Outlawed Facts About Bonnie and Clyde

September 26, 2023 | Stephanie Kelsey

Outlawed Facts About Bonnie and Clyde


Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, or just Bonnie and Clyde these days, were notorious outlaws in the early 1930s. They were young lovers, bank robbers, and sometimes ruthless criminals. Their lives were short, but full of scandal and intrigue. Keep reading to discover more about life on the lam with the criminals we still talk about today.


1. In Their Own Words

Two of the other Texas officers, Ted Hinton and Bob Alcorn, gave quite the description of what went down the day Bonnie and Clyde met their end. It involved a whole lot of bullets: “Each of us six officers had a shotgun and an automatic rifle and pistols. We opened fire with the automatic rifles. They were emptied before the car got even with us. Then we used shotguns … There was smoke coming from the car, and it looked like it was on fire. After [using] the shotguns, we emptied the pistols at the car, which had passed us and ran into a ditch about 50 yards on down the road. It almost turned over. We kept [firing] at the car even after it stopped. We weren’t taking any chances".

bonnie and clyde

2. Modern-Day Stories

Various retellings of their story have been released over the decades. The aforementioned Bonnie and Clyde film from Arthur Penn was released in 1967, a Broadway play debuted in 2011, and a mini-series starring Emile Hirsch and Holiday Grainger came out two years later. Currently, Netflix is working on a new series set to debut in 2018. There’s some big names in that project: Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Kathy Bates are among them.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Wikipedia

3. The Other Man

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow weren’t legally married. Nope. Sorry folks. We apologize to burst the bubble. Bonnie was actually married to a man named Roy Thornton, and even wore her wedding ring until the day she died. She also had a tattoo on her knee with their names and intertwined hearts.

Bonnie and Clyde facts

4. Young Love Falls Apart

Bonnie was only in her second year of high school when she met Thornton, marrying him days before she turned 16. He physically abused her, but they never formally divorced after the relationship fell apart. Oddly enough, he was sent to prison for five years in 1929 for theft charges. The two never saw each other again.

Creepiest True Stories factShutterstock

5. Love At First Sight

Bonnie was only 19 when she met Clyde Barrow, who had already spent time in prison. He was even on the run at the time they were introduced! He was caught within weeks, though, and thrown back behind bars.

Bonnie and Clyde factsGetty Images

6. They Would Do Anything For Love

No prison cell could keep Bonnie and Clyde apart, and they were in love already. Bonnie managed to smuggle a firearm into the prison, much to her mother’s disapproval. He and his cellmates managed to escape, but once again were caught. Clyde was sentenced to hard labor for 14 years and sent to Eastham State Farm.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikipedia

7. Family Ties

Clyde came from a big family. He was fifth of seven children, and though his family was poor they were fairly close. The Barrows ran a farm, but things turned sour because of drought, so they eventually moved to Dallas.

Chilling paranormalPexels

8. What A Different Life He Could Have Led

Clyde had tried enlisting in the US Navy, but was turned down for medical reasons, likely because of a bout of malaria or yellow fever he suffered from as a child. He didn’t take it well and also had to be reminded of it constantly; he had “USN” tattooed on his arm prior to being rejected.

Bonnie and Clyde facts

9. Brotherly Love

One of Clyde’s older brothers was the main influence on his crooked lifestyle. Buck convinced the younger Clyde into petty thefts, which soon turned into stealing cars and then escalated further to armed theft.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Wikipedia

10. Young And Dumb

Clyde's first arrest was for failing to return a rented car. The car he rented was to go see an estranged girlfriend, and though the rental agency dropped the charges against him, they stayed on his permanent record. Just a few weeks later, he and Buck made off with a truckload of turkeys. Gobble gobble!

Bonnie and Clyde facts Flickr, Ed Schipul

11. Twist Of Fate

Years later, just a year before the famous duo met their end, they would live with Clyde's brother Buck and his wife Blanche in Joplin, Missouri, but law enforcement caught up with them there; the altercation ended in a shootout, the slaying of two officers, and the escape of the criminals.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

12. Can’t Catch Them

Bonnie and Clyde left behind something interesting when they escaped: a roll of camera film. Newspapers all across the US got a hold of the film and published their personal photos across the nation.

Parks and Recreation factsShutterstock

13. Leaving It All Behind

Bonnie and Clyde often had to leave things behind. When officers found their stolen cars, they would discover Bonnie's movie magazines. One time, Clyde had to leave behind his guitar, something that he had been bringing with him on the road. And get this: after fleeing without the guitar, he got a hold of his mother to ask her to ask the authorities if he could get it back. I’m sure you can guess that the answer was a hard no.

