. Buck died of his head wound and
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
after surgery five days later at Kings Daughters Hospital in
Perry, Iowa
Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,836 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Formerly a major rail ...
.
For the next six weeks, the remaining perpetrators ranged far afield from their usual area of operations, west to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, north to Minnesota, southeast to
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
; yet they continued to commit armed robberies.
[Guinn writes that their clothes were so bloody after Dexfield that they wore sheets with slits cut for their heads.] They restocked their arsenal when Barrow and Jones robbed an armory at
Plattville, Illinois
Plattville is a village in Lisbon Township, Kendall County, Illinois, United States, west of Joliet. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 242. The community was established in 1860 and named after founder Daniel Platt, who first built a ...
on August 20, acquiring three BARs, handguns, and a large quantity of ammunition.
By early September, the gang risked a run to Dallas to see their families for the first time in four months. Jones parted company with them, continuing to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
where his mother had moved.
[Knight and Davis had a different version, but once they split up, Jones never saw Barrow and Parker again. Knight and Davis, pp. 114–15] He was arrested there without incident on November 16, and returned to Dallas. Through the autumn, Barrow committed several robberies with small-time local accomplices, while his family and Parker's attended to her considerable medical needs. On November 22, they narrowly evaded arrest while trying to meet with family members near
Sowers, Texas
Sowers is a ghost town located approximately 11 miles northwest of Dallas, Texas in Dallas County. Today, the once rural community is located entirely within the boundaries of Irving, Texas. Of the original townsite, only the cemetery remains.
Hi ...
. Dallas Sheriff Smoot Schmid, Deputy Bob Alcorn, and Deputy Ted Hinton lay in wait nearby. As Barrow drove up, he sensed a trap and drove past his family's car, at which point Schmid and his deputies stood up and opened fire with machine guns and a BAR. The family members in the crossfire were not hit, but a BAR bullet passed through the car, striking the legs of both Barrow and Parker.
[Knight and Davis, p. 118] They escaped later that night.
On November 28, a Dallas grand jury delivered a murder indictment against Parker and Barrow for the killing – in January of that year, nearly ten months earlier – of Tarrant County Deputy Malcolm Davis;
["Clyde and Bonnie Names Reported in Slaying Bill", ''The Dallas Morning News'', November 29, 1933, section II, p. 1] it was Parker's first warrant for murder.
1934: Final run
On January 16, 1934, Barrow orchestrated the escape of Hamilton, Methvin, and several others in the "Eastham Breakout".
The brazen raid generated negative publicity for Texas, and Barrow seemed to have achieved what historian Phillips suggests was his overriding goal: revenge on the
Texas Department of Corrections
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...
.
[Phillips writes that Barrow had been so focused on this for so long that, after the Eastham raid, "life for Clyde Barrow became anticlimactic…only death remained, and he knew it". Phillips, ''Running'', p. 217.]
Barrow Gang member Joe Palmer shot Major Joe Crowson during his escape, and Crowson died a few days later in the hospital. This attack attracted the full power of the Texas and federal government to the
manhunt
Manhunt may refer to:
Search processes
* Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive
* Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies
Social organisations
* Manhun ...
for Barrow and Parker. As Crowson struggled for life, prison chief Lee Simmons reportedly promised him that all persons involved in the breakout would be hunted down and killed.
All of them eventually were, except for Methvin, who preserved his life by turning on the gang and setting up the ambush of Barrow and Parker.
The Texas Department of Corrections contacted former
Texas Ranger Captain
Frank Hamer
Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and ...
and persuaded him to hunt down the Barrow Gang. He was retired, but his commission had not expired. He accepted the assignment as a
Texas Highway Patrol
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial veh ...
officer, secondarily assigned to the prison system as a special investigator, and given the specific task of taking down the Barrow Gang.
![FrankHamerEarly1920s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/FrankHamerEarly1920s.jpg)
Hamer was tall, burly, and taciturn, unimpressed by authority and driven by an "inflexible adherence to right, or what he thinks is right." For twenty years, he had been feared and admired throughout Texas as "the walking embodiment of the '
One Riot, One Ranger
''One Riot, One Ranger'' is a bronze statue of a Texas Ranger, installed from 1961 to 2020 at Dallas Love Field, named for the famous story of Bill McDonald, a captain of Ranger Company B, in the 1900s who by himself broke up an illegal boxing m ...
' ethos". He "had acquired a formidable reputation as a result of several spectacular captures and the shooting of a number of Texas criminals". He was officially credited with 53 kills, and suffered seventeen wounds. Prison boss Simmons always said publicly that Hamer had been his first choice, although there is evidence that he first approached two other Rangers, both of whom declined because they were reluctant to shoot a woman. Starting on February 10, Hamer became the constant shadow of Barrow and Parker, living out of his car, just a town or two behind them. Three of Hamer's four brothers were also Texas Rangers; brother Harrison was the best shot of the four, but Frank was considered the most tenacious.
