Bonnie and Clyde



Bonnie and Clyde in an undated photo found by police at an abandoned hideout

Nationality: American
Known for: Barrow Gang bank robberies

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker
Born: October 1, 1910; Rowena, Texas
Died: May 23, 1934 (aged 23); Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States

Clyde Chestnut Barrow
Born: March 24, 1909; Ellis County, Texas
Died: May 23, 1934 (aged 25); Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians. They were killed in May 1934 during an ambush by police near Gibsland, Louisiana.

The press's portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde was sometimes at odds with the reality of their life on the road, especially for Parker. She was present at 100 or more felonies during the two years that she was Barrow's companion, although she was not the cigar-smoking, machine gun-wielding killer depicted in newspapers, newsreels, and pulp detective magazines of the day. Nonetheless, numerous police accounts detail her attempts to murder police officers (although gang member W.D. Jones contradicted them at trial). A photo of Parker posing with a cigar came from an undeveloped roll of film that police found at an abandoned hideout, and the snapshot was published nationwide. Parker did smoke cigarettes, although she never smoked cigars. According to historian Jeff Guinn, the photos found at the hideout resulted in Parker's glamorization and the creation of myths about the gang.

The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles, revived interest in the criminals and glamorized them with a romantic aura. The 2019 Netflix film The Highwaymen depicted the law's pursuit of Bonnie and Clyde.

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Deaths



Gibsland posse; front: Alcorn, Jordan, and Hamer; back: Hinton, Oakley, Gault

Barrow and Parker were killed on May 23, 1934, on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. {Former Texas Ranger Captain Frank 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 {Barrow gang member Henry Methvin's} family in Louisiana. In case they were separated, Barrow had designated Methvin's parents' residence as a rendezvous, and Methvin became separated from the rest of the gang in Shreveport. 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.



The road in the Louisiana woods where Barrow and Parker died

32°26′28.21″N 93°5′33.23″W



1934 Ford Deluxe V-8 after the ambush with the bodies of Barrow and Parker in the front seats

On May 21, the four posse members from Texas were in Shreveport when they learned that Barrow and Parker were planning a visit to Bienville Parish that evening with Methvin. The full posse set up an ambush along Louisiana State Highway 154 south of Gibsland toward Sailes. Hinton recounted that their group was in place by 9 pm, and waited through the whole of the next day (May 22) with no sign of the perpetrators. Other accounts said that the officers set up on the evening of May 22.



The gunfire was so loud that the posse suffered temporary deafness all afternoon

At approximately 9:15 am on May 23, the posse were still concealed in the bushes and almost ready to give up when they heard the Ford V8 Barrow was driving approaching at high speed. In their official report, they stated they had persuaded Ivy Methvin to position his truck along 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. When Barrow fell into the trap, the lawmen opened fire while the vehicle was still moving. Oakley fired first, probably before any order to do so. Barrow was killed instantly by Oakley's head shot, and Hinton reported hearing Parker scream. The officers fired about 130 rounds, emptying their weapons into the car. Many of Bonnie and Clyde's wounds would have been fatal, yet the two had survived several bullet wounds over the years in their confrontations with the law.

The bullet-ridden Deluxe, originally owned by Ruth Warren of Topeka, Kansas, was later exhibited at carnivals and fairs then sold as a collector’s item; in 1988, the Primm Valley Resort and Casino in Las Vegas purchased it for some $250,000. Barrow’s enthusiasm for cars was evident in a letter he wrote earlier in the spring of 1934, addressed to Henry Ford himself: “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.”

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