Search Histories factsShutterstock

14. All In The Gang

The two would eventually gain some dangerous friends collectively known as the Barrow Gang. Members included Buck and Blanche, Raymond Hamilton, Joe Palmer, Ralph Fults, W.D. Jones and Henry Methvin.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

15. Brother Down

Clyde's brother Buck would be slain in a shootout with law enforcement midway through 1933. Blanche, his wife, was captured. Bonnie and Clyde's gang was narrowing down.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikimedia Commons

 

16. The Couple Who Is Buried Together, Stays Together

Bonnie and Clyde wanted to be buried together, so much was their love for each other. Upon their deaths though, they were buried separately. Bonnie's mother didn’t approve of the relationship her daughter had with Clyde and reversed their wishes. Thousands of people went to each of their funerals in Dallas, with newspapers even publishing special editions!

Henry VI factsShutterstock

17. Go Shorty

Neither of the two were particularly tall. They lived during the depression era, a time when women and men were typically 5’3″ and 5’8″ on average, respectively. Bonnie was a small 4’11” while Clyde was 5’4”. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were cast as the pair in the film about their lives, and they were quite a lot taller. Dunaway was 5’7″ and Beatty 6’2″.

Bonnie and Clyde facts

18. Who Needs Toes Anyway?

Clyde, unknowingly just days away from being released from a labor camp, cut off two of his toes. He had no idea his mother had persuaded the judge to let him out on parole. As a result, he walked with a limp for the rest of his short life. Because of the injury, he also couldn’t drive while wearing his shoes. We wouldn’t try that at home, folks.

Bonnie and Clyde facts The Highwaymen (2019), Netflix

19. Back In The Habit

After he was freed from labor camp in 1932, Clyde went back to doing what he knew best: robbing banks and small businesses with his gang. Bonnie even got in on the action, but was caught after a failed heist and put in lockup for two months. It was there that she started writing poems, mostly about her life with Clyde.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

20. Can’t Catch A Break

Clyde actually did try to clean his life up, futile though it was. He started working at a glass company in Dallas after he was released, but lost his job because the authorities kept harassing him.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

21. Big Dreams Bonnie

It’s a little surprising that Bonnie got herself into a life of crime: She was an honor student, had hopes of becoming an actress, and liked to write poetry. In fact, before she and Clyde were caught, she wrote a poem entitled “The Story of Bonnie and Clyde". Naturally, it was published in a number of newspapers after their deaths.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Getty Images

22. Light 'Em Up

Bonnie's acting hopes came early. You would often find her on stage performing in talent shows or school pageants. She always told her friends that her name would one day be in lights. She wasn’t technically wrong, but it wouldn’t be for what she had hoped for.

Bonnie and Clyde facts Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

23. Musically Inclined

Clyde also had big dreams. He wanted to do something in the music field, and even learned how to play the saxophone and guitar. The fateful day that Bonnie and Clyde were shot down, the authorities found a saxophone left behind in the car.

David Bowie FactsPixabay

24. Change Of Scenery

Bonnie’s father passed on when she was just four years old, and her mother uprooted her family to a poorer neighborhood to live with Bonnie's grandparents.

Queen Narriman factsShutterstock

25. Pretty Little Lies

After her short stint in lockup, Bonnie was released from custody when she claimed that Clyde and his gang had kidnapped her. However, she went right back to him and their crooked ways, even crossing multiple state lines to do so.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

26. Do No Harm

Though any loss of life is too many, the pair didn’t actually harm that many people between them. Clyde kidnapped people when he could, preferring not to kill. When it came time to release his captives, he would sometimes give them money so they could get back home.

Bonnie and Clyde factsThe Highwaymen (2019), Netflix

27. Is Three A Crowd?

Bonnie and Clyde spent a lot of time on the run with their partner in crime, W.D. Jones. The trio often swiped food and cash to get by, ate on the side of the road or sometimes rented rooms if they wanted some privacy. They also took cars and switched up license plates so no one would catch on.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikipedia

28. She Was Just Blowing Smoke

Some of the photos recovered by the authorities showed Bonnie holding guns and puffing on Cubans, but the smokes were actually just loaners from W.D. Jones. “Bonnie[liked ciggies], but...I gave her my [Cuban] to hold,” he said.

Bonnie and Clyde facts

29. Choosing Their Poisons

Bonnie and Clyde both liked nicotine, and Camel was their preferred brand. Bonnie also enjoyed herself some whiskey, though (perhaps surprisingly) Clyde stayed away from booze. He wanted to stay clear-headed in case they needed to leave on a moment’s notice.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

30. The Things We Love Will Be Our Undoing

I mean, if you’re on the run, would you stop to visit family every now and then? Probably not, even though you’d want to. Well, Bonnie and Clyde did–and frequently. Unfortunately for them, the authorities caught onto this, and that’s how the Texas Rangers found them.