On
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, April 1, 1934 at the intersection of Route 114 and Dove Road, near
Grapevine, Texas
Grapevine is a city and suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States, with minor portions extending into Dallas County and Denton County. The city is located in the Mid-Cities suburban region between Da ...
(now
Southlake), highway patrolmen H.D. Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler stopped their motorcycles thinking a motorist needed assistance. Barrow and Methvin or Parker opened fire with a shotgun and handgun, killing both officers. An eyewitness account said that Parker fired the fatal shots and this story received widespread coverage. Methvin later claimed that he fired the first shot after mistakenly assuming that Barrow wanted the officers killed. Barrow joined in, firing at Patrolman Murphy.
![B&CElecChairEditCartoon1934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/B%26CElecChairEditCartoon1934.jpg)
During the spring season, the Grapevine killings were recounted in exaggerated detail, affecting public perception; all four Dallas daily papers seized on the story told by the eyewitness, a farmer who claimed to have seen Parker laugh at the way that Murphy's head "bounced like a rubber ball" on the ground as she shot him. The stories claimed that police found a cigar butt "with tiny teeth marks", supposedly those of Parker. Several days later, Murphy's fiancée wore her intended wedding dress to his funeral, attracting photos and newspaper coverage. The eyewitness's ever-changing story was soon discredited, but the massive negative publicity increased the public clamor for the extermination of the Barrow Gang. The outcry galvanized the authorities into action, and Highway Patrol boss L.G. Phares offered a reward of $1,000 for "the dead bodies of the Grapevine slayers"—not their capture, just the bodies.
[Knight and Davis, p. 147] Texas Governor
The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...
Ma Ferguson
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) was an American politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the List of Governors of Texas, governor of Texas: from 1925 to 1927, and from 1933 to 1935. She was the firs ...
added another reward of $500 for each of the two killers, which meant that, for the first time, "there was a specific price on Bonnie's head, since she was so widely believed to have shot H.D. Murphy".
Public hostility increased five days later, when Barrow and Methvin murdered 60-year-old Constable William "Cal" Campbell, a widower and father, near
Commerce, Oklahoma
Commerce is a city in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,473 at the 2010 census, down 6.5 percent from the figure of 2,645 in 2000, and lower than the 2,555 residents it had in 1920. Commerce is included in the Joplin ...
. They kidnapped Commerce police chief Percy Boyd, crossed the state line into
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, and let him go, giving him a clean shirt, a few dollars, and a request from Parker to tell the world that she did not smoke cigars. Boyd identified both Barrow and Parker to authorities, but he never learned Methvin's name. The resultant arrest warrant for the Campbell murder specified "Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and John Doe". Historian Knight writes: "For the first time, Bonnie was seen as a killer, actually pulling the trigger—just like Clyde. Whatever chance she had for
clemency
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
had just been reduced."
''The Dallas Journal'' ran a
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
on its editorial page, showing an empty
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
with a sign on it saying "Reserved", adding the words "Clyde and Bonnie".
Ambush and deaths
![BarrowDeathPosse1934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/BarrowDeathPosse1934.jpg)
By May 1934, Barrow had 16 warrants outstanding against him for multiple counts of robbery, auto theft, theft, escape, assault, and murder in four states. Hamer, who had begun tracking the gang on February 12, led the posse. He had studied the gang's movements and found that they swung in a circle skirting the edges of five mid-western states, exploiting the "state line" rule which prevented officers from pursuing a fugitive into another jurisdiction. Barrow was consistent in his movements, so Hamer charted his path and predicted where he would go. The gang's itinerary centered on family visits, and they were due to see Methvin's family in Louisiana. Unbeknownst to Hamer, Barrow had designated Methvin's parents' residence as a rendezvous in case they were separated. Methvin had become separated from the rest of the gang in
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...
. Hamer's posse was composed of six men: Texas officers Hamer,
Hinton, Alcorn, and B.M. "Maney" Gault, and Louisiana officers Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley.
![1932 Ford V-8 containing the remains of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/1932_Ford_V-8_containing_the_remains_of_Bonnie_Parker_and_Clyde_Barrow.jpg)
On May 21, the four posse members from Texas were in Shreveport when they learned that Barrow and Parker were planning to visit Ivy Methvin in Bienville Parish that evening. The full posse set up an ambush along Louisiana State Highway 154 south of
Gibsland toward Sailes. Hinton recounted that the lawmen were in place by 9 pm, and waited through the whole of the next day (May 22) with no sign of the perpetrators.
[Hinton, Ted and Larry Grove (1979)]
''Ambush: The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde''
Austin, TX: Shoal Creek Publishers. . Other accounts said that the officers set up on the evening of May 22.
![Bonnie Clyde Car](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Bonnie_Clyde_Car.jpg)
At approximately 9:15 am on May 23, the posse was still concealed in the bushes and almost ready to give up when they heard a vehicle approaching at high speed. In their official report, they stated they had persuaded Methvin to position his truck on the shoulder of the road that morning. They hoped Barrow would stop to speak with him, putting his vehicle close to the posse's position in the bushes. The vehicle proved to be the
Ford V8
Ford engines are those used in Ford Motor Company vehicles and in aftermarket, sports and kit applications. Different engine ranges are used in various global markets.
