20 Facts about Bonnie and Clyde: The Notorious Outlaw Couple

20 Facts about Bonnie and Clyde: The Notorious Outlaw Couple

Most people have heard of Bonnie and Clyde, the infamous criminal couple who captured public attention during the Great Depression in America. But how much do you know about them beyond the legends? My interest was sparked as a curious history buff, wanting to separate fact from widespread myth. Who were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as real people and why did they turn to a life of crime together? In this article, I delve into little-known facts that shaped the reality of their forbidden partnership during those difficult economic times.

You’ll learn surprising details about their backgrounds, how they met, and their complex dynamic and criminal exploits as star-crossed Depression-era bandits on the run. As an independent amateur historian, I investigated credible academic sources and outdated newspaper accounts to piece together a profile of Bonnie and Clyde beyond the romanticized fables. From modest beginnings to their fateful bloody end, follow their true story through this compelling glimpse behind the scenes of a turbulent short life journey veiled in mystery.

These are the twenty facts about Bonnie and Clyde that you need to know:

1. Did You Know that Bonnie and Clyde Didn’t Spend Much Time Robbing Banks?

Undeveloped photographs, left behind by the gang at a hide out, were taken as evidence by lawmen. Recovered from Bonnie and Clyde after their deaths on May 23, 1934. Credit FBI., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Although Bonnie and Clyde are famous for their dramatic bank robberies, they did not commit many high-profile heists. During their multi-state crime spree between 1932 and 1934, they were more often involved in smaller robberies targeting gas stations, grocery stores, and other businesses. Out of all their crimes, they only robbed around ten to fifteen banks. While the large bank jobs brought them fame, they could not risk pulling them off too frequently. So despite their notoriety, bank theft made up a very small portion of Bonnie and Clyde’s total criminal activities. They relied more on routine pilfering from ordinary shops and stores to sustain their lives on the run.

2. The Couple Became Famous in the World 

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow probably thought their bold heists would win them fame and respect when they started their rampage through the central United States. However, the terrible end they experienced earned them a different kind of fame. Even though they were successful in carrying out dangerous bank and small store robberies, they also killed police officers and civilians during their violent robberies. Before the couple was killed by a police ambush in 1934, they had managed to elude the authorities for two years. Though they became well-known, it was more because of their increasingly risky crimes than their cunning or bravery. Despite their tragic deaths, Bonnie and Clyde went on to become well-known, contentious, and fascinating characters in life.

3. Bonnie was Often Seen with Cigars but she Did not Smoke

English: Distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Although Bonnie Parker is famously photographed holding a cigar in her mouth and posing defiantly, there is no proof that she smoked cigars regularly. Her provocative photo with a cigar likely aimed to enhance her “gangster” image as a tough, independent woman against propriety, as she was a notorious female outlaw who traveled constantly with her criminal counterpart Clyde Barrow during the height of the Great Depression. According to accounts, however, Bonnie preferred smoking cigarettes over cigars, except Clyde and other male acquaintances who were close to her. The cigar therefore appeared to be more symbolic than a true representation of Bonnie Parker’s smoking habits or preferences, even though the iconic picture perfectly captured her fierce, law-breaking spirit.

4. Bonnie had Another Husband with Whom She was Married Until her Death

Even though Bonnie and Clyde were one of the most notorious criminal teams in American history, the romanticism surrounding their relationship hides the fact that Bonnie was married to someone other than Clyde. In 1931, Bonnie married an imprisoned man named Roy Thornton, one month before she met Clyde. Despite their non-divorce, their infrequent encounters stemmed from his imprisonment and her perpetual state of escape. Bonnie was wearing Thornton’s wedding ring when the police ambushed and killed her and Clyde in 1934. Although Bonnie’s most enduring “partner in crime” may have been Clyde, she technically passed away as Roy Thornton’s wife following a nearly three-year marriage.

5. Both Bonnie and Clyde were Partially Disabled and Had Difficulty in Walking

Despite giving off the impression of strength and defiance, Bonnie and Clyde frequently suffered from physical conditions that limited their range of motion. An accident when Bonnie was a child left her left leg permanently damaged. She had trouble walking ever since because of the resulting limp. In a similar vein, walking was agonizing for Clyde when he was younger and an employee of an electric company after his right foot’s toes were inadvertently severed. With Clyde’s severed foot and Bonnie’s chronic limp, the infamous duo formed an unlikely alliance just by their physical limitations. Nevertheless, they succeeded in robbing across state lines as a team. Both outlaws struggled in their signature getaways despite their good looks at hiding their underlying conditions.

6. They Risked Capture for Their Devotion to Care for Loved Ones

Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bonnie and Clyde maintained close ties to their parents. Despite their constant running, Bonnie and Clyde shared gifts and money from their thefts visited them frequently, and occasionally even brought family members along on their crime sprees. They played music, prepared meals from scratch, and talked about the good old days. Bonnie helped Clyde’s mother both materially and psychologically during his imprisonment. Bonnie and Clyde put their loved ones before everything, even though they were wanted by the authorities and were willing to risk being caught. What seemed to anchor them in their lawless existence more than anything was their love for their family.