Bonnie and Clyde factsGetty Images

31. Catch!

When the pair would go and visit Clyde’s family, he had an interesting way of getting his kin's attention. He put a note inside a Coke bottle, with details of when and where to meet, and threw it towards the house while speeding past. Their families remained supportive of them, despite their illicit behavior.

Bonnie and Clyde factsShutterstock

32. Hoping For Better Days

If Bonnie and Clyde were doing well for themselves, their families would benefit too. In fact, Clyde was hoping to buy land in Louisiana for his parents when he was shot.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

33. Beginning Of The End

The Barrow gang committed multiple killings. Clyde himself fatally shot a law enforcement officer as well as the owner of a store. One member of the gang, Henry Methvin, took the life of a cop in Oklahoma—an act that would bring about the demise of Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie and Clyde facts

34. The Big Betrayal

Bonnie and Clyde, feeling the heat from the killings, took refuge in the Methvin farm in Louisiana to hole themselves up until things cooled down. But Methvin's father was hoping for leniency for his son's offenses, and turned to the authorities to set up an ambush. On May 23, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were driving along when they saw the elder Methvin apparently broken down at the side of the road. The duo went to help him, and the authorities, who had been lying in wait, opened fire.

Bonnie and Clyde factsThe Highwaymen (2019), Netflix

35. Take Me To Your Leader

Texas Ranger Frank Hamer was the one who took the lead on the ambush, since he had been tracking the gang for months.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikipedia

36. Nothing Good Starts In A Getaway Car

Bonnie and Clyde's car from that fateful morning is something to behold, bares all the marks of their explosive demise. You can actually go visit it too! If you’re ever in Vegas, go check it out at Whiskey Pete’s Casino, just outside the city.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikipedia

37. Die Young

There are reportedly 150 bullet holes in Bonnie and Clyde's car alone. In the autopsy, the coroner reported 17 rounds in Clyde and 26 in Bonnie. But that’s only the official account. Unofficially, there were many more. The undertaker found it difficult to keep the embalming fluid in their bodies, such was the nature of their wounds. Ironically, the undertaker’s assistant had been kidnapped earlier by the gang, and before they released him, Bonnie jokingly gave him five dollars and asked him to take care of them when they passed on, not thinking he actually would.

Bonnie and Clyde factsWikipedia

38. By The Numbers

Bonnie and Clyde didn’t commit as many bank robberies as we think. During their four-years of action, they really only robbed about 15 banks, and some of those they robbed multiple times. They never got away with too much money, either. It’s believed the smallest amount they ever got was $80.00.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

39. Petty Thieves 

Smaller robberies, like at gas stations or small grocery stores, were easier for the pair to manage between just the two of them, but they had to be done more frequently since they didn’t get a whole lot of money out of them. This also meant they couldn’t stay in any one place for too long, since these frequent offenses were much easier to track then the rarer, bigger jobs.

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

40. Live Fast

While driving around with Clyde during one of their sprees, Bonnie suffered a terrible leg injury during a car accident. Battery acid burned her leg so badly that she had to be carried almost everywhere after; in some spots, she was burned right down to the bone. The accident was pretty much Clyde’s fault: He had been driving too fast on a Texas road and missed the warning sign for an upcoming bridge that was under construction.

Bonnie and Clyde factsThe Highwaymen (2019), Netflix

41. Why Did People Love Bonnie And Clyde?

Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Jim Wright, grew up in two of the states, Texas and Oklahoma, that Bonnie and Clyde were popular in. He once gave a quote that helps to illuminate their appeal: “Even if you did not approve of them,” he has said, “you still would have to envy them a little, to be so good-looking and rich and happy".

Bonnie and Clyde factsBonnie and Clyde (1967), Warner Bros./Seven Arts

42. Taking A Little Piece Of Their Life

The public was infatuated with the couple. When word got out about their deaths, people descended on the scene, attempting to take souvenirs. Later, when the bodies were taken to the coroner’s office, the people went there too, just to get their hands on anything they could. There were those who wanted to cut off Clyde's ear or fingers, and some wanted to cut off pieces of Bonnie's dress, blood soaked and all. And get this: one man offered Clyde’s father cash money for his body. This man offered $30,000, which today would be well over $600,000.

Bad Houseguest factsUnsplash

43. Words To Remember Them by

The epitaphs on Bonnie and Clyde's separate tombstones couldn’t be more different. Clyde’s reads “gone but not forgotten,” while Bonnie's has “as the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you". How...nice?

Bonnie and Clyde facts

 

Sources:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8


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