3 cylinder
A series of Ford DOHC 12-valve inline-three engines with Twin Indep ...
with Barrow at the wheel and he slowed down as hoped. The six lawmen opened fire while the vehicle was still moving. Oakley fired first, probably before any order to do so.
[Knight and Davis, p. 166.] Barrow was shot in the head and died instantly from Oakley's first shot and Hinton reported hearing Parker scream.
The officers fired about 130 rounds, emptying each of their weapons into the car.
[''The Posse''](_blank)
, Texas Hideout. Retrieved May 25, 2008. The two had survived several bullet wounds over the years in their confrontations with the law. On this day any one of several of Bonnie and Clyde's wounds could have been the cause of death.
According to statements made by Hinton and Alcorn:
Actual film footage taken by one of the deputies immediately after the ambush show 112 bullet holes in the vehicle, of which around one quarter struck the couple. The official report by parish
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
J. L. Wade listed seventeen entrance wounds on Barrow's body and twenty-six on that of Parker, including several headshots to each, and another severed Barrow's
spinal column
The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates ...
. Undertaker C.F. "Boots" Bailey had difficulty
embalming
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
the bodies because of all the bullet holes.
![BarrowDeathCarArsenal1934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/BarrowDeathCarArsenal1934.jpg)
The deafened officers inspected the vehicle and discovered an arsenal of weapons, including stolen automatic rifles, sawed-off semi-automatic
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
s, assorted
handgun
A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
s, and several thousand rounds of ammunition, along with fifteen sets of
license plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...
s from various states.
Hamer stated: "I hate to bust the cap on a woman, especially when she was sitting down, however if it wouldn't have been her, it would have been us." Word of the deaths quickly got around when Hamer, Jordan, Oakley, and Hinton drove into town to telephone their respective bosses. A crowd soon gathered at the spot. Gault and Alcorn were left to guard the bodies, but they lost control of the jostling, curious throng; one woman cut off bloody locks of Parker's hair and pieces from her dress, which were subsequently sold as
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
s. Hinton returned to find a man trying to cut off Barrow's trigger finger, and was sickened by what was occurring.
Arriving at the scene, the coroner reported:
Hinton enlisted Hamer's help in controlling the "circus-like atmosphere" and they got people away from the car.
The posse towed the Ford, with the dead bodies still inside, to the Conger Furniture Store & Funeral Parlor in downtown
Arcadia, Louisiana
Arcadia is a town in, and the parish seat of, Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2010 census. Arcadia has the highest elevation of any incorporated municipality in Louisiana. Arcadia's name com ...
. Preliminary embalming was done by Bailey in a small preparation room in the back of the furniture store, as it was common for furniture stores and undertakers to share the same space.
The population of the northwest Louisiana town reportedly swelled from 2,000 to 12,000 within hours. Curious throngs arrived by train, horseback,
buggy, and plane. Beer normally sold for 15 cents a bottle but it jumped to 25 cents, and sandwiches quickly sold out. Barrow had been shot in the head by a .35
Remington Model 8
The Remington Model 8 is a semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms, introduced as the ''Remington Autoloading Rifle'' in 1905, though the name was changed to the ''Remington Model 8'' in 1911.
History
On Oct ...
. Henry Barrow identified his son's body, then sat weeping in a rocking chair in the furniture section.
H.D. Darby was an undertaker at the McClure Funeral Parlor and Sophia Stone was a home demonstration agent, both from nearby Ruston. Both of them came to Arcadia to identify the bodies
because the Barrow gang had kidnapped them in 1933. Parker reportedly had laughed when she discovered that Darby was an undertaker. She remarked that maybe someday he would be working on her;
Darby did assist Bailey in the embalming.
Funeral and burial
![Bonnie parker grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Bonnie_parker_grave.jpg)
Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side, but the Parker family would not allow it. Her mother wanted to grant her final wish to be brought home, but the mobs surrounding the Parker house made that impossible.
[Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p. 175.] More than 20,000 attended Parker's funeral, and her family had difficulty reaching her gravesite.
Parker's services were held on May 26.
Dr. Allen Campbell recalled that flowers came from everywhere, including some with cards allegedly from
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934), nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was s ...
and
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
.
The largest floral tribute was sent by a group of Dallas city
newsboys; the sudden end of Bonnie and Clyde sold 500,000 newspapers in Dallas alone. Parker was buried in the Fishtrap Cemetery, although her body was moved in 1945 to the new Crown Hill Cemetery in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
.
Thousands of people gathered outside both Dallas funeral homes, hoping for a chance to view the bodies. Barrow's private funeral was held at sunset on May 25.
[Moshinskie, Dr. James F. "Funerals of the Famous: Bonnie & Clyde." ''The American Funeral Director'', Vol. 130 (No. 10), October 2007, pp. 74–90.] He was buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, next to his brother Marvin. The Barrow brothers share a single granite marker with their names on it and an epitaph selected by Clyde: "Gone but not forgotten."