7. They Were not Horrible Murderers as Believed 

Bonnie and Clyde were not as violent as popular belief, even though they committed bold robberies and fascinated America with their blatant lawlessness. During their heists, they demonstrated a reluctance to cause serious harm to innocent people. In most cases, the couple even safely freed frightened hostages. But their wild run of cross-state armed robberies put authorities on high alert. Moreover, Bonnie and Clyde reacted violently out of instinct to survive during shootouts with law enforcement during their crime spree, leaving several officers injured or dead. Although the two had a reputation for being ruthless killers, they attempted to free the majority of the hostages without using violence; it was only an unwelcome last resort.

8. Although they Were Difficult to Embalm, the Couple knew their Embalmer

Undertakers were initially discouraged by the task of preserving Bonnie and Clyde’s bullet-riddled bodies after police shot and killed them in May 1934. It seemed impossible to embalm them with more than fifty wounds each. Ironically, Clyde’s former accomplice would be an acquaintance who would undertake the grisly assignment. Henry Methvin, who spent years robbing Clyde, acquired special knowledge about how to handle and preserve Clyde’s disfigured body. Methvin had led police to the ambush that killed Clyde after betraying him several months prior. Despite this background, Methvin’s embalming abilities proved crucial in keeping Bonnie and Clyde’s bodies from deteriorating further as people flocked to see the famous gangsters‘ remains before packed funeral services.

9.Bonnie Liked Writing Poems and She was Very Good

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Bonnie Parker had artistic aspirations that revealed her more contemplative side. As a young married woman before meeting Clyde Barrow, Bonnie began writing down verses of emotional poetry. Later, while on the run with Clyde, she continued composing poems reflecting on her intense affection for him, and the isolation of their fugitive lifestyle. Her creative writing gave a rare insight into her hopes and vulnerabilities hidden beneath the daring persona she projected. Though her life was cut short at 23, Bonnie’s poetry remains a testament to her introspective nature.

10. Bonnie Masterminded the Famous Prison Break when Clyde Escaped the Eastham

In the summer of 1933, Clyde Barrow was imprisoned at Eastham Prison Farm in Texas, while Bonnie Parker was over 300 miles away in Dallas. Though separated, Bonnie soon took action to reunite with her partner in crime. After smuggling in a pistol, Bonnie recruited Clyde’s friend Raymond Hamilton, who was released on parole from Eastham. On August 14, 1933, Bonnie and Raymond assisted Clyde and associate Henry Methvin’s daring escape by firing close gunshots at the prison’s high-power line. This disabled the electrified fence, allowing for Clyde and Henry’s breakout into the getaway car Bonnie waited in nearby. Though Clyde had escaped on his own before, Bonnie this time provided crucial support, reforming their formidable crime partnership against law enforcement.

11. The Viral Photos that Made them Famous were Staged

The iconic photos of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow brandishing guns and cigars cemented their image as dangerous celebrity gangsters. However, what many don’t realize is that these memorable pictures were entirely staged to taunt police who were hunting the wanted couple across the central United States. To embarrass law enforcement’s failures to capture them, Bonnie and Clyde had a friend take provocative photos as they posed mockingly with an arsenal of weapons in 1933. Though seemingly spontaneous, the couple deliberately chose props and bold attire to project a tough, carefree attitude that hid their desperate, fugitive lifestyle. So ironically, the very photos that catapulted Bonnie and Clyde to fame were pre-planned fakes, not genuine snapshots of America’s most notorious criminal lovers.

12. Clyde Cut off Some of His Toes when he was in Prison

Image by Ichigo121212 from Pixabay

Clyde was serving time at Eastham Prison Farm when he made a desperate decision that permanently maimed his foot. Feeling hopeless and seeking to escape unbearable hard labor and inmate violence, Clyde convinced another prisoner to chop off his toes with an axe. Prison officials had no choice but to grant him early parole release a month later, though he would soon commit murder. For the rest of his days as a fugitive, unable to properly walk or run on his right foot, Clyde wore thick socks and custom cowboy boots to ease his pain. The crude self-amputation exemplified Clyde’s history of high-risk behavior in pursuit of his ultimate goals—both inside and outside of prison.

13. Bonnie Was Bold Enough to Foreshadow Her Death in a Poem 

In April 1934, before her death, Bonnie Parker predicted her grim fate in the poem “The Story of Suicide Sal”. Detailing a robbery gone wrong, Bonnie described a female outlaw dying violently in a clash with police after refusing to surrender. Written from the perspective of her accomplice, Clyde Barrow, Bonnie chillingly foretells Sal will soon die. Published soon after in newspapers, this was Bonnie’s last published work. The prophetic words and imagined scenario bore disturbing similarities to how Bonnie herself lost her life just a month later in a bloody shootout with authorities. The poem turned into Bonnie’s obituary, immortalizing her consciousness of the high risks in her lawless lifestyle.