The
American National Insurance Company
American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
Company description
American National was founded in ...
of
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, paid the life insurance policies in full on Barrow and Parker. Since then, the policy of payouts has changed to exclude payouts in cases of deaths caused by any criminal act by the insured.
The six men of the posse were each to receive a one-sixth share of the reward money, and Dallas Sheriff Schmid had promised Hinton that this would total some $26,000, but most of the organizations that had pledged reward funds reneged on their pledges. In the end, each lawman earned $200.23 for his efforts and collected memorabilia.
![Clyde barrow grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Clyde_barrow_grave.jpg)
By the summer of 1934, new federal statutes made bank robbery and kidnapping federal offenses. The growing coordination of local authorities by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, plus
two-way radio
A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive radio waves (a transceiver), unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content. It is an audio (sound) transceiver, a transmitter and receiver in one unit, used for bidirecti ...
s in police cars, combined to make it more difficult to carry out series of robberies and murders than it had been just months before. Two months after Gibsland, Dillinger was killed on the street in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
; three months after that, Floyd was killed in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
; and one month after that,
Baby Face Nelson
Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), also known as George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber who became a criminal partner of John Dillinger, when he helped Dillinger escape from prison, in Crown P ...
was killed in Illinois.
Parker's niece and last surviving relative is campaigning to have her aunt buried next to Barrow.
Differing accounts
The members of the posse came from three organizations: Hamer and Gault were both former Texas Rangers then working for the Texas Department of Corrections (DOC), Hinton and Alcorn were employees of the Dallas Sheriff's office, and Jordan and Oakley were Sheriff and Deputy of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The three duos distrusted one another and kept to themselves, and each had its own agenda in the operation and offered differing narratives of it. Simmons, the head of the Texas DOC, brought another perspective, having effectively commissioned the posse.
Schmid had tried to arrest Barrow in Sowers, Texas in November 1933. Schmid called "Halt!" and gunfire erupted from the outlaw car, which made a quick U-turn and sped away. Schmid's Thompson submachine gun jammed on the first round, and he could not get off one shot. Pursuit of Barrow was impossible because the posse had parked their cars at a distance to prevent them from being seen.
Hamer's posse discussed calling "halt" but the four Texans "vetoed the idea", telling them that the killers' history had always been to shoot their way out,
[Knight and Davis, p. 166] as had occurred in Platte City, Dexfield Park, and Sowers. When the ambush occurred, Oakley stood up and opened fire, and the other officers opened fire immediately after.
Jordan was reported to have called out to Barrow; Alcorn said that Hamer called out; and Hinton claimed that Alcorn did.
In another report, each said that they both did. These conflicting claims might have been collegial attempts to divert the focus from Oakley, who later admitted firing too early, but that is merely speculation.
[Guinn, p. 357.]
In 1979, Hinton's account of the saga was published posthumously as ''Ambush: The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde''. His version of the Methvin family's involvement in the planning and execution of the ambush was that the posse had tied Methvin's father Ivy to a tree the previous night to keep him from warning off the couple.
Hinton claimed that Hamer made a deal with Ivy: if he kept quiet about being tied up, his son would escape
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
for the two Grapevine murders.
Hinton alleged that Hamer made every member of the posse swear that they would never divulge this secret. Other accounts, however, place Ivy at the center of the action, not tied up but on the road, waving for Barrow to stop.
Hinton's memoir suggests that Parker's cigar in the famous "cigar photo" had been a rose, and that it was retouched as a cigar by darkroom staff at the ''Joplin Globe'' while they prepared the photo for publication.
[But the cigar is shown in other photos from the Joplin rolls shot at the same spot. (Ramsey, pp. 108–109)] Guinn says that some people who knew Hinton suspect that "he became
delusion
A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...
al late in life".
Victims
Bonnie and Clyde killed eleven people including nine law enforcement officers during their two years of criminal activity from February 1932 to May 1934.
* John Napoleon "JN" Bucher of Hillsboro, Texas: murdered April 30, 1932 in Hillsboro, TX
* Deputy Eugene Capell Moore of Atoka, Oklahoma: murdered August 5, 1932 in Stringtown, OK
* Howard Hall of Sherman, Texas: murdered October 11, 1932 in Sherman, TX
* Doyle Allie Myers Johnson of Temple, Texas: murdered December 26, 1932 in Temple, TX
* Deputy Malcolm Simmons Davis of Dallas, Texas: murdered January 6, 1933 in Dallas, TX
* Detective Harry Leonard McGinnis of Joplin, Missouri: murdered April 13, 1933 in Joplin, MO
* Constable John Wesley "Wes" Harryman of Joplin, Missouri: murdered April 13, 1933 in Joplin, MO
* Town Marshal Henry Dallas Humphrey of Alma, Arkansas: murdered June 26, 1933 in Alma, AR
* Prison Guard Major Joseph Crowson of Huntsville, Texas: murdered January 16, 1934 in Houston County, TX
* Patrolman Edward Bryan "Ed" Wheeler of Grapevine, Texas: murdered April 1, 1934 near Grapevine, TX
* Patrolman Holloway Daniel "H.D." Murphy of Grapevine, Texas: murdered April 1, 1934 near Grapevine, TX
* Constable William Calvin "Cal" Campbell of Commerce, Oklahoma: murdered April 6, 1934 near Commerce, OK
Aftermath
Personal effects
The posse never received the promised
bounty
Bounty or bounties commonly refers to:
* Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing
Bounty or bounties may also refer to:
Geography
* Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
on the perpetrators, so they were told to take whatever they wanted from the confiscated items in their car. Hamer appropriated the arsenal of stolen guns and ammunition, plus a box of fishing tackle, under the terms of his compensation package with the Texas DOC.
[Hamer was interested in the Barrow hunt assignment, but the pay was only a third of what he made working for oil companies. To sweeten the deal, Texas Department of Corrections boss Lee Simmons granted him title to all the guns that the posse would recover from the slain murderers. Almost all the guns, which the gang had stolen from armories, were the property of the National Guard. There was a thriving market for "celebrity" guns, even in 1934 (Guinn, p. 343).] In July, Clyde's mother Cumie wrote to Hamer asking for the return of the guns: "You don't ever want to forget my boy was never tried in no court for murder, and no one is guilty until proven guilty by some court so I hope you will answer this letter and also return the guns I am asking for."
[Treherne, p. 224] There is no record of any response.
Alcorn claimed Barrow's
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
from the car, but he later returned it to the Barrow family.
[Guinn, p. 343] Posse members also took other personal items, such as Parker's clothing. The Parker family asked for them back but were refused,
and the items were later sold as souvenirs. The Barrow family claimed that Sheriff Jordan kept an alleged suitcase of cash, and writer Jeff Guinn claims that Jordan bought a "barn and land in Arcadia" soon after the event, thereby hinting that the accusation had merit, despite the complete absence of any evidence to the existence of such a suitcase.
Death car
Jordan attempted to keep the death car, but Ruth Warren of
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
, the vehicle's legal owner, sued him. Jordan relented and allowed her to claim it in August 1934, still covered with blood and human tissue. The engine still ran, despite the damage the vehicle took during the ambush. Warren picked up the car in Arcadia and drove it to Shreveport, still in its gruesome state. From there, she had it trucked to Topeka.
The bullet-riddled Ford became a popular traveling attraction. The car was displayed at fairs, amusement parks, and flea markets for three decades, and once became a fixture at a Nevada race track. There was a charge of one dollar to sit in it.
In 1988, a casino near Las Vegas purchased it for about $250,000. , the car and the shirt Barrow was wearing when killed are displayed at Primm Valley Resort & Casino in
Primm, Nevada
Primm (formerly known as State Line) is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 where it crosses the state border between California and Nevada. It sits on I ...
alongside
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...
.
Barrow's enthusiasm for cars was evident in a letter he wrote from Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 10, 1934, to Henry Ford: "While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8."
Gang and family members
![HenryMethvinMugshot1931](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/HenryMethvinMugshot1931.jpg)
In February 1935, Dallas and federal authorities arrested and tried twenty family members and friends for
aiding and abetting
Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally allo ...
Barrow and Parker. This became known as the "harboring trial" and all twenty either pleaded guilty or were found guilty. The two mothers were jailed for thirty days; other sentences ranged from two years' imprisonment (for Floyd Hamilton, brother of Raymond) to one hour in custody (for Barrow's teenage sister Marie). Other defendants included Blanche, Jones, Methvin, and Parker's sister Billie.
Blanche was permanently blinded in her left eye during the 1933 shootout at Dexfield Park. She was taken into custody on the charge of "
assault with intent to kill". She was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison, but was paroled in 1939 for good behavior. She returned to Dallas, leaving her life of crime in the past, and lived with her invalid father as his caregiver. In 1940, she married Eddie Frasure, worked as a taxi cab dispatcher and a beautician, and completed the terms of her parole one year later. She lived in peace with her husband until he died of cancer in 1969.
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
approached her to purchase the rights to her name for use in the 1967 film ''
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
'', and she agreed to the original script. However, she objected to her characterization by
Estelle Parsons
Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American actress, singer and stage director.
After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program ''Today'' and ...
in the final film, describing the actress's Academy Award-winning portrayal of her as "a screaming horse's ass". Despite this, she maintained a firm friendship with Beatty. She died from cancer at age 77 on December 24, 1988, and was buried in Dallas's Grove Hill Memorial Park under the name "Blanche B. Frasure".
Barrow cohorts Hamilton and Palmer, who escaped Eastham in January 1934, were recaptured. Both were convicted of murder and executed in the electric chair at
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home to ...
on May 10, 1935.