14. Clyde Loved His Saxophone Making it Part of his Life 

From his youth in rural Texas to his violent end, Clyde was rarely far from his beloved saxophone. After learning sax in prison to pass the time and ease boredom, he kept it by his side constantly during his 1930s crime sprees with Bonnie Parker across the central United States to perform for his captive audiences. Before the fatal police shootout, witnesses spotted a sax lying beside Clyde in his car as the couple relaxed by the roadside. Officers found Clyde’s instrument splattered with blood in the bullet-riddled vehicle after pumping over a hundred and fifty rounds into the pair. Clyde’s saxophone brought him comfort and joy, almost becoming a part of him until his last day.

15. A Souvenir Hunter attempted to cut off Clyde’s ear for Future Reference

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In May 1934, after police ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde, ominous souvenir hunters flocked to the crime scene in search of graphic keepsakes. The insane mobs tried to tear off the outlaws’ hair and blood-soaked clothing remnants as the bodies were being taken to the morgue. However, one horrific case was more depraved than the others. Amidst the chaos, an unidentified onlooker took out a pocket knife and cut off a piece of the deceased Clyde Barrow’s ear, wrapping it in paper and carrying it home. This man’s desire for an intimate trophy from Clyde’s corpse encapsulated the depraved circus surrounding Bonnie and Clyde’s violent end that day, though he was by no means alone in scavenging the grisly scene.

16. Clyde’s Mother Became a Target and Supposedly the Mastermind Behind the Crimes

Though Bonnie and Clyde were the famous faces of their notorious crime spree, authorities named an unlikely accomplice as the true mastermind behind it all: Clyde’s mother, Cumie Barrow. Because Cumie actively supported her fugitive son in various ways while he evaded capture, authorities arrested the middle-aged Texas woman in 1934 and charged her as a ringleader directing Clyde’s robberies. They accused her of criminal conspiracy, citing regular jailhouse visits during his incarcerations and supplying food, money, and ammunition to aid his 1930s string of robberies after the escape. Though later released for lack of sufficient evidence, the arrest highlighted law enforcement’s ongoing frustration with the repeated inability to catch the infamous outlaws.

17. The Couple Wished to be Buried Together 

In the wake of their bloody demise, Bonnie and Clyde shared one final wish: to lie beside each other for eternity. As America’s most wanted sweetheart criminal duo, their bond in life and death seemed inseparable. However, their grief-stricken families objected to interring the pair jointly. The parish priest at Bonnie’s Catholic funeral outright refused burial rites due to her sins. So despite romantic notions, in death, familial grudges along with religious condemnation doomed the partners in crime to be laid to rest apart—Bonnie in Dallas and Clyde in West Dallas – divided forever.

18. The Navy Turned Down Clyde’s Application to Serve the Country

Image by Amber Clay from Pixabay

Long before becoming the notorious Bonnie and Clyde criminal duo in the early 1930s, a directionless young Clyde sought to serve his country via an enlistment in the United States Navy in 1923. However, the Navy swiftly rejected Barrow’s application instead of providing him with structure. As later revealed after his death, recruiting officers raised concerns about him, deeming him lacking discipline and unfit to serve among the ranks. The decision proved fateful, as Barrow embarked on a series of crimes that brought far more harm than good to his community. Still, the rejection letter gives insight into warning signs apparent to volatile Clyde even before the Navy deprived him of a chance to develop into an upstanding citizen through military service.

19. Clyde’s First Time to be Arrested was Due to Failure to Return a Rented Car

Clyde’s first encounter with the law occurred in 1926 due to a relatively minor infraction, long before he gained notoriety. When seventeen-year-old Clyde rented a car in Dallas to visit an uncle and kept it for two weeks after his return date, problems started while he was working as a laborer after the Navy rejected him. Teenage Clyde was accused of auto theft by the police due to his prolonged unlawful possession of another person’s vehicle. Clyde’s habit of pilfering cars when he needed transportation was set in motion by this, and in the ensuing years, it would intensify significantly for bigger illegal activities involving Bonnie. Clyde’s first arrest and issues with Dallas police came about at a young age, ultimately, because he neglected to return someone else’s rented car during a routine family visit.

20. The Notorious Couple’s Bullet-Riddled Death Car is on Display at a Casino

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The grimmest artifact from Bonnie and Clyde’s violent end during a police ambush in 1934 is the Ford V8 they died in, soaked with their blood and riddled with over a hundred bullet holes. Duke Ellis, who handled Bonnie and Clyde’s funerals, originally kept this macabre souvenir car in his tourist spot. But after passing through collectors’ hands for decades, the “death car” eventually went to Whiskey Pete’s Casino near Las Vegas in 2017 and can still be viewed there today. Countless tourists flock to catch a morbid glimpse of the rear seat where the infamous outlaws took their last breaths amid an onslaught of police firepower. While a strange final resting place, the vehicle’s valuable history ensures Bonnie and Clyde’s legend persists even from this unlikely home behind velvet ropes in a casino.

As we reach the end of the trial, Bonnie and Clyde’s legacy as criminal folk heroes still endures decades later. Though much myth obscures the reality, through my research, we now understand more truth about two desperate souls turned partners in Depression-era crime until their tragic young deaths in a hail of bullets.