![WDJonesMug1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/WDJonesMug1973.jpg)
Jones had left Barrow and Parker, six weeks after the three of them evaded officers at Dexfield Park in July 1933. He reached Houston and got a job picking cotton, where he was soon discovered and captured. He was returned to Dallas, where he dictated a "confession" in which he claimed to have been kept a prisoner by Barrow and Parker. Some of the more lurid lies that he told concerned the gang's sex lives, and this testimony gave rise to many stories about Barrow's ambiguous sexuality. Jones was convicted of the murder of Doyle Johnson and served a lenient sentence of fifteen years.
He gave an interview to ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' magazine during the excitement surrounding the 1967 movie, saying that in reality it had not been glamorous.
He was killed on August 4, 1974, in a misunderstanding by the jealous boyfriend of a woman whom he was trying to help.
Methvin was convicted in Oklahoma of the 1934 murder of Constable Campbell at Commerce. He was paroled in 1942 and killed by a train in 1948. He fell asleep drunk on the train tracks, although some have speculated that he was pushed by someone seeking revenge. His father Ivy was killed in 1946 by a
hit-and-run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
driver.
[Guinn, p. 358] Parker's husband Roy Thornton was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary in March 1933. He was killed by guards on October 3, 1937, during an escape attempt from Eastham prison.
["Bonnie & Roy."](_blank)
Retrieved May 24, 2008.
Law enforcement
Hamer returned to a quiet life as a freelance security consultant for oil companies. According to Guinn, "his reputation suffered somewhat after Gibsland" because many people felt that he had not given Barrow and Parker a fair chance to surrender. He made headlines again in 1948 when he and Governor
Coke Stevenson
Coke Robert Stevenson (March 20, 1888 – June 28, 1975) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Texas from 1941 to 1947. He was the first Texan politician to hold its three highest offices (Speaker of the Texas Hou ...
unsuccessfully challenged the vote total achieved by
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
during the election for the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
. He died in 1955 at the age of 71, after several years of poor health. Bob Alcorn died on May 23, 1964, 30 years to the day after the Gibsland ambush.
Prentiss Oakley admitted to friends that he had fired prematurely.
He succeeded Henderson Jordan as sheriff of Bienville Parish in 1940.
Officials of the Texas Rangers,
Texas Highway Patrol
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial veh ...
, and
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license adminis ...
honored the memory of patrolman Edward Bryan Wheeler on April 1, 2011, who was murdered along with officer H. D. Murphy by the Barrow gang on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934. They presented the Yellow Rose of Texas commendation to his last surviving sibling, 95-year-old Ella Wheeler-McLeod of
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, giving her a plaque and framed portrait of her brother.
In popular culture
Films
Hollywood has treated the story of Bonnie and Clyde several times, most notably:
*
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black ...
directed the film ''
The Bonnie Parker Story
''The Bonnie Parker Story'' is a 1958 crime film directed by William Witney. The movie is loosely based on the life of Bonnie Parker, a well-known outlaw of the 1930. The film stars Dorothy Provine as Parker; Parker's actual historical partner, Cl ...
'' (1958) starring
Dorothy Provine
Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...
.
[Walker, John, ed. (1994). ''Halliwell's Film Guide.'' New York: Harper Perennial. . p. 150]
*
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010)
was an American director and producer of film, television and theater. Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 19 ...
directed ''
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
'' (1967) which starred
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
and
Faye Dunaway
Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...
.
This movie has the pair outsmarting the police and followed a romanticized story of the criminals.
*
John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock Jr. (born December 15, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He directed the sports drama films ''The Rookie (2002 film), The Rookie'' (2002) and ''The Blind Side (film), The Blind Side'' (2009), and the historical drama films ''Savin ...
directed the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
film ''
The Highwaymen'' (2019), showing the Texas Rangers on a successful hunt for the pair. The film starred
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
as
Frank Hamer
Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and ...
and
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
as Maney Gault with Edward Bossert as Clyde Barrow and Emily Brobst as Bonnie Parker.
Music
* Many pop songs have been produced about Bonnie and Clyde, including
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...
and
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
's 1967 "
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
", which conveys a highly romanticized account of the pair,
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...
's 1967 single "
The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde
"The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" is a song, written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, and recorded by the British rhythm and blues singer Georgie Fame. Released as a single, the song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for one week from ...
",
Mel Torme
Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to:
Biology
* Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL)
* National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL
People
* Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...
's 1968 song "
A Day in the Life of Bonnie and Clyde
''A Day in the Life of Bonnie and Clyde'' is a 1968 studio album by Mel Tormé. It was released during a wave of renewed interest in the crime duo Bonnie and Clyde following the release of the 1967 film ''Bonnie and Clyde''. With the exception of ...
",
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...
's 1968 "
The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde", and
Die Toten Hosen
Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf.
History
The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...
's "
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
". The
bluegrass duo
Flatt & Scruggs
Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass music, bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948 ...
released an entire album in 1968 about the duo and their crime spree, ''The Story of Bonnie & Clyde''. In 2019,
Volbeat
Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Lars ...
sang about the couple in the song "The Awakening of Bonnie Parker", from the album ''
Rewind, Replay, Rebound
''Rewind, Replay, Rebound'' is the seventh studio album by Danish rock band Volbeat. The album was released on 2 August 2019. This marks the first studio album with Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass.
Singles
Prior to the release of ''Rewind, Replay, ...
''. In 2021, Yuqi of
(G)I-DLE
(G)I-dle (), stylized in all caps, is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. Originally a sextet, Soojin left the lineup on August 14, 202 ...
released "Bonnie and Clyde" on her solo debut "A Page".
Television
* The
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. cartoon ''
Bunny and Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches)
''Bunny and Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches)'' is a 1968 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. It was the first appearance of Bunny and Claude, inspired by the 1967 Warner Bros. film '' Bonnie and Clyde''. This is the fi ...
'' (1968) is a parody of Bonnie and Clyde, portraying them as rabbits stealing carrots.
* In the television film ''
Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story'' (1992),
Tracey Needham
Tracey Renee Needham (born March 28, 1967) is an American actress who has acted primarily in television roles such as Paige Thatcher on '' Life Goes On'' (2nd-4th seasons; 1990–1993), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Meg Austin on the first seaso ...
played Bonnie and
Dana Ashbrook
Dana Vernon Ashbrook (born May 24, 1967) is an American actor, best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its 1992 prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''.
Early life
Ashbrook was ...
played Clyde.
*
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...
directed the television miniseries ''
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
'', which aired on
Lifetime
Lifetime may refer to:
* Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey
* ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band
* ...
,
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
, and
A&E on December 8 and 9, 2013.
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Sp ...
played Clyde and
Holliday Grainger
Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'', Luc ...
played Bonnie.
* In March 2009, Bonnie and Clyde were the subject of a program in the BBC series ''
Timewatch
''Timewatch'' is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC.
The ''Timewatch'' brandname is used as a ...
'', based in part on gang members' private papers and previously unavailable police documents.
* In the December 5, 2016 episode of ''
Timeless
Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to:
* Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time
* Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism
* Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration
* Immo ...
'' (season 1, episode 9, "Last Ride of Bonnie & Clyde"), Sam Strike portrays Clyde Barrow and
Jacqueline Byers
Jacqueline Byers is a Canadian actress. She starred on the CBS series ''Salvation''.
Early life
Byers grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, where she attended Lorne Park Secondary School; she participated in school plays and was a star athlete on the ...
portrays Bonnie Parker.
* In a fifth-season episode of ''
Legends of Tomorrow
''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klem ...
'' titled "
The Great British Fake Off
The fifth season of the American television series ''Legends of Tomorrow'', which is based on characters from DC Comics, premiered on The CW on January 21, 2020. The season consisted of 15 episodes, which includes the special episode for the "Cri ...
", Ben Sullivan portrays Clyde Barrow and Abby Ross as Bonnie Parker.
* The story of Bonnie and Clyde is parodied in "
Love, Springfieldian Style
"Love, Springfieldian Style" is the twelfth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2008, three days after Valentine's Day ...
," an episode from the 19th season of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', with
Marge
Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include:
People
*Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist
*Marge Anderson (1932 ...
and
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
in the titular roles.
Theatre
* In November 2009, the musical ''
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
'' premiered at the
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
History
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
in San Diego. It ran for five weeks at the
Asolo Repertory Theatre
The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep (AKA: Asolo Theatre Company, Inc.) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo ...
in
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
in 2010. In the autumn of 2011, it opened on Broadway and ran for 69 performances. Broadway performers
Laura Osnes
Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, ''Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcourt, ...
and
Jeremy Jordan starred respectively as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
* A Korean adaptation of the ''Bonnie & Clyde'' musical ran at
Chungmu Arts Hall
Heungin-dong is a legal '' dong'', or neighbourhood of the Jung-gu district in Seoul, South Korea and governed by its administrative dong, Sindang 1-dong.
Chungmu Arts Hall
Chungmu Arts Hall is multi-purpose cultural complex located in Heungin- ...
in Seoul from September to October 2013.
* ''
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
'' premiered in London's
Off West-End for a brief 5-day workshop production at
The Other Palace Theatre in 2017. The show was later revived for two concert performances at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
in January 2022. During the second performance, on 18 January 2022, it was announced that the show would begin previews on 9 April 2022 at the
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London.
History
It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...
, for a limited season.
Books
:''Books that are regarded as non-fictional are listed in the
bibliography section.''
*''Side By Side: A Novel of Bonnie and Clyde'' by Jenni L. Walsh is the fictionalized account of Bonnie and Clyde's crime spree, told through the perspective of Bonnie Parker. Published in 2018 by Forge Books (
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
).
Podcasts
* Bonnie and Clyde's life and crimes were covered in a three-part series on the popular true crime podcast,
The Last Podcast on the Left'' (Episode 369 "Part 1 – Once you go short", Episode 370 "Part 2 – Give me the Money Now", Episode 371 "Filthy, Smelly, and Surly".) The podcast was hosted by Marcus Parks, Ben Kissel, and Henry Zebrowski.
*The podcast
Infamous America', hosted by Chris Wimmer, released a six part episode of Bonnie and Clyde in 2001.
Slang
* The idiomatic phrase "modern-day Bonnie and Clyde" generally refers to a man and a woman who operate together as present-day criminals.
* The colloquial expression "Bonnie and Clyde" is often used to describe a couple that is extremely loyal and willing to do anything for each other, even in the face of danger. In this instance, it is synonymous with the slang phrases "ride-or-die"
and "
ride-or-die chick
A "ride-or-die chick" is a neologism of biker culture origin referring to a "woman willing to support her partner and his risky lifestyle despite how this might endanger or harm her." The woman may even take an active role as an accomplice and ma ...
"; for example, the song "
03 Bonnie and Clyde
"03 Bonnie & Clyde" is a song recorded by American rapper Jay-Z featuring his then-girlfriend, now wife, American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was released on October 10, 2002. It was composed by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Prince, Tupac Shakur, Darryl ...
" by
Jay Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
and
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
.
* "Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome" is the pop culture phrase for
hybristophilia
Hybristophilia is a sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes, a paraphilia in which sexual arousal, facilitation, and attainment of orgasm are responsive to and contingent upon being with a partner known to have committed a cri ...
—the phenomenon of becoming attracted to, sexually aroused by, or achieving orgasm based on knowledge of, or watching, an outrage or crime take place. For instance, high-profile criminals (e.g.
serial killers
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
) such as
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy ( born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade ...
,
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...
, and
Richard Ramirez
Ricardo "Richard" Leyva Muñoz Ramirez (; February 29, 1960 – June 7, 2013), dubbed the Night Stalker, the Valley Intruder (as his attacks were first clustered in the San Gabriel Valley), and the Walk-in Killer was an American serial kill ...
reportedly received volumes of sexual fan mail and love letters.
See also
*
Jeffrey and Jill Erickson
Jeffrey E. Erickson (1958–1992) and Jill Sandra Erickson ( Cohen; 1964–1991) were an American married criminal couple known for committing a series of violent bank robberies.
The Ericksons are believed to have committed eight bank ro ...
, an American bank robber couple
*
List of Depression-era outlaws
This is a list of the Great Depression-era outlaws spanning the years of Prohibition and the Great Depression known as the "Public Enemy" era. Those include high-profile criminals wanted by state and federal law enforcement agencies for armed ro ...
*
The Gouffé Case
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
*
Charles Starkweather
Charles Raymond Starkweather (November 24, 1938 – June 25, 1959) was an American spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming between December 1957 and January 1958, when he was nineteen years old. He killed ten of his victi ...
*
Caril Ann Fugate
Caril Ann Fugate (born July 30, 1943) is the youngest female in United States history to have been tried and convicted of first-degree murder. She was the adolescent girlfriend of spree killer Charles Starkweather, being just 14 years old when h ...
*
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Barrow, Blanche Caldwell and John Neal Phillips. ''My Life with Bonnie and Clyde''. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.) .
* Burrough, Bryan. ''Public Enemies.'' (New York: The Penguin Press, 2004.) .
* Guinn, Jeff. ''Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde''. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.) .
* Knight, James R. and Jonathan Davis. ''Bonnie and Clyde: A Twenty-First-Century Update''. (Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 2003.) .
* Milner, E.R. ''The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde'' (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996.) .
* Parker, Emma Krause, Nell Barrow Cowan and Jan I. Fortune. ''The True Story of Bonnie and Clyde''. (New York: New American Library, 1968.) . Originally published in 1934 as ''Fugitives''.
* Phillips, John Neal. ''Running with Bonnie and Clyde, the Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults''. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, 2002) .
*
Ramsey, Winston G., ed. ''On The Trail of Bonnie and Clyde''. (London: After The Battle Books, 2003). .
* Steele, Phillip, and Marie Barrow Scoma. ''The Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde''. (Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2000.) .
* Treherne, John. ''The Strange History of Bonnie and Clyde''. (New York: Stein and Day, 1984.) .
*
Webb, Walter Prescott. ''The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense.'' (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1935.) .
* Boessenecker, John. ''Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde''. (New York: Thomas Dunn Books, 2016.) .
External links
FBI files on Bonnie and Clyde covering 1933–1944
to
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
The Clyde Barrow Gang collection from the Dallas Police Department ArchivesWhen Bonnie and Clyde Came to Town–
Our American Stories
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...
{{authority control , qid2 = Q2319886 , qid3 = Q3320282
1934 deaths
20th-century American criminals
American bank robbers
American murderers
American outlaws
American people of English descent
Articles containing video clips
Bank robbery
Barrow Gang
Burials in Texas
Couples
Crime families
Criminal duos
Criminals from Texas
Deaths by firearm in Louisiana
Depression-era gangsters
Extrajudicial killings
Fugitives
Love stories
Outlaw gangs in the United States
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
Vigilantism against sex offenders